Seven tries, six conversions and a penalty were just reward for an outstanding display by Ealing Trailfinders 1871 in unrelenting rain, securing a bonus-point win and the sixth success out of seven games so far in Counties 1 Middlesex and leaving them tucked in just one point behind leaders Finchley in the table.

The heavens opened just before kickoff, and 1871 accordingly relied on forward power to dominate their opponents in the early exchanges. After the visitors had shown some intent in the first few minutes, the Ealing line-out clicked with accurate throwing by Tim Hitchcock and a succession of clean catches, notably by flanker Gereint Price. The ascendancy gained finally yielded a first try after 12 minutes, when a catch and drive from 30 metres out, with extra numbers thrown in to maintain the impetus, was finished by prop Pat Nash. Harry Vilder converted well from the right-hand touchline. Flanker Seve Laqeretabua collected the restart kick and carried powerfully, the ball was worked left, Price kicked ahead and was up to recycle from the breakdown after a break by Ben Thompson close to the visitors’ try line, and the in-form Leo Codrington-Lambert wrong-footed the Streetonians defence to finish close to the posts. A third try followed around the quarter mark, again from a catch-and-drive, with Hitchcock touching down. The visitors enjoyed a good spell and tested the Ealing defence, and the fourth try and bonus point did not arrive until the last move of the first half. Ealing stole a lineout in their own half, Codrington-Lambert carried once again, Vidler hoisted a towering kick downfield, Toby Holt, playing on this occasion at centre, was up quickly to tackle the catcher, the ball was quickly worked left and Vidler was on hand to finish off the move.

Having secured the extra point for a fourth try, 1871 opted to kick three points to move into a 29-0 lead early in the second period. A fifth try soon followed from second-phase ball, centre George Emmerson benefiting from a quick pass from scrum half Nick Dawes and breaking a tackle before accelerating away to the posts. Despite any chance of victory having lone gone, Old Streetonians, much improved from last season, enjoyed a second spell of pressure and eventually forced their way over after a sustained attack. With the rain still lashing down there was no further score for 20 minutes until Nash scored his second of the day in near-identical fashion to the first, and the half-century was reached with a converted try by ‘hybrid’ centre Toby Holt, finding gap between two would-be tacklers.

Tenzing man of the match was Holt, who after the whistle identified powerful mauls as a key factor in the win. Coach Phil Smith was impressed by the well-organised lineout and maul and strong defensive sets. A pleasing feature was the ease with which back-rows Holt, Thompson and Carlos Duarte filled in along the three-quarter line with regulars missing through illness and injury. On 29th November, 1871 make the short trip to Acton to take on Wasps Amateurs, with an away trip to Hampstead to follow before the second round of fixtures begins in December.