­High-octane 1871 score 9 tries in outstanding win

Facing the league’s meanest defence, who had conceded only 106 points in their previous 14 games, Ealing 1871 turned on the power to overwhelm their opponents, with no let-up from the first whistle to the end of the game.

On the back of well-attended training sessions, Ealing had a look of steely determination and confidence in their game plan as they took to the field, and moved into an early lead when No 8 Nyall Wake stretched over the line to finish from short range after wing Max Muirhead had come close. The conversion was missed in the blustery and bitterly cold conditions, and after centre Luca Townshend had gone off with a hamstring injury just a few minutes into the game to be replaced by Ben Pink, Barnet Elizabethans reduced the deficit with a penalty. An outstanding period of play with powerful direct running and strong tackling by both teams ended when Harrison Slater spotted an opportunity to send a grubber out towards the left wing, where flanker Toby Holt outpaced the visiting defence to touch down. A third try followed just before the half-hour mark through Muirhead, bursting through despairing tackles from clean line-out possession. With the break approaching the four-try bonus point was secured with an interception by wing Stan Duhamel.

There was no drop-off in intensity and energy, with the visitors, who had won their home fixture on a foul day in November, posing little threat. Dominance in the set scrums and in loose play inevitably led to a fifth try, prop Tim Hitchcock scoring with a hallmark bulldozing run from short range. Ealing’s injury count mounted, with Townshend followed off the field by his replacement Pink and second row Alex Miller, and with a quarter of the game still to go 1871 were down to 14 men with Duhamel the latest to be sidelined. Despite the disruption, scrum half Kyle Beck seized possession and dived over on the right wing, followed soon after by Hitchcock’s second try after a run down the left wing by full back Lewis Steadman. Next to score was hooker Chris Joyce, who finished well under the posts following a break by inside centre Josh Steadman, and with 5 minutes left Holt broke a tackle to score his second of the day on the left wing, at the price of a finger in the eye which, with Josh Steadman now also off the field, briefly left his team with only 12 men.

A superb, energetic display by a strong Ealing side, with outstanding performances throughout the 18-man squad against the team sitting one place above them at second in the league, cut the deficit to 8 league points with three matches left. Wasps Amateurs, just one point behind, travel to Barnet on 12 March, while Ealing are away to Thamesians.

Additional photos from Sarah Muirhead HERE.