Ealing Trailfinders 1871 first made it four wins from five and avoided a Halloween scare when they defeated London Irish Wild Geese 32-24 at Vallis Way on Saturday.
Toby Holt, Alex John, Loe Codrinton-Lambert, and Andrea Cortellari scored first half tries, while Harry Vidler added to his points tally with three conversions and two penalties to keep the team second in Regional 2 Thames, four points behind Amersham and Chiltern.
A dominant Ealing scrum early on led to a turnover, a kick downfield produced chaos in the Irish defence on their own line and number eight Toby Holt was on hand to ground the loose ball from a charge-down.
The 1871 set-piece continued to dominate and forced a penalty on their own 10-metre line at an Irish put-in with 10 minutes gone. Vidler’s kick took them to an attacking line-out 22 metres out and quick ball produced a try between the posts for Alex John. Prop Leo Codrington-Lambert then scored the third try from another successful line-out.
London Irish gained more territory as the first half wore on but were repelled by well-organised defence every time they threatened. Two penalties in rapid succession took Ealing down into the 22, and another driven maul was held up only at the cost of a yellow card to a Wild Geese forward. The maul from the line-out was unstoppable, and flanker Andrea Cortellari closed the half with the side’s fourth try.
After half-time Wild Geese raised their performance and while they crossed for a try, Vidler knocked over two penalties to stretch the home side’s lead. They proved crucial in as two more Irish tries closed the gap closer still.
Seconds Too Strong For Saracens
Ealing 1871 second XV returned to winning ways with a 26-10 defeat of Saracens Amateurs at Trailfinders Sports Club that leaves them in third place in Middlesex Counties 2.
Under the Friday Night Lights, Dan Clark, Afi Mir, Louis Aitcheson-Walker and James Rhydderch-Roberts scored the four tries that secured a bonus point, and Joe Banks scored three conversions.
Clark set the tone early with a powerful run that took him over, and Mir turned a tricky situation in gold by charging 20 metres for the second.
After weathering a potential Saracens fightback in the second-half, Aitcheson-Walker found space to cross in the corner, before Rhydderch-Roberts marked his return from a year-long injury showed great intelligence to go again after he had been hauled down close to the line.
All three Ealing 1871 teams are off this coming weekend but will return to action on 13 November.