Ealing Trailfinders fell just short in their phenomenal efforts to tame the Tigers, losing 29-21 in the semi-final of the Premiership Cup at TFSC.
Tries from Will Goodrick-Clarke and Mike Willemse, and three penalties from Billy Twelvetrees were not enough in a valiant performance.
Trailfinders started the stronger side as they dominated the scrum, forcing two Leicester penalties in kicking range, which Billy Twelvetrees dispatched with ease.
A yellow card for Bobby De Wee for a professional foul turned the tide of the game slightly, as the English rugby powerhouse capitalised on their player advantage.
Tigers’ Phil Cokanasiga scored the first try of the game as he burst through a gap in the Trailfinders defence, dragging two men with him to dot the ball over the line. Jamie Shillcock converted.
The away side then further extended the lead with their player advantage still intact, as Finn Theobald-Thomas drove over the line off the rolling maul. Shillcock missed the extras leaving the score 6-12 at half time.
Trailfinders started brilliantly in the second half and should have taken the lead through Craig Hampson, after a delightfully delayed pass from Dan Lancaster played in Max Bodilly, who weaved behind the Leicester line to tee up Hampson, but he could only knock on.
Leicester continued to be penalised for various infringements and Twelvetrees nailed a penalty through the posts to reduce the score to 12-9.
The dominance at the scrum continued for Trailfinders, and Leicester had Dan Richardson sent to the sin bin as a result.
In a moment of jubilation around TFSC, Goodrick-Clarke bundled over the whitewash for the home side’s first try of the game after successive Tigers penalties had them crunched onto their line. Twelvetrees conversion rattled the posts and missed, however.
Against the run of play Leicester managed to tally up 10 points in quick succession, as an interception-led try from Phil Cokanasiga and a penalty from Shillcock made it 22-14.
With their resilience never fading however, Trailfinders came back again through Willemse, who scored off a pick and go after successive phases. Twelvetrees slotted home the conversion to reduce the deficit to just one point with seven minutes to go.
In a heart-breaking conclusion, another interception in the Trailfinders half led to Matt Scott running freely through the Trailfinders line to score under the posts to kill off the game. Shillcock converted to leave the final score 29-21.
With a historic Premiership Cup semi-final berth on the horizon, Ealing Trailfinders made no mistake in Round 4 of the competition, recording a 52-17 win over Championship new boys, Cambridge RFC. The bonus point victory sees them move to four wins from four in the competition, having amassed an impressive 19 points from a potential 20.
It wasn’t the fastest start from Trailfinders at Ellgia Fields, who traded possession back and forth with Cambridge between the 40m lines. Sustained defensive pressure against Cambridge in their 22 brought momentum to Trailfinders, however, as Andrew Davidson charged down a box-kick and cantered after the ball to drop down on it over the try line. Steve Shingler then converted well from the left.
It wasn’t long before Trailfinders extended their lead, with Trailfinders Academy back row Josh Taylor powering over after multiple phases in the Cambridge 22. The hosts didn’t take long to respond, though, with sustained pressure in Trailfinders’ 22 resulting in a try of their own. The ensuing conversion brought them to within 5 points of the visitors’ lead.
A first club try for Henry Walker from a maul and a Shingler conversion re-established a stronger lead, only for Cambridge to win a penalty at the scrum and knock over the resulting penalty, keeping themselves well in the game at half-time, trailing just 10-19.
Davidson got Trailfinders off to the perfect start in the second half, collecting his brace, although Cambridge hit back themselves, as Morgan Veness restored the half-time differential by powering over at the maul.
Trailfinders then begun to take control of the game, as Rayn Smid dived over off the base of the scrum, before Taylor had a strong carry over the try line on the first phase after a maul.
With the result secured, Trailfinders let loose. Debutant Billy Twelvetrees had a slick pass for the arcing Will Montgomery to canter over the try line, before Matt Cornish’s late try brought an end to the game, coming as a result of an athletic lineout steal from Bobby de Wee.
The result sees Trailfinders atop their Premiership Cup pool.
Trailfinders finished as 34-32 victors over Doncaster Knights after a nail-biting encounter that was decided by the last kick of the game.
Tries from Jonah Holmes, Reuben Bird-Tulloch, Dan O’Brien, Matt Cornish and Rayn Smid, and a 78th-minute penalty from Steven Shingler helped the home side secure a narrow victory.
