Reuben Bird-Tulloch discusses his return to the field after a summer of rehab, playing in front of home supporters, and growing up as a Man United fan
Outside centre Bird-Tulloch returns to the field this weekend in Ealing Trailfinders’ Round Two fixture against Chinnor – our first game at Trailfinders Sports Club this Champ Rugby campaign.
After rehabilitating a knee injury from the back end of last season, Bird-Tulloch is looking forward to getting back onto the field in front of home supporters.
He offered his thoughts on the rehab process and how the physios at the Club supported him physically and mentally throughout his journey.
“The rehab process was pretty long. Unfortunately I got injured towards the end of last season. And for me dealing with that was quite a tough, because it was my first proper injury for a long time and the first one since I’ve been at Ealing. I’d say it’s probably the biggest bump in the road I’ve had since being at the Club.
“I had to deal with the injury but I decided to commit to the rehab and work really hard in the gym to get myself strong again. A big part of it was to get confident in my body again, with help from the physios as well as the strength and conditioning team.
“All the staff have been really good with me and they’ve really made the process as easy as possible. It can be quite tedious doing rehab. But the team have been really understanding: when to push, when to maybe pull back a little bit.
“I think we worked pretty well as a team and I’m delighted to be back fit and available to play again, because I haven’t played for five months.
“I always enjoy playing in front of our fans. It feels like home to me. Hopefully I can pick up from where I left off last season.”
Alongside him in gym during his rehab was Bobby de Wee. The two players could often be found having fun in the gym to offer more positivity to the rehab process.
“Me and Bobby always have a laugh together. He’s a character, to say the least. Rehab can be quite tedious, so I guess we both tried to find ways to make it as enjoyable as possible, whether that be having a karaoke session in the gym or a little dance just to make things as fun as they could be.
“We made a good little team in the gym and hopefully we’ll see him back playing soon as well.”
Bird-Tulloch commented on the diversity of players within the squad and how they have helped to elevate the overall standard of training.
“We have some younger guys who have brought a whole lot of energy, and others who have come from all over the country. You’ve got guys who have been playing in the Prem who have come to Ealing and they’ve obviously brought a lot of experience.
“I think the main thing for all the new guys is that they’ve all made a really positive contribution to the team on and off the field. And I think just in general they have made it more competitive and that’s always a good thing.
“We’ve got multiple players in every position who could all play really well if given the opportunity. I’m sure that makes the coaches lives difficult when they’re picking the team, but that’s a good thing, because it means that we’re all pushing each other, and no one’s getting complacent.
“All the new guys have settled in really well. I don’t really see them as new guys anymore, we just see them as part of the squad.”
Ealing Trailfinders have played Chinnor on three occasions, the most recent being in pre-season. Although Bird-Tulloch was still undertaking his rehab programme, he recalls the physicality they brought to the league last season.
“I didn’t play in the pre-season game because I was still rehabbing, but from playing them last year, they’re very physical. Probably one of the most physical teams I played against last year.
“They always bring a lot of line speed in defence and they try to make our attack as difficult as possible to play. I have a lot of respect for them, especially being a newly promoted side before last year. They did really well and held their own against everyone. I’m sure Saturday will be more of the same from them.
“For us, we’ll try and put our game on them as much as possible and not allow them to disrupt our ball and things like that. But they’ve got their own threats and hopefully on the weekend, we can deal with them.”
Outside of rugby, Bird-Tulloch keeps a close eye on football. Whilst the back line player grew up in south London, he’s an avid supporter of Premier League team Manchester United.
“I can’t say I’m from up north because I’m not. I’m from South London,” Bird-Tulloch said. “But my dad supported them. So when I was growing up, naturally, I just copied him.
“When I was younger, it was great because we were very successful. I got a bit spoilt when I was younger, because the recent years have been a lot leaner on the trophies, to say the least, since Fergie [Sir Alex Ferguson] retired. It’s been a tough few years.
“I never question my loyalty to United, but I do question why I put myself through the emotional roller coaster every week of getting up for the game, thinking they’re going to win, and then getting disappointed. But I’m hoping that we’re just having a a bit of a down period and our time will come again. That’s what I’m hoping for. And if it doesn’t, I’ll still support them, because I made my choice and you got to take the rough with the smooth.”
Ealing Trailfinders vs Chinnor May 2025
Whilst it’s other North West teams that have dominated the top spot in English football in recent years, Man United did defeat local rivals Manchester City 2-1 in the FA Cup final in May 2024. Bird-Tulloch recalls the day both United and Trailfinders lifted trophies.
“We were playing our last game of the season at the same time as that FA Cup final and I remember because we won the league that day and then I found out that Man U won the FA Cup, so that was one of the best days. I’m not sure if I was more happy about the FA Cup or the league, but that was a pretty good day.”
Having grown up in the south of the city, then lived in West London, Bird-Tulloch now finds himself in the south-west of the city.
“I live in Wandsworth now. A lot of my friends live around there. There’s a lot to do as it’s very vibrant place with a lot of young people.
“I lived in one of the player houses for a couple of years and then I moved to Fulham and then I moved to Wandsworth in the summer just gone. It’s a slightly longer commute, because I’m south of the river, but I’d say for my overall social life and the things I like to do outside of rugby it works better for me. So the longer commute is probably worth it.
“I’m pretty into food, so I like trying new restaurants on days off. I wouldn’t say I’m a foodie because that sounds a bit pretentious. But I like good food and I like experiencing that.
“And then aside from that, just seeing my friends, my family. I love watching the NFL as well as football.
“I know a lot of the boys here are massively into their golf and that’s actually something I was going to try and do in the summer, but obviously I had a knee surgery, so that stopped my plans from playing in the summer just gone. I’m hoping maybe I’ll start after the winter passes.
“Golf is probably a bit less stressful, but on the flip side, it sounds pretty frustrating for some people. Tobi Wilson is very much into it. It’s almost like his personality now. It’s just golf. But it’s all he ever talks about. From what I’ve been told, he’s a good player.
“I think it’s just a nice way for the boys to spend a bit of time with each other away from the club, which is one of the reasons why I wanted to get into it because I probably don’t see them as much as the others just because I don’t play golf and I don’t live in Ealing. For me starting golf is a way I could see some of the boys and get to know the guys a bit better.”
