Bell strikes late to deny Trailfinders famous win

LONDON Irish narrowly held onto their unbeaten run after being pushed to their limits by an Ealing Trailfinders side who were determined to impress in front of their biggest crowd of the season.

Both teams played a full part in an absorbing contest that swung from end to end and which was only settled by Tommy Bell’s late penalty after it has appeared that the home side had pinched a famous win after Phil Chesters scored his second try of the day.

“We knew we were in for a tough time today and so we put our best side out,” London Irish captain Daniel Paice said. “They put their best side out and we knew it was likely to be our toughest match of the season.

“We knew that this would be a hugely tough test and we were lucky to get away with the win at the end and the result could have gone either way.”

Ealing didn’t hang around and after Aled Jenkins’ break had been backed up by Mark Bright and Kieran Murphy, Chesters touched down in the corner.

Bell responded with the first of his three penalties, before James Marshall rounded off a move that had been set up by Brendan McKibbin looping off Fergus Mulchrone.

Neither side was able to break through the defensive lines, though it wasn’t for lack of effort. Ealing fullback Will Harries was hauled down short and Bright then made a vital tackle on Mulchrone as the centre threatened to round off the half with a try.

Penberthy started the second half scoring with a penalty, but after Topsy Ojo rolled back the years to score with a sharp line off Marshall’s inside pass it appeared that the Exiles were set to run away with the result.

The hosts kept their heads high and Llewelyn Jones wiggled over to bring them back into contention before Bell’s right boot stretched the lead to five.

Jenkins fleet footedness set Chesters up for his second, but Bell struck for a final time with less than 10 minutes remaining and while Ealing gave it one last crack on the counterattack, Irish’s defence stood firm.

“I couldn’t have asked for more efforts form the players,” Ealing director of rugby Ben Ward said. “We wanted to play with ambition and intensity and we did that for 80 minutes. Ultimately we are on a learning curve and they were just that more clinical than us.”