Ealing Trailfinders 1871 2nds bowed out of the MMT Cup in a narrow defeat by Rosslyn Park 4^th XV, who sit top of the MMT Premier Division, a league above them. The street-wise visitors to Vallis Way edged home with 5 tries and 3 conversions to 4 tries, 3 conversions and a penalty on a chilly late October day.

Ealing drew first blood with a straightforward penalty by captain Harrison Slater after a chase of a downfield kick and jackal forced a Rosslyn Park to hold on illegally. Rosslyn Park responded immediately by gaining possession deep in Ealing territory from the restart and finishing in the corner. The difficult conversion attempt from out wide was successful, and would prove to be the difference between the two sides when the 80 minutes were completed. Ealing scrum half Yassin Saheb suffered a back injury in trying to prevent the try and was replaced by debutant Aidan Summmerfield, who had started on the left wing, with Sevanaia Laqeretabua coming on as a replacement and flanker Carlos Duarte moving to the wing. Park doubled their score on 14 minutes with powerful forward play, but 1871 hauled themselves back into contention with a trademark short-range effort by Tim Hitchcock, converted by Slater, and took a narrow 15-14 lead with a try by second row John Borland in the right-hand corner, set up by storming runs from Sevanaia Laqeretabua and Hitchcock. Ealing held the lead for 8 minutes before Rosslyn Park forced their way over in the left-hand corner to make the interval score 19-15.

The close contest, with the Ealing set piece looking strong, continued in the second period, but Park stretched their lead to 26-14 with an interception. A powerful run to the line direct from a line out by Sevanaia Laqeretabua with the conversion reduced the gap to 4 points with 27 minutes remaining, but the visitors were rewarded for a period of intense forward pressure with a try in the left corner. With 4 minutes left on the clock Ealing seized on loose Park line-out ball, and Hitchcock found a hole in the defence for his second score of the day. With just 2 points separating the sides a late penalty or try would have snatched victory, but Park saw out the remaining time to capture the semi-final spot.

Joint man of the match were Hitchcock and fellow prop Pat Nash.