Ealing 67 (Tries: Bruynseels 3, Ejikeme 2, Bundy, Norman, Jack, Essien, King 2. Cons: Ward 6.  

Shelford 13 (Tries: Cuddon, Kopa. Pen: Austin.).

Report courtesy of Ealing.

Ealing Trailfinders began their home league campaign on Saturday against last season London Division 2 North Champions Shelford RFC (the league that Ealing had won a year previously). It was however, Ealing Trailfinders that would show their visitors what was required to be successful in this league by the final whistle.

A bright sunny day had seen many son’s and daughters drag their parents down to Vallis Way to watch was to be an efficient and at times faultless display by the home tea. Two league wins from two for both sides going into this game, something was bound to give. For the first 10 minutes Ealing were put on the back foot by their visitors from Cambridge. The visitors half backs, Birkby and Austin testing their defensive qualities.

It was Shelford who took the lead with an Austin penalty. Unforced errors by Shelford and Ealing unremitting defence began to push the visitors back into their own half, and Ben Ward again testing the opposition with some audacious runs, spotted a gap, feeding inside to skipper Jay King to out pace the defense and score out wide. Ward adding the conversion.

The turning point of the game occurred after 15 minutes, when the visitors scrum half Birkby, in attempting to gain the release of the ball, was seen by the referee to kick home favourite Dave Essien in the face . The referee having no option but to produce a red card.

Indeed this spurred Shelford on, as they doubled the defensive efforts.

It was Jay King who with an outrageous dummy left the Shelford fullback Austin grabbing for thin air as he went in unopposed. Ward adding the two points. Ealing extended their lead just before half time with what was to prove a good day for Ealing’s young backs, as Ejikeme went over for his first of a brace. At half time Ealing were 19-8 to the good.

The second half saw Ealing Trailfinders really up the ante, and let their numerical advantage show. Becoming dominant at both scrum and lineout, they began to monopolise possession. Wing Own Bruynseels, back after a season’s injury, revelled in the possession, going over for three tries in an outstanding performance.

Further tries came for Andy Jack, Dave Essien, Leighton Norman, Ejikeme (his second of the day) And Simon Bundy. Ward added four further conversions.

Guildford 19 (Tries: Van Huffell, Ramus, Dowding. Cons: Martin 2.  

Barnes 32 (Tries: Green, Grimes, Penalty try, Leigh, White. Cons: Farmer 2. Pen: Farmer.).

The home side took the lead with a try from No 8 Ken Dowding in the 3^rd minute and Kevin Martin put over the conversion to make it 7-0. Back came Barnes with a try from their No 8 Eugene Grimes, Paul Farmer missed the conversion but when he put over a 16^th minute penalty they led 8-7. Guildford went in at the break ahead after wing Jean Paul Van Huffell went over and they were 12-8 in front.

11 minutes into the second half and Barnes captain and scrum half John Green went over for a try and a narrow 13-12 lead. It was not till the 63^rd minute that we had the next score with second row Ali Ramus touching down for the home side and with Martin converting they were 19-13 ahead.

Barnes were back to within a point on 71 minutes when replacement Dan Leigh went over for an unconverted try.

Barnes took the lead again when they were awarded a 76^th minute penalty try and Farmer did the rest to make it 25-19.

They sealed the win in injury time when replacement back row man Michael White went over the home line and Farmer converted.

Haywards Heath 13 (Try: Morton. Con: Penney. Pens: Penney 2.  

Staines 10 (Tries: Buckley, Robinson.).

On a beautiful Autumnal day, Staines travelled to Haywards Heath with an air of optimism having achieved 4 points from the opening 2 games.

The opening quarter was a very cagey affair with many handling errors from both sides. A yellow card shown to the Hayward Heath open side flanker, gave Staines the upper hand, and with a penalty just short of the try line, Staines elected for a set scrum only to find a committed opposition pack who cut short the Staines driving scrum to gain a comfortable line clearance. Some two minutes and 70m later Haywards Heath failed to capitalise on a penalty kick and it was Staines who opened the scoring with a try from Mat Buckley on the 25^th minute. This came from good lineout position and good driving play by the Staines forwards who put together some good phase rugby which created space out wide.

Staines forwards now began to take the initiative and began to get the edge in the set pieces. Some good yardage by the Staines captain Dan Leek who put a pass out to Koloko on the left wing only to see the ball spill forward, a score which would have put Staines firmly in the driving seat.

Haywards Heath who showed good strong defensive organisation eventually turned over position and this resulted in a penalty on the 38^th minute by Dan Penny, putting the score at 3 – 5. With a few minutes to the interval Staines did not get the rewards they deserved and an injury to open side flanker Kyle Lovell who picked up a yellow card in the same incident did little to give Staines the upper hand at the restart.

