News - Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club

Team News: Ealing Trailfinders vs Edinburgh ‘A’

Ben Ward has named his side to face Edinburgh ‘A’ in the second pre-season friendly ahead of the regular Elior Champ Rugby season.

Ealing Trailfinders return to home turf for the first time in the 2026/27 season.

Director of Rugby Ben Ward has named a playing squad of twenty-nine to face Edinburgh ‘A’ at Trailfinders Sports Club on Saturday 12 September.

Captaining the men in green this weekend is Irish hooker Scott Buckley. He is joined by Mikey Summerfield and George Davis in the front row.

George Shaw retains his place in the engine room after featuring in the side last weekend against Connacht. David Douglas Bridge moves from back row to lock in this weekend’s fixture.

After making his Trailfinders debut last weekend, Jarrod Taylor retains his place in the back row. Jordy Reid starts at openside flanker with Kyle Hatherell at eight.

In the halfbacks, Michael Stronge starts at scrum-half and Louie Johnson starts at fly-half after nailing his kicks to post against Connacht last week.

Rory Scannell starts at inside centre alongside last week’s two-time try-scorer Hayden Hyde who retains his place at thirteen.

Toby Cousins and Deago Bailey start on the wings with Will Feeney at fullback.

An extensive bench has been named for this fixture with the opportunity for players to secure crucial playing time ahead of Round One of Elior Champ Rugby next weekend.

Ben Ward has named eight forwards on the bench and six backs.

Kick-off is at 3pm at Trailfinders Sports Club, Saturday 12 September.

Starting XV

15. Will Feeney

14. Deago Bailey

13. Hayden Hyde

12. Rory Scannell

11. Toby Cousins

10. Louie Johnson

9. Michael Stronge

1. Mikey Summerfield

2. Scott Buckley (C)

3. George Davis

4. David Douglas Bridge

5. George Shaw

6. Jarrod Taylor

7. Jordy Reid

8. Kyle Hatherell

REPLACEMENTS

16. Mike Willemse

17. Kyle Whyte

18. Kabous Bezuidenhout

19. Emeka Atuanya

20. Freddie Stevenson

21. Fyn Brown

22. Jack Kelleher

23. Gabriel Man

24. Craig Hampson

25. James Humphreys

26. Will Parry

27. Reuben Bird-Tulloch

28. Jake Morris

29. Fionn Gibbons

Match Guide, News

Matchdays at Trailfinders Sports Club: Key Information

Here’s everything you need know ahead of the match whether you’re a first time fan or a returning supporter.

Buy your match tickets

Buying your ticket is quick and easy, and you have two options:

Online: buying online is the best way to secure your spot. You get your ticket in advance, don’t have to queue, and can do it in less time that it has taken to read this page so far! Click here or the button below to be taken through to our official ticketing platform.
On Matchday: tickets are also available on matchday at the gate. Do please note that there is a matchday pricing increase of £5 for all tickets over 18. We would usually recommend the online option to get as much value as possible from your matchday.
Season ticket holders go free!

How to find us

Our home games are played at Trailfinders Sports Club and can be accessed by a range of different transport, including car, bus, and tube.

Click here for more information

Club Shop

Get kitted out in our new Nike stash. Trailfinders are the first rugby club in the UK to bring the iconic Just Do It brand back to the professional game. Our leisure kit is now available in store with our match day replica shirts available to pre-order online.

Our club shop is located next to the East Stand and is open an hour out from kick-off.

Alternatively, you can order your Trailfinders stash from our online store.

Food and Drink

Food and drink is available to supporters pre-match in the Clubhouse. For classic rugby grub, head inside and opposite the bar you will find a range of food options.

Outside of the Clubhouse next to the main reception area is the street food vendor. Here, supporters will find rotated street food-style menus that change from match to match. The menus for each match will be confirmed in due course on the Club website.

Supporters can also access the Coffee Hut and Container Bar situated next to the Damian Bugeja Stand for further drinks options.

Meet the players

We have plenty of opportunities for our supporters to engage with our players. Post-match, our athletes will head down to the North West corner of the pitch to be available for photos and autograph sessions.

Accessibility

For supporters who require accessibility support, here is everything you need to know ahead of match days.

Bathroom facilities

There are three accessible toilets situated across Trailfinders Sports Club: in the Centenary Clubhouse, the Olympic Pavillion, and the East Stand.

Supporters are encouraged to use the facilities in the first two locations.

If you require a radar key to access the bathrooms, please go to the bar in the Centenary Clubhouse or to the Club Shop if you require use of the East Stand bathroom.

Parking

There are ten accessible parking bays across four locations at Trailfinders Sports Club.

