A bonus-point win over a Chiswick team harbouring promotion hopes, who had beaten league leaders Finchley a few weeks previously, together with a hard-fought but deserved win away to another highly placed side in Hampstead a week ago, leave Ealing Trailfinders 12 points clear of the teams immediately below them in Counties 1 Middlesex and just 2 points behind league leader Finchley.

With no fewer than 14 players out injured, Ealing still managed to put out a strong team, and it is testament to the club’s strength in depth that despite call-ups the 2^nd XV have reached the mid-season break having not dropped a single league point. The return from university of Alex Le Bouedec at full back enabled Josh Steadman to move to centre alongside brother Lewis, with Pat Yeates coming in the wing. As a result, the versatile back-rows Toby Holt and Carlos Duarte were able to return to their accustomed positions after successfully occupying berths in the back line in recent weeks.

Ambitious Chiswick, much improved from last season, attacked from the kick-off and fashioned a short-range try through their forwards just three minutes into the game. The conversion was good. Undeterred by this early setback, Ealing took play deep into Chiswick territory with a break from deep and forced a penalty, from which clean line-out possession and a series of pick-and-goes threatened to produce an equalising score. Ealing conceded a penalty for not releasing, but a wayward kick to touch was collected by Holt, Josh Steadman broke through the defence with a turn of speed, fly half Harry Vidler threw the ball out wide to Yeates, and a neat inside pass produced a try for Lewis Steadman. The conversion was missed, leaving Ealing 7-5 down, until after 12 minutes Yeates turned from provider to scorer. Chiswick paid the price for again failing to find touch with a penalty awarded close to their try line, and Yeates collected on the right wing and then popped up on the opposite side to take a scoring pass from a burst by Josh Steadman. The conversion attempt narrowly missed. Flowing rugby was then notable for its absence for several minutes with a plethora of penalties to either side in a game that produced 32 penalties and four second-half yellow cards. Ealing eventually opened up a two-score lead for the first time five minutes before the break, with the irrepressible Josh Steadman taking a short pass and gliding in from 30 metres after the home side had once again failed to find touch with a penalty kick. The conversion left 1871 with a comfortable but far from unassailable lead of 17-7 at half-time.

Ealing continued to dominate in the early exchanges of the second period but were frustrated by conceding penalties at key moments, and went down to 14 men with a yellow to scrum half Nick Dawes, soon afterwards conceding a try under the posts, although numbers were back to parity when the home side received a yellow of their own for a high tackle close to their own try line after sniping runs by Josh Steadman. Ealing drove from a dominant scrum, and second-row Reggie Elliot-Jones eventually found a gap in the defence to dive over for a 24-14 lead with the conversion. Ealing returned to the attack but were penalised at a ruck. However, a Chiswick player came in with an illegal clear-out after the whistle had gone, resulting in a reversal of the decision and a yellow card. Further Ealing frustration followed with penalty catch-and-drives failing to produce the intended scores, and the game was drifting to a conclusion when Chiswick ensured a nail-biting finish with a try from a strong run down the right-hand touch line, converted to leave the score delicately poised at 24-21. Rather than seeing out the game in the Chiswick half, 1871 conceded a penalty from the restart and found themselves on the back foot, and gave away a penalty on the right-hand touch line on the 22 metre line. A successful kick for the posts would have brought a 24-24 draw, but to the relief of the Ealing players and supporters the home side opted to kick for touch and then knocked on in the last passage of play.

Coach Phil Smith was delighted with the overall performance against dangerous opponents and the dominant set scrum and line-out, as well as the constant danger posed by Josh Steadman with ball in hand. With special mentions for Holt and Duarte in the back row, joint man of the match went to Yeates and prop Tim Hitchcock.

After a deserved Christmas break, 1871 return to action with a crucial home game on 10th January against Finchley, the only side to have beaten them in a successful first half of the season.