Championship Weekend Review
Action and reaction from the weekend's matches in The Championship.
A frenetic season climax took another twist this weekend, as Doncaster Knights downed Cornish Pirates and Ealing Trailfinders beat Ampthill to put the West Londoners back in control of their destiny when it comes to the Championship title race. Elsewhere, Coventry secured back-to-back wins against Bedford Blues, Richmond exacted revenge on Hartpury, and Jersey Reds signed off their last home league game of the campaign with a bonus-point win against Nottingham. Here’s a look back at how the action unfolded.
Bedford Blues 15 - 17 Coventry
Bedford Blues and Coventry kicked off the weekend’s action at Goldington Road, and it was the visitors who edged a finely balanced encounter, backing up a one-point win in December with a two-point win on Friday night. Coventry took an early seven-point lead when a period of pressure close to the Blues line resulted in a penalty try and a yellow card for Luke Frost. Bedford reduced the deficit five minutes later when Coventry were caught offside, and Louis Grimoldby slotted three points from the tee. Coventry dominated possession for much of the first half, but the Blues defended well and took the lead just before the break when Dean Adamson flew under the sticks, with Grimoldby’s conversion putting the hosts into a three point lead at half time. 10 minutes after the restart, Jordon Poole rumbled over from a maul to restore Coventry’s lead, with Tony Fenner’s conversion opening up a four-point gap. The visitors continued to apply the presure up front, but again Bedford weathered the storm and responded with a second try, this time from Matt Worley on his 50th appearance for the club. The decisive moment came in the 71st minute, when Bedford conceded a penalty and Fenner split the uprights from 30 metres to restore Coventry’s lead. Rowland Winter's side closed out the remainder of the match to record their eighth win of the season and secure back-to-back victories against their East Midlands rivals.
Ampthill 5 - 38 Ealing Trailfinders
Ealing Trailfinders went top of The Championship for half an hour on Saturday following their bonus-point win at Ampthill, before the result from Castle Park pushed the West Londoners back into second place, albeit with a game in hand over their Yorkshire rivals. The visitors wasted no time in getting up and running and took an early lead through Angus Kernohan, who darted over in the corner after several phases near the Ampthill line. Ealing continued to pile on the pressure in the opening quarter and doubled their lead when Jac Arthur brought down a maul illegally [an infringement which saw the blindside flanker sent to the sin bin] and the referee awarded a penalty try. The Mob responded with a Theo Dan score from a rolling maul before halftime, as the Trailfinders took a nine-point lead into the break. Three minutes after the restart, Simon Uzokwe marked his return to the starting line-up with a powerful carry and score after good work from Craig Willis, and with an hour on the clock, the ubiquitous Rayn Smid barged over to bring up the bonus point. Seven minutes later, Kernohan again found space out wide to dot down his second of the afternoon, with Willis rounding off a perfect performance from the tee with his fourth successful conversion from four attempts. Ealing emptied the bench soon after and sealed the win with a late Steven Shingler penalty, as the Trailfinders took maximum points from their trip to Dillingham Park and now turn their focus to a potentially season-defining clash against Cornish Pirates on 26 March.
Richmond 20 - 12 Hartpury
Richmond avenged their 38-20 defeat to Hartpury in Round 10 with a 20-12 victory at The RAG on Saturday. Powerful centre, Lennox Anyanwu, got the hosts off to a strong start with a 35-metre dash to the line before James Kane slotted the conversion and a subsequent penalty to open up a 10-point lead inside 20 minutes. Hartpury responded with a score from Matt McNab in the corner after a well-executed 50-22 from the league’s leading marksman, James Williams, and then crept into the lead just before the break when the returning JB Bruzulier snuck over the whitewash to take the half-time score to 10-12. Richmond looked lively after the restart and restored their lead in the 48th minute when Mark Bright rumbled over for his 14th try of the season from a trademark lineout drive. With 66 minutes on the clock, the returning Will Carrick Smith crashed over from 5 metres out, and Richmond had an eight-point lead. Hartpury threatened inside the Richmond 22 in the closing stages, but the hosts held firm and a 79th minute turnover on the Richmond line sealed the win, as Rob Powell's charges made it back-to-back wins in The Championship.
Doncaster Knights 22 - 15 Cornish Pirates
The weekend’s headline act saw Doncaster Knights clinch a bonus-point win against Cornish Pirates at Castle Park to restore their two-point lead at the top of The Championship. George Edgson put the hosts in front, crashing over from a maul with 12 minutes on the clock, but the Pirates responded three minutes later through Matt Bolwell, who stretched over to score after an electric break from Josh Caulfield, before Arwel Robson edged the visitors in front from the tee. The Knights powered for a second score through John Kelly in the 27th minute, and then a third soon after – again from a maul – through Thom Smith. With the clock ticking down at the end of the first half, Knights crashed over for their fourth, and Edgson’s second, with Sam Olver’s conversion pushing the Knights into a 15-point lead at the break. Robson narrowed the deficit from the tee five minutes after the restart, after an infringement at the breakdown, but a forwards-dominated encounter drew a blank until the 65th minute when Caulfield scored from a well-executed 5-metre lineout set-piece on his 100th cap. The centurion’s try proved to be the final score of the afternoon, as the Knights withstood a lively second-half performance from the Pirates to go two points clear the top of The Championship. Saturday’s result means both sides remain in the title hunt, with the hotly-anticipated clash between Ealing Trailfinders and Cornish Pirates on 26 March likely to prove pivotal in deciding this season’s champions.
Jersey Reds 48 – 12 Nottingham
Jersey Reds treated the Stade Santander faithful to a scintillating performance in their last home game of the season, running in eight tries in a bonus-point win against Nottingham. Macauley Cook opened Jersey’s account with a fine score in the corner after six minutes, capitalising on a man advantage after Nottingham’s Joe Browning was sin binned for a late tackle. Eoghan Clarke then added to his impressive try-scoring tally with a score from a slickly-executed lineout move and then crashed over for his second and Jersey’s third minutes later. With 32 minutes on the clock and the Archers down to 14 men again after a yellow card for Carl Kirwan, Browning made amends for his earlier misdemeanour with Nottingham’s first score of the afternoon. Jersey went on to dominate the remainder of the first 40, and brought up the bonus point just before the break when sustained pressure on the visitors’ line eventually told, and the Reds were awarded a bonus-point penalty try on the stroke of halftime. The two sides traded scores shortly after the restart, with tries from Will Brown and Josh Poullet, but from there on the scoreboard went in one direction. With an hour on the clock, Sean O’Connor crashed over from a maul for Jersey’s fifth, and Dan Barnes and Max Argyle rounded off an impressive performance with a brace of tries in the closing stages of the game. Jersey’s five-point win sees them go level on points with thrid-placed Cornish Pirates, but with only one fixture left to play: an away trip to the in-form Coventry next Saturday. Nottingham also have just one match left to play: a home clash against top-of-the-table Doncaster Knights on 1 April.