The second half saw Staines pick up a further injury to No 8 Jamie Sanders who left the field with a head wound from a clash of heads. With two of the back row off the field with injuries Staines made a number of positional changes which created an imbalance within their forward play. The set scrum no longer looked comfortable and with loosing three consecutive line outs Haywards Heath began to threaten.

Staines did look to be returning to the first half form and a try by the Staines second row Pieter Robinson on the 58^th minute gave the visitors a 3 – 10 lead. For the next 10 minutes Haywards Heath applied much pressure in the Staines 22 and a scrum 5m, out saw flanker David Jackson dive over the line for a converted try which put the game at 10  - 10. Haywards Heath, 10 minutes later kick a penalty which put them in the lead for the first time during the game. A late flurry by Staines nearly came to fruition and second row Pieter Robinson was brought down short of the line. A last minute penalty by Staines centre Mat Buckley could have secured the draw, but was put wide which saw Haywards Heath gain they first winner in the league.

.

Old Albanians 11 (Try: Monighan. Pens: Gregg.)  

London Scottish 45 (Tries: Broughton 2, Boulard, Peel 2, Greensalde Jones. Cons: Williams 6. Pen: Williams.).

Scottish duly cruised to their third comprehensive win in successive weeks, though it took a concerted second half effort with the wind largely at their backs to get the points on the board. The first half saw the visitors play the better rugby but still struggle to break out of their own half into the wind on a consistent basis, but the points flowed as the game wore on and refreshingly, all the scores went to the quick men with double digits on their backs

The headline performer was again Charles Broughton with the first and third try to make it five in two games. But the returning Matt Vines always posed a threat, Rory Greenslade-Jones had another fine game in the centre and Stuart Peel capped an assured display with two late tries; Tom Williams found his kicking boots, and buried the previous week’s horrors with a flawless seven from seven.

However the platform for all this hay-making by the backs was a solid show up front. Given the licence to get the shove on early on several occasions, the Scots’ pack duly shunted the home side off their own ball. Even so the OAs mastered their own line-out ball, so no pickings there; the home side also showed enough enterprise around the field, and impressed whenever they set off on a driving maul, to suggest they will surely acquire some points and start to move up the table.

But this day belonged to the league leaders. Gregg had opened early with a penalty but on seven minutes Broughton more than wiped out the advantage. The score originated from a home scrum which the Scots pack sent backwards, releasing quick ball to the right. Paul Boulard juggled as he adjusted to take the pass and give it on to Broughton; perhaps his fumble wrong-footed the cover – at any rate it wasn’t where it should have been, and the young winger crossed the line and ran round to give Williams the easiest of kicks.

But that was the visitors only score of the half. Gregg got OAs back to within a point, Vines capped a superb break down the right by being held up over the line, when he might have looked to release the ball to support runners, and Broughton took looked likely to score when the cover reported for duty and bundled him into touch in the nick of time.

Josh Heke made a brief appearance at Scrum half while Ray Williams – in for the injured Darryn Bruce and unavailable Jamie Whelan – came off for a bandage-wrap round a cut eyebrow, and Gregg missed chances either side of the interval to kick the home side into the lead.

For the second half the visitors had the better of the wind as it continued from the south east. Whereas in the first half the home side had sought relief by kicking long and playing in the Scots half, for their part the Scots had only occasional need of this recourse in the second.  For with a pack on the front foot and a back line now showing the paying public the sort of quick handling skills that so often get left on the training pitch, territory and possession were comfortably secured.

The points flowed eventually, but not without the odd stumble. The first score was a Williams’s penalty slotted from the 22. But the catalyst for the next try was the departure for ten minutes of hooker and skipper Botterman, who was adjudged to have blocked a run by David Box, who had replaced Jim Kelly.

Peel kicked the penalty to touch and the pack set themselves for a catch and drive move; repulsed, they moved the ball out, and Peel found Greenslade-Jones coming in at an angle. As had Boulard previously, the centre took two stabs at the ball, but secured it and crossed to leave Williams another unmissable kick. Now it was the Scots turn to offend the referee, and David Ramsey joined Botterman on the sidelines after pulling down a driving maul.

It was the Scots’ own fault, conceding possession way upfield and being taken by surprise as the OAs broke quickly and deep. Ramsey prevented a certain score as the home pack for once got to show their driving skills in the danger zone. Respite was temporary and Ramsey’s sacrifice was pointless: without him, the Scots pack went backwards in the face of the home side’s catch and drive from the resulting lineout, and flanker Andy Monighan got the touch down.

