Chinnor ran in nine tries to beat Cambridge and make a commanding start to their first-ever Championship campaign.

The second-tier season began on Friday night with impressive wins for Cornish Pirates and Coventry.

Tries were in plentiful supply as Doncaster Knights, Ealing Trailfinders and Bedford all got their campaigns off to the perfect start.

Chinnor outclass Cambridge

Second-tier debutants Chinnor scored four tries in the first half to establish a 28-5 lead and they doubled that score with some scintillating rugby after the break to push past Cambridge 57-24.

There were try doubles for Kieran Goss and Alun Walker while Will Feeney, Izzy Wharton, Connor Slevin and Luke Carter got on the scoresheet, with talismanic skipper Willie Ryan marking his 100th appearance for the club with a win.

Eli Caven notched twice for Cambridge, who had several bright moments, but were left to rue a slow start for their defeat.

Cambridge director of rugby Richie Williams said: "When you concede 14 points in the first ten minutes, you're immediately putting yourselves under pressure and unfortunately a lot of we spoke about during the week, we weren't able to do in that opening quarter.

"Fair play to Chinnor, they've done a lot of what we wanted to do to them. They were really physical defensively. We ended up forcing play. To concede 57 points in our first home game is unacceptable and we've made the players aware of that. We've managed to get something from the game with a point but it's not the start that we wanted."

Pirates plunder Lady Bay

Cornish Pirates emerged with an excellent 24-18 bonus-point victory over Nottingham on opening night.

Long-serving skipper John Stevens crashed over in the fifth minute and centre Matt McNab was rewarded for his persistence, scoring from a charge-down to give Pirates a healthy lead.

The hosts fought back, profiting from the yellow card shown to lock Hugh Bokenham with hooker Harry Clayton scoring his side’s first try of the season, with Matt Arden’s penalty bringing them to within four points in the second half.

But Pirates were always forcing the issue and Bokenham’s try from a driving maul made sure of the victory and the try bonus point, although Jay Ecclesfield crossed in the last minute to earn Nottingham a losing bonus.

Cornish Pirates coach Gavin Cattle said: “Five points away from home against a well-coached Nottingham side was pleasing, as was the attitude and our energy at times in defence for long periods. There were some areas of the game that we will look to tighten up on which is to be expected in such an opener, but it was a good start.”

Nottingham man of the match Ryan Olowofela said: “The back line felt really comfortable out there so it was a little disappointing that we only got a losing bonus point but it just goes that way sometimes. We were a little bit guilty of compounding errors and that’s what let the Pirates into the game.

Knights too good for Ampthill

Jordan Olowofela scored a hat-trick to lead Doncaster to a 45-31 triumph over Ampthill.

The speedster touched down inside the first minute and the Knights surged into a 26-7 first-half lead, with George Roberts, Russ Bennett and Alex Dolly all scoring before the break.

Olowofela chased down Russ Bennett’s kick to score his second on the resumption, with the visitors mounting a riposte in the shape of two close range tries in three minutes.

Ampthill kept it close as they scored tries on 71 and 77 minutes but Olowofela bagged his third and further scores ensured Doncaster made a winning start to the season.

Ealing blaze a trail past Hartpury

A power-packed second-half display lifted Ealing Trailfinders to a commanding 55-21 win over Hartpury.

Trailfinders were 19-0 to the good within 20 minutes but their visitors from the West Country battle back thanks to tries from Mike Austin and Robbie Smith, with the hosts leading 26-21 at the halfway stage.

Trailfinders saw their opportunity when Hartpury’s Harry Short was sin-binned and that sparked a second-half scoring spree, with Reuben Bird-Tulloch, Francis Moore, Craig Hampson, Tobi Wilson and Jordy Reid all crossing the whitewash.

Fast start sees Blues beat Caldy

Bedford scored 31 unanswered points in the first half to form the backbone of a 38-19 victory over Caldy.

The Blues were irresistible in the early stages as two tries from Matt Worley saw them rack up a massive lead by the time the interval arrived.

Caldy hit back through a penalty try as the hosts went down to 13 men, with a crucial score from Michael Le Bourgeois helping maintain Bedford’s superiority.

Coventry upstage Exiles

Debutant Liam Richman kicked 15 points and orchestrated Coventry’s 45-19 win over London Scottish on Friday night.

The West Midlands side surged into a 17-0 half-time lead thanks to two powerful lineout drives, finished off by Tiki Nayalo and Suva Ma’asi.

Australian fly-half Richman was faultless from the tee and replacement scrum-half Will Lane laid on a try for winger Jimmy Martin and then ran in a stunning 60-metre effort of his own.

The Exiles did manage to score when Obi Nkwocha was sin-binned and winger Noah Ferdinand crossed twice in the closing stages to provide some consolation.