Caldy made it two wins on the spin while Ampthill also claimed a precious victory on a big day at the bottom of the Championship.

At the other end, leaders Ealing Trailfinders were big winners over Cornish Pirates while Bedford Blues climbed into second following a last-gasp victory over Coventry.

Roma Zheng’s hat-trick led London Scottish past Hartpury and Nottingham overcame Doncaster Knights in a clash which saw twin brothers each cross for opposing sides.

Caldy win basement battle

Caldy climbed off the bottom of the Championship with a 41-27 win at Cambridge.

Ben Brownlie crossed within a minute for the hosts but Lewis Barker responded in kind to set the tone for a closely-fought first half which ended 19-15 in the visitors’ favour, Ollie Wynn crossing to cancel out Pete White’s earlier score.

Caldy stretched their lead by crossing in the corner just two minutes into the second half and, despite Brownlie’s second and one for Matt Hema, the visitors retained their advantage and Will Robinson dotted down a decisive score with 10 minutes remaining.

The visitors added one more to their tally before time was up to put the seal on their third win of the season.

Ampthill earn vital victory

Ampthill moved to within four points of hosts Chinnor courtesy of a vital 32-19 success in another battle between two sides at the wrong end of the table.

The bulk of the damage was done in the first half, which saw the visitors establish a 24-7 lead courtesy of a penalty try and two interception scores, Rory Morgan and Sione Va'enuku the grateful recipients after Chinnor’s Thomas Watson had crossed for the game’s first try.

Scores from George Warboys and George Stokes reduced the deficit to five points early in the second half and forced Ampthill to dig deep.

The away side did just that and stretched their lead in the dying minutes thanks to Josh Barton’s penalty and Mason Cullen’s try, scored when he latched on to Morgan’s box kick.

Fish settles thriller in Blues’ favour

A late James Fish try sealed a dramatic 27-23 victory for Bedford Blues over Coventry which saw the hosts leapfrog their visitors into second.

Coventry made the perfect start at a busy Goldington Road, going ahead when Charlie Robson gathered the kick-off and flew over inside the opening 30 seconds.

Bedford hit back through Tommy Herman’s try and Will Maisey’s penalty, giving them a narrow 8-7 lead at the break which was wiped out when Ryan Hutler crossed seven minutes into the second half.

A penalty try and one for Dean Adamson either side of two Tommy Matthews penalties left the score locked at 20-20 heading into the closing stages, with Matthews’ boot then nudging Coventry in front.

But there was still time for a late twist and it came courtesy of Fish, who found himself under a mass of bodies and dotted down to settle a thrilling contest.

Blues back-rower Joe Howard said: “We didn’t make it easy for ourselves. Them scoring in the first minute was a bit of a punch in the face to wake us up but our prep this week was brilliant.

“We played really well, we played in the right areas and we were rewarded. It’s an amazing night and a great result.”

Trailfinders on top form

Leaders Ealing Trailfinders ran in 12 tries, all of which were converted, in a convincing 84-29 win over Cornish Pirates in West London.

Will Montgomery led the way with a first-half hat-trick, while Ben Harris and Bobby de Wee chipped in with two apiece.

Jordy Reid, Tobi Wilson, George Davis, David Douglas Bridge and Lloyd Williams also crossed as Trailfinders flexed their muscle on their own turf.

Pirates showed plenty of attacking threat themselves and left with a try bonus point. Hugh Bokenham and Harry Hocking crossed in the first half with Iwan Jenkins, Matt Pritchard and Ollie Andrews adding their names to the scoresheet after the break.

Scottish sizzle in home win

London Scottish marked Burns Night in fitting fashion as Roma Zheng’s hat-trick inspired a 39-14 success over Hartpury.

An action-packed opening 10 minutes saw Aristot Benz-Salomon’s early score for Hartpury swiftly responded to by Zheng and then Jonah Holmes, who opened his Scottish account to put them in front.

Zheng’s second and a Zach Carr try, either side of Ethan Hunt going over down the left wing, ensured the hosts took a 22-14 lead into the break and they kicked on thereafter.

Winger Zheng completed his treble in style on 47 minutes and Carr soon added a second before Alec Lloyd-Seed’s penalty completed the scoring.

Nottingham too strong for Knights

A strong second half display led Nottingham Rugby to a 43-18 victory over Doncaster Knights.

Both sides were quick to show their attacking threat on a windy Friday night, Sebastian Ferreira crossing for the hosts inside three minutes before Jordan Olowofela latched on to Telusa Veainu’s grubber to get Knights on the board five minutes later.

Matthew Arden responded with a kicked assist of his own, David Williams the beneficiary, but Doncaster were again quick to hit back as Ben Murphy dotted down.

Nottingham scored the final try of an even first half when Ryan Olowofela stepped past his twin brother Jordan en route to the line, with Morgan Bunting’s penalty reducing the deficit to 19-15 at the break.

Bunting repeated the trick early in the second period but Nottingham soon began to pull clear as Williams crossed for his second before Kegan Christian-Goss made it 31-18.

Jack Stapley and Jacob Wright went over in the final six minutes to complete an impressive evening’s work for Nottingham.