Wharfedale 29 Ealing 53: Wharfedale given clinical lesson in finishing by the leaders

On a day made more for the beach, Ealing certainly made hay while the sun shone in the Yorkshire Dales, treating the large approving crowd to an eight-try master class in the art of clinical finishing.

Wharfedale, who have found getting over the try-line a problem all season, eventually scored four of their own but these were almost incidental to the contest.

Any faint chance that the Trailfinders would lose their bearing on their first real trek north was dispelled within the opening 15 minutes by which time they had opened a 17-10 lead.

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There were tries by, inevitably, Phil Chesters, collecting a precision kick from full-back Pete Hodgkinson, and fellow winger Owen Bruynseels with Neil Hallett adding a penalty to his pair of conversions.

Despite an answering try by Simon Horsfall for the Greens, converted by Barrett, who added a penalty, Ealing continued to dominate the scoring if not the actual play.

Wharfedale enjoyed long periods of concerted pressure near the visitors’ line – only for Ealing to escape and score in an instant.

It was very much a case of a side who could score lethally against one who could not finish off promising attacking moves.

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The visitors racked up further tries by centre Rory Damant and a second for Bruynseels to secure a bonus-point 31-10 lead at the break.

Chesters collected yet another precision kick from Hallett to extend the advantage and hooker Dinos Alexopoulos made it six on the hour.

Wharfedale were at last rewarded for their combative and constructive general play with tries from replacements Mark Tampin and Will Bell as well as a late penalty try which secured a consolation bonus point.

But Bruynseels’s hat-trick try and a final one from Damant after a close-in drive hoisted the half-century of points for the visitors to crown a fine attacking display from a side who gave ample proof of why they now head the table and are the only unbeaten side in the division with 37 points from six games.