Trailfinders prove they’re proper play-off contenders

Still with a man advantage, the Blues drew level after the restart when Elliot Clements-Hill finished an excellent move that involved Jordan Onojaife, Will CarrickSmith and Packman.

But Penberthy restored Ealing’s lead with another penalty with 12 minutes left before they were then gifted a killer try when O’Conor’s pass went loose and Miles Mantella had a free run to the line.

There was still time for Penberthy to kick his last penalty to emphasise the control Ealing exerted over the final knockings.

Bedford No.8 Jason Hill said: “We went in at half-time after playing uphill and being within a score and obviously getting our tails up, but it was just a different team that came out in the second half and that shows in the result.” EALING had to fight hard in picking up their third win in a row, but a strong finish at Bedford – as well as 19 points from Aaron Penberthy’s boot – helped secure a vital result on the road.

The match was on a knife-edge going into the closing stages at 16-16, with Bedford scoring two wonderful tries as they threatened to throw a spanner in the works.

But the Trailfinders eventually showed why they have become contenders for a play-off place by producing their best spell in the match when it really counted.

Head coach Ben Ward said: “I felt a lot of times that we were almost playing the game that they wanted, when we were playing it loose.

“We spoke about playing a bit more structured because we knew it was going to be a bit windy and wet today. We just weren’t executing that in the first 50 minutes of the game, but some of the subs who came on made a really good impact.”

The match was a kicking contest initially, with Penberthy slotting two penalties, either side of a Myles Dorrian effort, to give Ealing a 6-3 lead.

Bedford then scored a tremendous try after half an hour, as Howard Packman gathered a kick down the right wing before passing inside for Piers O’Conor.

Ealing’s response was swift, however, as Mark Bright plunged over near the posts for their first try before Penberthy extended their lead to 16-8 with his third penalty.

Dorrian pulled back three points just before half-time after Aled Jenkins was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on in the shadow of his own posts.