In a game of two halves in terms of both weather and quality of rugby, Ealing 1871 to some extent ‘won ugly’ in comparison with the scintillating display of the previous week, for a third consecutive victory and fourth out of five since the start of the league season, leaving them in third place behind pacesetters Brunel University and Finchley.

Regular centre Ryan Conyard felt a twinge during the warm-up, which necessitated a rejig of the backline with Jack Hobbs starting on the wing, Keir Gordon moving from full-back to centre and Josh Steadman occupying the full-back berth. In wet and windy conditions, Ealing took the game to Hackney, and showed early forward dominance in both the set-pieces and the loose, and it came as no surprise when quality possession enabled Lewis Steadman at centre to jink back inside, wrong-foot the defence and finish close to the posts with 7 minutes gone, from where Harry Vidler converted. Ealing continued to dominate up front, but the home team were well organised in defence and tackled well, and it took until after the half-hour mark before 1871 were able to put more points on the board to reflect their superiority. The forwards punched a succession of holes in the Hackney defence and eventually Hobbs popped up on the left wing to finish in the corner. No further scores followed before the break.

A marked change in the weather conditions at half time also brought out more free-flowing play by 1871, again aided by a stream of quality ball from scrum and line-out. As happened a week previously, being starved of possession led to three yellow cards for the opposition born of frustration, and the numerical advantage proved a significant factor over the course of the second period, much of which was played within the Hackney 22 metre area. Seven minutes after the interval Josh Steadman added to his tally with a neat finish on the right wing after sleek handling along the back line with the Canadian referee signalling advantage. The crucial bonus-point fourth try followed 10 minutes later through Keir Gordon, taking a neat short pass from Vidler, who then converted to leave the score at 24-0. The fifth and final 1871 try was scored out wide on the left by Hobbs. Ealing were looking good for a complete shut-out at 29-0, but in the last play Hackney scored on a rare foray into the 1871 half of the field with their No 8 darting through a gap where the Ealing defence was blinded by the position of the referee.

Coach Phil Smith was delighted to see forward dominance turned into five tries, all scored by the backs, and enjoyed the free-running rugby on show particularly in the second half. Man of the match was Aidan Jones, who made several powerful runs and tackled well in a rumbustious display after coming off the bench. A big week of training looms with rivals Brunel University up next at Vallis Way, with kick-off at 5 pm after Ealing Trailfinders’ game against Ampthill.