Ealing hold on in face of fierce Exiles fight-back

FIVE tries and a man-ofthe-match display from flanker Andrew Durutalo got Ealing back on track after their first round defeat to London Irish.

In a scrappy affair, Ealing held on against a late Scottish charge to ignite their season with tries by Guy Armtage, Laurence May, Howard Packman, Alun Walker and Rayn Smid.

USA international Durutalo said: “Our focus was just getting the win, getting our season kickstarted after a tough game last week. If we want a shot at the title it’s a good way to build.

“We set ourselves up to be more physical and when we got the chance to link up and break we did.”

Trailfinders started strongly and drew an early penalty for May to get on the board with three points. After the re-start a line-out to Durutalo went crossfield with Armitage smashing his way through two defenders to power over for 8-0.

A poor box-kick by Exiles No.9 Grayson Hart let full-back Pete Lydon pin the Scots back before Durutalo weaved through a gaping hole in the Blues line and past three players before offloading to May to score.

After mutiple phases, Exiles full-back Joe-Luca Smith broke the ambershirted line for the first time and after a one-two with wing Craig Duncan, several quick phases cross-field allowed Charlie Ingall to run in a try in the opposite corner.

That was a mere blip. A break by Ealing wing Howard Packman saw him run in by the posts with ever-present Durutalo in support before Walker got the bonuspoint, nipping in on the blindside from a catchand-drive to make it 22-7.

Scottish hooker and Army star Pete Austin finished a mirror-imaged effort just before the break to give his side hope. But after Ealing’s back row pierced through the Scots defensive line several times, No.8 Smid ducked his way over for the fifth.

Scottish weren’t done though and Ingall finished a team effort in the corner before his chip-and-chase bounced well for Ed Hoadley to earn Exiles their own bonus seconds after coming on.

A quick-tap penalty by Exiles skipper Mark Bright was then finished by Jordan Brodley, but Ealing held on.

Scottish coach Nic Rouse said: “We weren’t clinical enough in the first 20 minutes, we can’t expect to win a game after going 15 points down. We’re delighted with the two bonus points but we we need to look at ourselves before next week.”