Should you require accessible parking, please contact Supporter Services as there are limited bays available.

Please show your blue badge on the gate if you require accessible parking. The stewards will direct you to an appropriate space.

Seating

Wheelchair accessible seating is located at the front of the East Stand. Space is also available for carers.

The Grandstand

There is a lift from the ground floor to the upper grand stand that supporters with limited mobility can use. However, the upper grandstand has no available wheelchair accessible seating or disabled bathrooms.

The closest available accessible bathroom is in the Centenary Clubhouse.

PCW Box and Container Bar

PCW Box and the Container Bar are not accessible to wheelchair users. If you require step-free access for food and drink, please go to the Clubhouse.

Additional information and support

If you need any further or extra support please contact info@etprm.com.

Stadium map

News

Matchday communications update

Trailfinders Rugby can confirm their details for matchday communications for the upcoming 2026/27 season.

Ahead of the upcoming 2026/27 season, Trailfinders can confirm the details for matchday communications for supporters to stay up to date on scores and action across Elior Champ Rugby, JAECOO Next Gen Cup, JAECOO PWR, and any friendly fixtures.

Pre-match

Ahead of our matches, supporters can find information on kick-off times, match locations, and any further details on our website. These updates will also be published across our social media accounts on Instagram, Facebook, and X.

Supporters subscribed to our newsletter will also receive pre-match updates via email. If you haven’t already subscribed to receive our newsletters, click here.

Our digital matchday programme can be found on our website the day before the match. Links to the matchday programme will also be published on the Club’s social media accounts.

Are you a first time fan or need support with your ultimate matchday experience? Click here to view our matchday guide.

In match

Across both men’s and women’s fixtures, during every match, score updates will be posted to our Instagram and Facebook Stories.

Quarterly time updates will be published on X. This includes kick-off, half-time, and full-time updates. Supporters are encouraged to follow our Club accounts on Instagram and Facebook for score by score updates.

Post-match

Full-time score updates will be published across Instagram, Facebook, and X. The score will also be updated on our website.

The match report will be available for supporters to read on our website with links to the article also published on social media.

Attendees to any home games at Trailfinders Sports Club will also receive a post-match email asking for their feedback on their matchday experience. Trailfinders would love to hear your experience, so please send us your thoughts on your time with us.

Do you have any questions? Email info@etprm.com.

Ealing Trailfinders

Trailfinders Women

Five Trailfinders selected for Red Roses WXV Global Series Squad

Five Trailfinders have been selected by Red Roses Head Coach John Mitchell in his WXV Global Series squad.

Abi Burton

Haidee Head

Hayley Jones

Meg Jones

Bo Westcombe-Evans

The Red Roses kick off their campaign by taking on Australia on Saturday the 12th September (3pm Kick-off) at CorpAcq Stadium, Salford. The England side then move south to Sandy Park, Exeter, where John Mitchell’s team will face fellow 2026 World Cup finalists Canada on the 19th September (3pm Kick-off). The home fixtures end with a clash against the Black Ferns at the Home of rugby, Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, on the 26th September (3pm Kick-off).

October sees the start of the away fixtures for the Roses, starting with a trip to Canada on the 17th, followed by another match against the Northern hemisphere side a week later on the 24th. The series culminates with a clash against USA on the 30th October.

News

Match Report: Connacht vs Ealing Trailfinders

Ealing Trailfinders fell short of a win against a physical Connacht side.

A full-time score of 26-14 to the Galway outfit tested Trailfinders’ defence. Two tries on debut for Hayden Hyde and conversions for Louie Johnson showed glimpses of what supporters can expect from the West London side going forward in 2026/27.

Connacht started quick with attacking ball and dominated possession in the opening minutes. Trailfinders continued to work hard in defence with another debutant Jarrod Taylor making a try-saving tackle on the wing.

Hyde searched for the gaps throughout the match although he was denied a score until the second half.

A scoreless opening quarter only reflected the big collisions, blitz defence, and aerial battle from both sides.

However, the hosts came away fruitful after relentless attack with a break down the middle. Trailfinders managed to gather their defence but Connacht scored from short range with a successful conversion.

A second try for the Irish outfit came shortly after with a second successful conversion.

Trailfinders hunted down a try before half-time but a mishandling saw the ball go forward.

Half-time: Connacht 14-0 Ealing Trailfinders

Connacht came out of the changing rooms with attacking prowess but Trailfinders remained firm, determined to get on the scoreboard.

Yet, it was the hosts who scored the first points of the second half from a lineout into a driving maul. The conversion was unsuccessful.

