Ealing Trailfinders proved why they are the favourites for the Championship title in grinding out another win on Bedford Blues’ home patch on a brutal afternoon of rugby at Goldington Road.
The 25-17 final score left the Blues empty handed from an encounter which was dominated by the remnants of Storm Darragh and left the home crowd not just frozen, but looking upwards to the summit of the division.
Will Maisey opened the scoring with a penalty after three minutes, kicking over the posts with no fans behind them, as that quarter of the ground – aptly named ‘The Tree End’ pre-match – was closed due to safety concerns.
Opposite number, Dan Jones responded in kind to level the scores, but Bedford were soon back in front thanks to a smart lineout move involving new signing, John Stewart and stalwart, Michael Le Bourgeois.
It was ‘Magic’ Matt Worley, returning from international duty with Hong Kong, who finished it off in an excellent start to a game involving two of the division’s form teams.
Ealing responded on 22 minutes; back-to-back penalties too much for a resilient Blues defence to contain as Matt Cornish crashed over from the rolling maul, but with the conversion missed, Bedford still led 10-8.
Once again, the Blues hit back immediately, Alfie Garside using the slippery conditions to his advantage to slide in the home side’s second try on the left wing and when Maisey slotted in a top conversion, the Blues had a nine point advantage.
The final ten minutes of the first half were played almost exclusively deep in Bedford territory but the sturdy defence that have allowed Mike Rayer’s side to fashion five league victories this season stood firm in keeping them out to take a 17-8 lead into the interval.
Ealing pull through
The wind had played a big part in the first forty minutes, and now Ealing had it behind them.
The opening moments of the second half were punctuated by injuries for Lefty Zigiriadis and Blues captain, Alex Day, the latter going off injured, replaced by former Bedford School student, Jonny Weimann, before Ealing set about the try line once more.
Another Jones penalty reduced the deficit to six points for the visitors, but with an hour on the clock, the Blues still led 17-11, although the fans were growing increasingly frustrated at the kicking tactic the home side were implementing against the wind.
The Blues’ task was not made easier by a sin-bin for Bedford full back, Louis James yet still, Ealing could not break through, their biggest opportunity coming and going thanks to a wayward final pass to Tom Collins with the try line at his mercy as Bedford Blues battled on.
It wasn’t long before Ealing did make their second half breakthrough, and in the worst possible way, as referee Craig Maxwell-Keys awarded Ealing a penalty try with the added punishment of another yellow card for Bedford’s number eight, Fred Tuilagi.
It gave the visitors the advantage for the first time in the game, and despite only leading by a single point, not many at Goldington Road were confident of a comeback with windy conditions worsening all around.
The Blues did have a sniff thanks to an Ealing knock on, but in opting to kick it, Bedford gave up ground again and when Ealing scored their third try courtesy of another Cornish score, the encounter was over.
With the final score at 25-17 to Ealing, Bedford also missed out on a losing bonus point and came away empty handed in what was an unforgiving game of rugby union.
Coventry still top
With Storm Darragh pummelling most of the nation, high scoring rugby games were difficult to come by, with one game – Chinnor vs Doncaster – abandoned due to a power cut at Kingsey Road with the Championship new boys 18-13 ahead.
Coventry still lead the Championship by two points over Ealing thanks to a dramatic 14-13 victory against Hartpury while Ampthill gained a much-needed scalp with another one-point win; 15-14 at London Scottish.
Nottingham were by far the weekend’s most comfortable victors with a 43-10 triumph over Cambridge while the Cornish Pirates revival continued with a 22-3 triumph at Caldy.
Bedford Blues are still in third but seven points behind Ealing and will need to beat one of the top two in 2025’s reverse fixtures if they are to trouble the title race.
Mike Rayer’s side are back in action next Sunday (15 November) as they travel to the Richmond Athletic Ground to face London Scottish before games against Chinnor and Cambridge complete the calendar year.