This result leaves Trailfinders top of Pool D, with three wins from three games in the new look competition.
After a Billy McBryde penalty, Jonah Holmes crossed in the corner on 15 minutes to calm the early nerves of the TFSC faithful.
The Knights would reply quickly as Number Eight Seb Nagle-Taylor dotted down in the 21st minute to make the score 7-8.
Then Bird-Tulloch produced a bit of magic. Taking the ball on the right-hand side of the field 30m from the opposition try line, the inside centre beat three men and would not be caught as he flew over the line to score.
Yet again, Doncaster would answer quickly as ex-Trailfinder Ollie Fox broke through the line and offloaded to Flanker Archie Smeaton to dot down.
Dan O’Brien scored three minutes later, after a maul on the Doncaster 5m line, making it two from three for the Aussie who made his debut in Round One.
That would be the last try of the half, and following a McBryde penalty kick, Trailfinders would go in at half-time with a narrow 19-18 lead.
It was a breathless first half, where Trailfinders had to dig deep to get anything out of a physical, accurate Doncaster Knights side.
The second half would start strangely.
McBryde attempted to take a leaf out of George Ford’s book with a drop goal from the 22, but he did not move the scoreboard.
Then, in the 49th minute, Matt Cornish opened the scoring in the second half, taking his record to three tries from three games and the score to 26-18.
The away side would score next through centre loanee Joe Bedlow as the game entered the final quarter at 26-25.
They would quickly take the lead through another ex-Trailfinder. Jack Metcalf streaked away from the Trailfinders defence to leave the score 26-32.
The home side would reply quickly as Smid went over in the corner to close the gap.
The score would be 31-32 entering the last 10 minutes.
Shingler then gave the home side the lead as Trailfinders won a penalty right in front of the posts from 10m out, which he knocked over comfortably to leave the score 34-32.
The Knights would have one last chance. A penalty kick from about 45m out against the wind was the challenge for McBryde. His attempt dropped just inches short, leaving Trailfinders unbeaten in the Premiership Rugby Cup.
Trailfinders Director of Rugby Ben Ward said, “We’re delighted with the five points. It was a game that could have swung either way.
“They were probably unlucky not to get the result, but we managed to find a way.”
Full-Time – Ealing Trailfinders 34-32 Doncaster Knights
Tries – Holmes (15) Bird-Tulloch (25) Dan O’Brien (32) Cornish (49) Smid (68)
Conversions – Shingler (16,32,50)
Penalties – Shingler (78)
Trailfinders made it two from two in the Premiership Rugby Cup with a 28-12 victory over Bristol Bears at Ashton Gate.
Tries from Rayn Smid, Nathan Earle and Matt Cornish capped a second win in as many weeks over top-flight opposition.
This leaves Trailfinders second in pool three, one point behind Doncaster Knights, who they play next week at TFSC.
The game started fast, with both sides keen to impose their will on the match. Bristol scored first through Kieron Marmion sniping off the back of a maul, then Trailfinders replied in two minutes. Smid carried the ball down an empty blindside and crashed over the fullback, reducing the Bears lead to two.
After this early flurry of points, the game became cagey as the wet and windy conditions left the ball like a bar of soap, and 20 scoreless minutes followed.
The Bears scored next, as James Williams crossed in the corner following the first real phase play from either side.
From ecstasy to agony for Bristol, however, as Trailfinders won the ball from kick-off and Second-Row Joe Bately was yellow carded for a professional foul, and Earle would go on to score four minutes later.
A conversion from Steven Shingler would take Trailfinders into the break with the scores level at 12-12.
Whatever was said at half-time by Director of Rugby Ben Ward worked as Trailfinders would go on to dominate from here on.
They controlled the ball for the opening of the second term and would re-open the scoring through Cornish after 50 minutes of play.
A Shingler penalty six minutes later would make the score 22-12 and open a two-score lead, allowing Trailfinders to close the game out.
A tense final quarter was characterised by stop-start play and plenty of kicking. Two final Shingler penalty goals would take his points tally to 11 and Trailfinders to a final score of 28-12, marking a statement win in English rugby’s newest competition.
After a tough battle this weekend, next week will be no easier, as Championship title contenders Doncaster Knights travel to TFSC.
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.
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