Hyde’s hunting eventually came through as he read the intercept at fifty-three minutes and ran the ball in for Trailfinders’ first try. Johnson added the extras.

From there, Trailfinders upped their attacking momentum but the back and forth nature of the game meant that Connacht turned their defence into offence. Their fourth try was scored out wide on the right wing with a successful conversion as play moved into the final quarter.

Trailfinders responded in the final minute of the game with a second try from Hyde. Johnson finished the match by nudging the ball through the posts.

Full-time: Connacht 26-14 Ealing Trailfinders

News

CONNACHT LINEUP

Trailfinders kick-off the 2026/27 season with a pre-season trip to Galway to take on URC side Connacht at Dexcom Stadium.

Ben Ward has named a strong side to take on the Irish outfit, with star quality in the starting lineup alongside genuine firepower amongst the replacements.

The front-row see’s Mikey Willemse Captain the side from Hooker, with Sam Grahamslaw and PJ Sheck either side of him at Loosehead and Tighthead Prop respectively.

In the engine room, it’s Bobby De Wee returning to the green and white after a period of absence due to injury. He’s joined by George Shaw to complete the tight-five.

It’s a dynamic Back-row, with Will Montgomery at Blindside Flanker and South-African Jarrod Taylor at Openside. David Bridge completes the pack at number Eight.

The half-back pairing is comprised of the experienced Craig Hampson at Nine and metronomic kicker Dan jones who will be looking to pull the strings from Fly-half.

A new midfield partnership features in the centres, with Francis Moore slotting in at Inside centre. He’s complimented by new signing Hayden Hyde at Thirteen.

The side features an electric back-three, with Patrick Campbell at Fullback, Fionn Gibbons at Eleven and Deago Bailey at Fourteen.

The replacements feature the likes of Kyle Hatherell, Mikey Summerfield, and Rory Scannell, giving Ben Ward the option for injection of genuine quality throughout the match.

The match kicks-off at 17:00 on Saturday the 5th September. Make sure to keep track of our instagram stories for live score updates.

LINEUP

15. Patrick Campbell

14. Deago Bailey

13. Hayden Hyde

12. Francis Moore

11. Fion Gibbons

10. Dan Jones

9. Craig Hampson

1. Sam Grahamslaw

2. Mike Willemse

3. PJ Sheck

4. Bobby De Wee

5. George Shaw

6. Will Montgomery

7. Jarrod Taylor

8. David Bridge

REPLACEMENTS

16. Harry Thompson

17. Mikey Summerfield

18. George davis

19. Matas Jurevicius

20. Freddie Stevenson

21. Kyle Hatherell

22. Fyn Brown

23. Jordy Reid

24. Michael Stronge

25. Louie Johnson

26. Will Feeney

27. Rory Scannell.

28. Toby Cousins

News

Trailfinders launch 26/27 Kit

Ealing Trailfinders and Trailfinders Women reveal their Home and Away kit ahead of the 2026/27 season.

The West-London-side bring Nike back to Club rugby in the UK following a recent hiatus. The new sponsorship, powered by KitKing, marks the start of a four-year-deal which will see Trailfinders don the world-renowned Swoosh, an exclusive in both The Champ and PWR.

The Home kit consists of a modern twist on a classic Ealing colour palette, with a centre line separating two shades of green in a striking new design. The Away kit features bold yellow accents on a contrasting black background.

Speaking on the partnership, Director of Rugby Ben Ward said “We’re delighted to be partnering with a brand as well-known and prestigious as Nike. We feel as though Nike is a brand that matches our lofty ambitions and this sponsorship is a real statement of intent from The Club.”

Replica shirts are available to pre-order here, alongside a full training wear range.

Features, News

Gareth Simpson and Rugby Recycled

Trailfinders scrum half Gareth Simpson founded Rugby Recycled in 2011 to collect and donate second hand rugby kit to make the sport accessible for all.

He sat down and shared the ins and outs of his charity Rugby Recycled ahead of International Day of Charity.

Gareth joined Ealing Trailfinders this summer from Saracens, having also played for Worcester Warriors, and the Sharks in Durban, South Africa.

Speaking about how his charity came about, he said: ‘Rugby Recycled is a charity I set up back in South Africa in 2011 when I started high school there.’

‘The first match that we played for my high school, we were playing one of the local townships. Before the game, our coach came up to us and said we need to take our boots off for the match, because the other team couldn’t afford boots.

‘All of my classmates had all just got new boots, so I chatted to my parents and we decided to collect everyone’s old boots from the season before. My dad coached a local club, so he had a whole load of old kit, tackle bags and all of those sorts of things.

