Ealing shrug off lacklustre first half to come away with bonus-point win

In a  fixture postponed from a week earlier due to the devastation wreaked by Storm Eunice, Ealing 1871 eventually notched four tries to come away with five league points and move up to third table in the Herts & Middlesex League 1 table with four games remaining.

On a bright but breezy day with a hint of spring in the air, Bank of England had the benefit of a slight diagonal wind in the first half and pinned Ealing back for extended periods. Ealing managed to build momentum of their own on a number of occasions but crucially lost ball or were penalised close to the opposition line, and neither side was able to score in the first 25 minutes. With territory and possession evenly shared, it was Bank who finally broke the deadlock shortly after Ealing had lost No 8 Tom Gamage, joining his fellow back-row Will Day on the sidelines. Bank took a short penalty and scored through their forwards. Strong tackling kept Ealing’s back line at bay, and the home side extended their lead with 5 minutes of the first period left to eight points from another penalty. Ealing pressed the Bank try line from the re-start, forcing two successive penalties under the posts. From the second of these, Lewis Steadman fed prop Tim Hitchcock, who forced his way over, giving Harrison Slater an easy conversion.

With the elements favouring them in the second period, 1871 immediately looked more dangerous, and after a narrow miss with a penalty attempt by Slater scored with a fine try created by a defence-splitting run by Josh Steadman and finished by his brother Lewis under the posts for a 14-8 lead. A period of dominance followed, and a powerful 5-metre scrum gave scrum half Kyle Beck the opportunity to pick up at the base and dot down. When awarded another penalty soon afterwards, captain Liam McDonagh opted for 3 points to extend the lead and secure victory rather than aim for a bonus point fourth try, and the decision looked wise when Bank scored in the right-hand cover to leave the score at 22-13 with a quarter of the game left. With 3 minutes left on the clock, the bonus point was finally gained when back row Andrea Costa picked up from the base of a ruck to score from short range.

With this hard-fought victory, 1871 have moved above Wasps and Saracens into third place but in their next game will need to be at their best to overcome a strong Barnet team, currently sitting in second place behind London Scottish Lions.