For a while, then, it was the Scots who had the numerical disadvantage as Botterman returned well before Ramsey. Better sides would have punished the Scots further, but they were quickly back on the attack, and Peel made a decisive break, first trying to go alone and being caught by the last man, but from the breakdown, getting away again to feed Broughton out wide. Williams made it four from four with the boot.

With ten minutes to go, the home side were just about in touch but not for much longer. Kelly returned to replace Melvyn Lewis, and the pack stepped up the pace. Good ball set Peel off on another run, and this time Boulard was the beneficiary as the midfield defence disappeared, and in overtime, Peel was twice the beneficiary of similar gaps, crossing twice for due reward for a fine attacking game, and giving Williams the angles for a perfect 100% kicking display.

Portsmouth 18 (Tries: Stuart 2. Con: Styles. Pens: Styles 2).  

Bishop’s Stortford 39 (Tries: Harris 2, Hale, Coleman, Colenso, Seeto. Cons: Coleman 3. Pen: Coleman.).

Bishop Stortford picked up their first win of the season after suffering two home defeats in the opening weeks of the season.

Three tries in 11 minutes saw the visitors got 17-3 ahead but a try from centre Stuart reduced the arrears before Coleman put over a penalty goal just before the hour mark to make it 20-8.

Early in the second half Portsmouth came right back into it and with Stuart getting a second try and  Styles converting and putting over a penalty goal it was all to play for with time running out.

The visitors though had other ideas and with three tries took the game with Winger Nick Harris completing a double as Bishop Stortford finished the afternoon with a six try haul.

Richmond 17 (Tries: Steyl, Roache, Penalty try. Con: Goatley.  

Worthing 20 (Tries: Taylor 2. Cons: Coulson 2. Pens: Coulson 2.).

Report courtesy of Worthing.

Chairman of Rugby Dick Mowbray had asked the members at Roundstone Lane for their support in the tough away fixture at the Athletic Ground Richmond for last Saturday. That support was much in evidence on the day and was a big factor in Worthing's victory over their famous hosts for the third time out of 3 visits to the ground that Richmond share with fellow London 1 hopefuls London Scottish, and where Worthing have lost only once in 6 visits against both of these former Premiership sides.
Worthing were once again on the wrong end of both the penalty count and the referee's yellow cards, and discipline will need to be much improved in the coming matches if a realistic title challenge is to be achieved. However the fact of beating Richmond while spending 7 minutes of the second half with only 13 men on the pitch cannot be under-estimated, and the concession of only 5 points during that period is testimony to the grittiness of the side and shows the potential for a great season when the "shake-down" is complete.
Last Wednesday saw the arrival of No 8 Anthony Pearse who was a club colleague of scrum half Todd Murphy. They are both Kiwis, but have been playing for Queensland Juniors, and with Anthony's arrival, Worthing recruitment plans are complete. A busy summer has seen new faces arrive at front row, lock, back row and a liberal sprinkling of half backs and three quarters. There will be a chance for all new players to be seen with their backgrounds on the Club web-site in the very near future. Meanwhile I am sure everybody at the Rugby Park will do all in their powers to make the new guys feel welcome. A presentation will also be made by Richard Amey of The Worthing Herald, watch press for details.
On a warm, sunny day in West London, Worthing were on the score sheet almost straight from the Richmond kick off, as sloppy play by the home side gave away 2 quick penalties. From the second of these, the visitors kick to touch led to a drive which gained 20 metres before a launch of phase play led to a break through by equal top league try scorer Duncan Taylor to touch down. Ben Coulson was on target with the extras to make it 0-7.
From the re-start an unforced error by the visitors allowed Richmond to apply pressure and the inevitable penalty was forced to the comer. The drive from the line-out however was forcefully dealt with by the Worthing pack and a subsequent break out by Jamie Stewart-McDonald led to 2 virtually identical penalties just inside the home side's half. Ben Coulson was unsuccessful with the first of these but the second was on target to give a 10 point buffer. 0-10. Almost immediately Richmond were given a chance to strike back when the visitors were penalised for failing to rollaway after the tackle. The chance was missed however, and shortly after a great line out take by Charlie McGowan led to a furious Worthing onslaught which Richmond were happy to snuff out with a penalty give away. Again Coulson was on target 0-13.
The visitors were by now on top and this was demonstrated by an outrageous dummy from hooker Sean Bennett which allowed him a clear path up the right hand side where a further break by No. 9 Todd Murphy, who was outstanding all afternoon, led to Taylor again going over near the posts for Coulson to make it the full 7 pointer. 0-20. This was to prove to be the half time score.