‘We took a truckload of kits to the school that we had played against and donated it to them, and the following season they came back and played against us and they were using all the kit that we had donated. That’s how Rugby Recycled was born.’

‘The goal is to give everyone who wants to play rugby the opportunity to play rugby.

‘There’s so many people out there that are perhaps less fortunate and don’t want to get involved because they might not have the equipment. So to give people that chance to play and participate is the main goal.

‘We’ve been doing that for quite a long time now, and we’re so grateful to everyone that has supported us. But there’s still so many people that need our help. So to evolve, we want to keep on growing, keep on getting more kit and taking it to more places around the world.’

Rugby Recycled partnered with Scrum5 in South Africa in 2022, to oversee a project for kit collection to distribute to clubs and schools in South Africa.

They also partnered with Star* Scheme (Support Transform, and Achieve through Rugby), collecting kit for teams for distribution around the Star* network.

Gareth reflected on more standout moments his charity has provided for him.

‘There are so many moments. Every time we give a pair of boots or a t-shirt to someone who might not have it, or we give a full kit to a team and they gain an identity every time we do that, it’s so special and it never gets old.

‘But I think the standout moment has to be the very first one that we did. We rocked up with a truck full of kit, and everyone was just so excited.’

‘To see people so excited about the sport that we all love was just so amazing.’

Ahead of International Day of Charity on September 5th, Gareth outlined what you can do to support the charity.

‘You can go have a look at our socials. It’s rugby_recycled on all socials, and there’s plenty of information there on how you can support us.

‘But we’re mainly looking for kits. Boots are always a big one. Boots are always in short supply, so the more boots we can get, the better.

‘If you know of someone who needs a pair of boots or needs something, just go and help them. It’s a very easy thing to do.’

‘The main goal is to just get people playing rugby.’

For more information on Rugby Recycled, click here.

News, Women's News

VACANCY : PHYSIOTHERAPIST, WOMEN’S PROGRAMME

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Club as a Physiotherapist.

Click the link for more details: https://ealingtrailfinders.com/flipbook/vacancy-womens-physiotherapist/

News

Free-to-air channel BLAZE to broadcast live Elior Champ Rugby games

Clubber TV and Hearst Networks have agreed to a pilot partnership which will give rugby fans the opportunity to watch free-to-air coverage on BLAZE of select Elior Champ Rugby games during the upcoming 2026-27 season.

The new partnership will see BLAZE jointly broadcast a select number of games, which will also be available on Clubber TV, starting with Cornish Pirates against Doncaster Knights on Sunday, September 20, from 3.30pm.

The partnership comes on the back of a record-breaking season for Elior Champ Rugby with close to 400,000 spectators (91.4% increase on last season’s total) attending games from round one through to the sold-out final, and 12.6 million watching video content on Champ Rugby’s social media accounts, making England Rugby’s second tier more popular than ever.

BLAZE launched in the UK in 2016 and is Hearst Networks’ first free-to-air brand. Hearst Networks is a joint venture between Hearst and Sky. Its portfolio of quality factual and entertainment channels also includes Sky HISTORY, Crime + Investigation and Sky HISTORY2.

Simon Gillham OBE, Chair of Champ Rugby Board said: ‘This is fantastic news for Elior Champ Rugby and will showcase the best of the league to a wider audience. We want our competition to be accessible to as many audiences as possible, and this extra offering now makes Champ Rugby the only weekly free-to-air rugby on English television. I’d like to thank Clubber TV and Hearst Networks for their commitment and support to our game.’

Lar Doyle, Chief Operating Officer, at Clubber TV said: ‘Clubber TV are delighted to be working with Hearst Networks and BLAZE to bring Elior Champ Rugby to a bigger audience. We’ve seen real momentum behind the competition over the past year, and making selected games available free-to-air is an important part of continuing to grow its visibility and reach.’

Heather Jones, Chief Creative Officer, EMEA, at Hearst Networks, said: ‘Champ Rugby reflects everything BLAZE stands for. It's exciting, fiercely competitive and deeply rooted in local communities, and we’re delighted to bring live Champ Rugby to free-to-air audiences. We know viewers increasingly value live experiences, and this partnership gives more fans the opportunity to discover one of English rugby’s best-kept sporting secrets every Sunday afternoon.’

Ealing Trailfinders’ games in Elior Champ Rugby to be broadcast on BLAZE as part of the pilot partnership:

Sunday, October 11 – Ealing Trailfinders v Hartpury

To watch Elior Champ Rugby on BLAZE, viewers can tune in to Freeview Channel 64, Sky HD 164, Sky Glass / Sky Stream 169 UK (162 ROI), Freesat 161 and Virgin TV 174 or via the BLAZE App.