Championship Weekend Review
Action and reaction from the latest round of The Championship.
The Championship played out its penultimate weekend of action as the season marches towards the finale next week. Ealing Trailfinders put themselves in the driving seat for The Championship title as they beat Cornish Pirates 44-24. A fixture with Richmond next Saturday is all that stands between Ealing and Championship success. Coventry gave captain Ryan Burrows a marvellous send-off into retirement as he played his final game in a 40-28 win over Richmond. Here’s a look back at how the action unfolded. [Photo Copyright: Brian Tempest]
Ealing Trailfinders 44-24 Cornish Pirates
Ealing Trailfinders bested Cornish Pirates and secured a vital win which puts them in pole position for The Championship with one game to go. Ealing were rampant in the first 40 minutes, putting 31 points on the board and leaving the visitors with a mountain to climb. Ealing’s early pressure paid off as Craig Willis opened the scoring with a penalty eight minutes into the game. Willis’ early three foreshadowed an excellent performance off the tee. A little under 10 minutes later and the hosts had their first try. Craig Hampson managed to find space in the defensive line and burst through into a two on one. He fed Bobby de Wee, who touched down unopposed. After setting up the first, Hampson was the recipient of the second try. An assertive drive from the Ealing forwards gave them plenty of momentum, and Hampson picked the ball up and with some neat footwork, weaved his way through the Pirates’ defence and over the line. The impetus created by Ealing’s forwards proved vital once again for their third try. The ball was worked back to Willis, whose long-range pass to Max Bodily provided the winger with plenty of space to score. Hooker Jan-Henning Campher provided the bonus point, bouncing off his tackler and powering his way over the try line with little more than 30 minutes played. Shortly before the break, Pirates’ hooker Tom Channon scored his 15th try of the season as they forced their way over from a dominant maul display. Arwell Robinson nailed the conversion inches away from the touchline to give his side a glimmer of hope. With a few minutes gone in the second half, Robin Wedlake scored in the corner after plenty of phases from in Ealing’s 22 gave the winger acres of space to touch down in the corner. The men from the Mennaye searched for a third score, but Ealing halted their attack, and Willis nudged a second penalty over to edge his side further in front. Willis proved vital once again, as he set up Angus Kernohan for his side’s fifth try of the day. Pirates never lost their determination, however, scoring two more tries to secure the four-try bonus point. Syd Blackmore’s try just into the final quarter was the third, and the fourth was duly delivered by Carwyn Penny, who jinked his way through the defence and left a number of Ealing’s men in his wake. Willis added the exclamation point to his man of the match performance with his third penalty late in the game to wrap up the victory. Ealing will host Richmond next weekend, with The Championship title in their sights.
Richmond 28-40 Coventry
The second match of the weekend saw Coventry finish their season with a bonus point win away at Richmond, seemingly securing a 7th place finish, unless Richmond and Ampthill can surprise Ealing Trailfinders and Cornish Pirates respectively next weekend. The win was made even more special for it being the final game of Championship stalwart Ryan Burrows.
Coventry established a 14-point lead in just under 30 minutes. Ryan Burrows powered into the corner for the first try, and a long midfield pass sent Rob Knox clear for the second. Evan Mitchell converted both from wide out. Richmond countered with a neat try by Jared Cardew, who dummied the Coventry defence and cut inside under the posts. However, the visitors quickly restored their two-score advantage when Mitchell fed his halfback partner Josh Barton for their third score. Just over 10 minutes into the second half, on his 200th Championship game, Mark Bright produced some magic to turn Richmond’s pressure into points. The No 8 tapped a penalty quickly and drew defenders before flipping an overhead pass to Cardew for his second try. Once again, Coventry replied promptly, fullback Louis Brown sprinting past the defence before sending Josh Bainbridge clear. Richmond’s attack was blunted when they lost James Kane to a nasty facial injury, but the side persevered and scored a third try through Will Kaye after good work from the forwards. Brown was the key man again in Coventry’s response, shrugging off a tackle and offloading to replacement fly-half Tony Fenner who scored and converted his own try. With the win secured, skipper Ryan Burrows, in his final Championship game, carried hard for his side’s sixth try, which was completed by Dan Babos. Richmond had the last say and had the spirit to finish with a bonus point, the inevitable try-scorer being the remarkable Bright with his 99th Championship try.