Ealing Trailfinders vs Northampton Saints

Tickets

Trailfinders kicked-off their Premiership Rugby Cup with a 48-22 victory over the top flight side Northampton Saints.

A brace from Nathan Earle added to tries from Simon Uzokwe, Dan O’Brien, Mike Willemse, Matt Cornish, Cian Kelleher and Jonah Holmes.

The win marks the start of Trailfinders’ season and their campaign in the new-look Premiership Rugby Cup, which allows Championship sides to test themselves against top-flight opposition.

Director of Rugby Ben Ward named an experienced lineup in contrast to Northampton’s youthful team sheet.

The game did not start as Ward would have hoped as Shingler sliced a crossfield kick on his own 5-metre line, leading to a Northampton scrum which gave blindside winger Will Glister a prime opportunity to open the scoring for the away side in just the 3rd minute.

The home side would answer straight back, however, as Earle went over in the corner for his first score of the game only a minute later.

The tries would not let up any time soon as Trailfinders won a penalty inside the opposition half, which Shingler kicked to the corner. From the following line out, Simon Uzokwe crashed over the whitewash after peeling off the back of the maul.

An immense start to the game continued as Dan O’Brien latched onto Shingler’s kick in behind the Northampton line to score on his debut and bring up Trailfinders’ third try in the first fifteen minutes.

Following a James Grayson penalty to make the score 21-10, the tries would finally slow as both teams settled into the game, only for new signing Mike Willemse to follow O’Brien’s example and dot down on his first appearance in the 35th minute.

That try was quickly followed by Nathan Earle’s second as a class offload from Uzokwe would put Shingler through a hole, leading to Earle’s finish in the corner.

At 31-10 that would be the final score of a truly frantic first half which only left the TFSC faithful wanting more.

The second half would begin similarly to the first as Will Glister opened the scoring five minutes from the referee’s whistle.

Then disaster struck for the Saints as Lock Theo Vukasinovic received a yellow card for an illegal clear out, and from the resulting line out, Cornish scored on his return to TFSC.

Then Jordy Reid looked like he had also scored on his return to the club, but a TMO review showed that the ball was clearly held up. It would not take long for the home side to take the TMO out of the equation, however as Cian Kelleher would go over in the corner to make the score 41-17.

A try for the away side’s Tom Cruse would close the gap late on, only for a reply from Jonah Holmes to close out any hint of a comeback.

The final whistle went as Steven Shingler was named player of the match. Trailfinders opened their Premiership Cup Campaign with a bang, beating Northampton Saints, and look ahead to next week as they go away to another premiership side, Bristol Bears.