A nerveless conversion by Harry Vidler with 5 minutes remaining saw Ealing Trailfinders 1871 through to a narrow victory in their first ever game at Level 7 following promotion to Counties 1 Herts & Middlesex. Victory over Cheshunt was doubly sweet after losses home and away against the same opposition proved fatal to 1871’s promotion challenge two seasons ago.

Following an excellent pre-season of training and friendlies, Ealing 1871, under the direction of new coach Phil Smith, gave league debuts to centre Keir Gordon, scrum half Richard Rhydderch-Roberts, prop Akeem Eubank-Anderson and flanker Ben Thompson, as well as welcoming back Luke Parry after a year away. All five proved crucial in a game that swung back and forth and could have gone either way. Outstanding defence coupled with physicality up front against a big and experienced Cheshunt pack were notable plus points in seeing off a team who finished at the upper end of the league last season.

Playing on the newly-laid stadium pitch, Ealing achieved parity in the opening exchanges and put points on the board with a penalty by fly half Harry Vidler after 4 minutes. Cheshunt enjoyed slight territorial advantage, but a couple of line-out steals helped keep them at bay. However, with 14 minutes on the clock the visitors moved into the lead with a try from a well-executed driving maul. The conversion attempt from mid-way out failed. Just 4 minutes later Cheshunt doubled their score with a clean line-out catch and another driving maul, again without adding the extras, this time from close to the touch-line. Undaunted by these setbacks, Ealing started to build momentum but were frustrated by errors in fielding long kicks. With 25 minutes gone the Ealing forwards pounded the visitors’ line and came close through prop Leo Codrington-Lambert. The referee awarded a penalty which narrowly missed, but 6 minutes later Vidler landed a more difficult penalty from 40 metres, to reduce the deficit to 10-6. Tigerish defence ensured that Cheshunt were unable to convert pressure into points for the rest of the first half.

Ealing took the game to the opposition as the second half began and, after another penalty miss, were rewarded for their efforts after 48 minutes. No 8 Will Day took a pass at pace, made hard yards and set up an attacking position close to the try line. After a couple of snipes, Rhydderch-Roberts feigned to pick up himself but left the ball to Codrington-Lambert, who was driven over the line. The conversion attempt from close to the touch-line missed, leaving 1871 a point to the good at 11-10. With a quarter of the game to go Cheshunt mounted a sustained attack, winning two successive penalties, the second of which was taken short with the forwards squeezing over close to the posts, the conversion leaving them 17-11 ahead. As the clock ran down, outstanding tackling by the Ealing back line forced the visitors into conceding a succession of penalties. Vidler kicked one such penalty to the right-hand touch line, and Day won clean ball in the middle of the lineout. The forwards started a drive, and reinforcements from the back line were thrown in to maintain the momentum with 12 players eventually involved in getting the ball on the line, where Rhydderch-Roberts touched down. Vidler nailed the conversion from half-way out to snatch an 18-17 lead. Ealing then showed good organisation and resolve to see out the remaining few minutes, until the final whistle was blown to the delight of the sizeable home crowd.

Captain Lewis Steadman was happy with the performance, but urged his team to keep their feet on the ground with more tough games to follow in top-four finishers Finchley and Chiswick among others. Coach Phil Smith was pleased with the effort and intensity shown, and noted the discipline reflected in a relatively low penalty count. Man of the match was Leo Codrington-Lambert, in an outstanding front row with Luke Parry and Akeem Eubank-Anderson, with honourable mentions for Keir Gordon and Parry.

Ealing 1871 have another home game on 14 September against Finchley, who finished behind only London Scottish and Old Streetonians last season.