Champ Rugby: Round 2 – Ealing Trailfinders Continue Dominant Start

Nottingham travelled to London and came away with an impressive win after beating Doncaster Knights. London Scottish, on the other hand, were hunting for their first win in the league. It was the visitors who came away with the win. David Williams scored in the blink of an eye, capitalising on a beautiful chip for Gwyn Parks to give Nottingham an early lead. More tries from Jack Dickinson, Harry Graham, and Will Yarnell gave Nottingham a bonus point victory. A try from Harry Sheppard did put points on the board for the home side, but it wasn’t enough. Nottingham will head home next weekend, welcoming Caldy. London Scottish are still pursuing a victory as they will travel to Cambridge.

Tries: Shepard

Conversion: Honey

Nottingham 26:

Tries: Williams, Dickinson, Graham, Yarnell

Conversions: Parks 3

Hartpury welcomed Worcester Warriors as both teams were looking to notch up another win. It was a close encounter where every point mattered. Four Worcester tries were not enough, as Harry Bazalgette were accurate from the tee. Ollie Holiday for Hartpury and Roma Zheng for Worcester crossed the line to make it close at the break. As the contest progressed, tries from Alex Morgan and Louie Trevett gave Hartpury a considerable victory. Next up, Hartpury will take on Bedford as they look to keep these winning ways going. At the same time, Worcester will be looking to bounce back as they face Ampthill next Friday.

Tries: Holiday, Morgan, Trevett

Conversions: Bazalgette 2

Tries: Zheng 2, Ll Williams, Cuckson

Conversions: Reed

After a disappointing defeat to Nottingham in the opening weekend, Doncaster looked to respond in a big way. They did that as Cambridge travelled to Castle Park. The visitors took an early lead as Dylan Irvine went over the line, along with a conversion and a penalty. Telusa Veainu’s try answered back for the Knights, and Ben Murphy gave his side the lead on the brink of halftime. The second half is where Doncaster kicked it into another gear, with tries from Ollie Fox, Rhys Tait, and Zach Kerr sealing off an impressive victory. With Cambridge only points of the half coming from Eparama Rokodrava. Doncaster will take on the Cornish Pirates next, and Cambridge will be back in front of their home crowd, taking on London Scottish.

Tries: Veainu, Murphy, Fox, Tait, Kerr 2

Conversions: Bennett 6

Tries: Irvine, Rokodrava

Conversions: Caven

Ampthill welcomed the Cornish Pirates, full of confidence of a bonus point victory, last time out. The Pirates scored very quickly in the contest with a try from Dan Hiscocks. Josh Barton broke through the defensive line to set up Noah Caluori for his first try of the contest. Arthur Reston gave the Pirates the lead, but Seb Smith levelled up both the break. As the second half began, tries from Oscar Wilson and Josh King meant the game was all level. It was a moment of magic from Fraser Strachan as his sweeping cross-field kick met Caluori in stride for the decisive try for the home side. Ampthill will take on Worcester next time out. Cornish Pirates will take on Doncaster.

Tries: Caluori 2, Smith, Wilson

Conversions: Grimoldby 3

Tries: Hiscocks, Relton, King

Conversions: Robson 3

Coventry got their bounce back win after a defeat at Sixways. They edged the Bedford Blues in a close encounter. The first score came from Tom Bacon to give Coventry the lead. Tries from Nicholas Finch and Oisin Heffernan for the Blues, and a try for Peter Sullivan meant it was tight going into halftime. Coventry had to deal with an early 20-minute red card, but that did not stop Morgan Strong and Josh Thomas from getting tries to help their side get a well-earned victory. Strong had a phenomenal game, earning the player of the match award. Coventry will be looking for a second victory against Chinnor next time out, and Bedford will face Hartpury.

Tries: Bacon, Sullivan, Strong, Thomas

Conversions: Thomas 3

Tries: Heffernan, Finch, Adamson, Ward

Conversions: Maisey 2

It was another dominant display from Ealing on the weekend. An abundance of tries were scored as they looked like a true force in the competition. Conor Oliver went over the line not long after the whistle in the game. Tries from Tom Collins, Craig Hampson, Scott Buckley, and Kyle Hatherell. The second half followed a similar pattern, with Callum Pascoe producing Chinnor’s only score. Ealing will travel to Richmond next week, and Chinnor will face Coventry.

Tries: Oliver, Collins, Hampson, Buckley 2, Hatherell, Bailey, Montgomery, Shaw

Conversions: D Jones 4. R Scannell

Tries: Pascoe

Conversions: Smith

It was a thrilling contest between Caldy and Richmond on the weekend. Matt Gallagher gave his side the first points of the game. Richmond showed their fight, striking back with tries from Alex Schwarz and George Nugent. A driving maul gave Gallagher his second and Caldy the lead at halftime. Gallagher got his hat-trick in the second half and extended the advantage, before Paddy Case brought Richmond back into the game. Caldy held out to take the victory with a try from Oli Hearn. Caldy will journey to Nottingham on Friday night, and Richmond will have the challenging task of taking on Ealing.

Tries: Gallagher 3, Sanders, Hearn

Conversions: Wilkinson

Tries: Schwarz, Nugent, Case

Conversions: Grieve 3

Another chapter of fierce contests is written in the Champ, and the horizon promises even greater clashes to come.