Ealing Trailfinders are pleased to to reveal that Steven Shingler has been appointed the new Club Captain for the 2022/23 season.

The fly-half has excelled in West London ever since he made the move over to Trailfinders Sports Club.

Steven started his career at home in Wales playing for Llanelli RFC, where he earned his first of 14 caps for Wales U20. In 2011 he signed for London Irish for his first stint in English Rugby. After making 47 appearances there he headed back to Wales with the Scarlets and stayed there for three years, playing 75 times and scoring an impressive 348 points.

In 2016, he headed east of Llanelli to join rivals Cardiff Blues where he scored 205 points in 60 appearances whilst battling with the likes of Gareth Anscombe for the starting shirt.

Having amassed 36 appearances for the Trailfinders since joining in 2019, Steven has become a clear leader within the squad, both in terms of his words and in terms of his actions in training and on the pitch.

After being told about his new role at the club, he said: “It’s a huge privilege to be named Club Captain for the season. Rayn (Smid) has done a fantastic job since I’ve been here and he got up and introduced me in the team meeting and I know he’ll continue to have an impact here. The challenge for me now is carrying on all the great work from Rayn and ensuring that we are successful this year.

“I’m really excited for what we can all achieve. We’ve had a good crop of new boys in and I think we’re probably a stronger squad than we were last year, it’s now just about creating a culture and an environment where we can achieve our aims this season.”

Director of Rugby Ben Ward said: “After listening to input from the players and staff, Shings (Steven Shingler) was the outstanding choice to be our captain for the upcoming season.

“Although he is our Club Captain, we’ve fortunate to have many impressive individuals here who are all leaders in their own way. Because of this, each week we’ll pick a team based purely on merit and we will select a match-day captain based on who we think will be the best choice to lead the lads for that game.”

Watch the moment he was announced in front of the squad and listen to what he had to say about the privilege of being named skipper via our YouTube channel

After almost three months away, Ealing Trailfinders are back in action next week as we travel to Biarritz for an exciting preseason encounter.

The trip to the Basque Country is the first of four friendlies before the Green and Whites begin their Championship title defence at home to Doncaster Knights on Saturday 10th September.

Thursday’s game at the Parc des Sports Aguiléra will be closely followed by a match at the Rock against Rosslyn Park on Saturday 20th August. The bank holiday weekend will be welcomed in by a trip to the Athletic Ground as we face Richmond in an evening kick-off on Friday 26th August. Our final preseason fixture gives us the chance to welcome URC opposition to Trailfinders Sports Club as we host Zebre Parma on Saturday 3rd September (click here to purchase tickets).

About The Opposition:

After Steffon Armitage’s kicking contest heroics in the Top 14 promotion playoff that came at the end of the 2020/21 season, last year’s campaign in the top flight was always going to be tough for Biarritz to match.

Their season started relatively strongly, with wins over Racing 92 and Bordeaux Begles in their first three games. However their opposition soon began to work out their strategy and they were only able to pick up two victories in the following nine league games.

The EPCR Challenge Cup bought some positives to their season, as they defeated Zebre Palma and Toulon in the group stages, before falling to a 39-29 home defeat to Wasps in the Round of 16.

The competitive nature of the Top 14 meant that despite their best efforts, Biarritz were only able to pick up one victory in the second half of the season and therefore they were resigned to the bottom of the table and an immediate return to Pro D2.

There has been a large turnover of players in the Basque Country. Steffon Armitage, James Cronin and Francis Saili are three of the 20 players that have left the club over the off season. However they have recruited well, signing Wallaby Joe Tomane, Georgian international Lasha Tabidze and Welsh 7s player Tyler Morgan. These new players will inject extra quality into an already exciting squad, which features the likes of Australian internationals Tevita Kuridrani and Henry Speight.

What To Expect:

Despite their tough campaign last year, Biarritz are still a strong side who are one of the favourites for an automatic return to the Top 14.

Their stadium, Parc des Sports Aguiléra, should be on the rugby bucket list for every to fan to visit. A passionate and vocal crowd fills their 15,000 seater stadium every Saturday and with the game being just a week before their Pro D2 campaign begins on 26th August they will be looking to put in a strong performance.

Match Details:

Biarritz v Ealing Trailfinders

Date: Thursday 18th August

Kick-off time: 8pm (7pm BST)

Location: Parc des Sports Aguiléra

Tickets: https://bit.ly/3BXSA9Z 

Coverage: Live coverage of the game will be available via our Twitter feed and website

We’re excited to welcome Italian giants Zebre to Trailfinders Sports Club on Saturday 3rd September for our final preseason fixture before we kick-off the 2022/23 Championship season.

The fixture will be a unique occasion and great opportunity to test ourselves against a side who regularly play against the best of European Rugby, including Leinster, Munster and La Rochelle.

Ealing Trailfinders vs Zebre – CLICK HERE to purchase tickets

Saturday 3rd September – Kick-off 3pm – Trailfinders Sports Club

2022/23 Season Tickets:

Click here to purchase a 2022/23 Season Ticket (includes entry to the Zebre match, plus 14 home fixtures).

2022/23 Championship Match Tickets:

Tickets are now on sale for all 22/23 Championship fixtures at Trailfinders Sports Club, including our blockbuster league opener against Doncaster Knights on Saturday 10th September. Click here to book your tickets.

Ealing Trailfinders are pleased to announce the signing of scrum-half Jack Grant from Super Rugby side NSW Waratahs.

The 28-year-old arrives at Trailfinders Sports Club in some of the best form of his career. He featured in nine out of the Waratahs 16 Super Rugby fixtures in 2022, starting four games and making an impact off the bench in the other five.

On his first two starts of the season he helped the Waratahs defeat Western Force in round four and the Melbourne Rebels in round five, before finishing off a superb try in round six against the Queensland Reds.

Jack started his career at the Sydney Rays in the National Rugby Championship before shifting over to local league rivals NSW Country Eagles in 2018. He stayed with the Country Eagles for two seasons, playing in every game during the 2019 season, as they just missed out on the play-offs by a single point. In 2020, Jack left Australia to play for the NTT Red Hurricanes in the Japanese Top League, however his time in Osaka was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year, he returned to New South Wales to play for the Waratahs and after finding his feet during the 2021 Super Rugby AU and Super Rugby Pacific campaigns, he has gone from strength to strength as he helped guide the Waratahs to the play-offs this season.

On discussing his decision to join Ealing Trailfinders, Jack said: “I’m pleased to be joining such an ambitious club with such a clear plan of where we want to get to and achieve this season. I’m looking forward to diving into all the new challenges and cultures and enjoying all these new experiences with a smile on my face.”

Director of Rugby Ben Ward added: “Jack is a player who we have been monitoring for sometime and he really impressed when he stepped up for the Waratahs during this season. His kicking game is very strong and he does the basics very well, while giving us the option of playing the game at a different tempo.

“Jack joins an already strong set of scrum-halves and having this competition for places will only drive standards in training and improve the group as a whole.”