Richmond vs Ealing Trailfinders

Ealing Trailfinders returned to league action in the best possible fashion, with a dominant 0-50 victory over Richmond.

James Cordy-Redden secured a brace, with Craig Hampson and Jonah Holmes also on the end of impressive scores as the Trailfinders ran in eight tries down at the Athletic Ground.

As the game got underway in the London derby, the green and whites didn’t take long to get on the scoreboard. Constant pressure allowed Andrew Davidson to find a soft shoulder as he burst through the defensive line, before running over the final defender to dot down inside five minutes.

Just two minutes later the visitors were in again, this time through their scrum-half. Some quick ball off a regathered kick allowed Jack Digby to gallop through a hole in the Richmond defence. The number 8 selflessly drew the final man, before releasing Hampson to score.

After early dominance, the next 20 minutes saw the hosts in the ascendancy, camped five metres out from the Trailfinders line. Despite this content pressure, the green and white wall stood firm and eventually they were able to clear without the scoreboard being altered.

Having been starved attacking ball, the next time Trailfinders got an opportunity, they made it count. Off the line-out the ball was flung wide, as Holmes accelerated down the touchline before fending off the final defender to score in the corner.

Then on the half-hour mark, the West-Londoners had wrapped up the bonus point. A similar set up saw the ball go wide, but this time to Cordy-Redden. Instead of pinning his ears back like Holmes, the winger cut inside, beating four defenders, to impressively muscle his way over to make the scores 0-26, and it stayed this way until half-time.

The second 40 got underway in a very similar fashion to the first with it taking just eight minutes for Alun Walker to barge over for his fifth try in the last four games on the back of a powerful rolling maul.

Just after the 50 minute mark Trailfinders were down to 14 for ten minutes after James Gibbons was shown a yellow card for a cynical penalty near his own line. Despite this, the visitors still refused to concede and then on 60 minutes they went over for their sixth try after Shaun Malton made a delightful break through the middle before offloading to Simon Linsell to score.

Back to a full compliment, Trailfinders looked to close the game out without conceding. The easiest way to do this was to keep attacking, and with 10 minutes remaining Cordy-Redden got his second after a tap penalty in the midfield drew in the defence allowing the winger a 1-on-1 out wide which was all he needed.

Then, with the clock almost in the red, Luke Daniels found himself in space on the wing. With two defenders in front of him, he bumped off the first tackler before out-pacing the second to bring up the half century for the visitors and cap off arguably their best performance of 2023 so far.

Tickets are now on sale for our next home fixture against London Scottish on Saturday 11th March at Trailfinders Sports Club (KO 3pm). Click here to purchase tickets. To book our delicious pre-match hospitality email: hospitality@etprm.com.

Full-time Score: Richmond 00-50 Ealing Trailfinders

T: Davidson 5′, Hampson 7′, Holmes 25′, Cordy-Redden 30′, 70′, Walker 48′, Linsell 60′, Daniels 80′

C: Willis 5′, 8′, 31′, 48′, 61’\

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Hartpury RFC vs Ealing Trailfinders

Ealing Trailfinders booked their place in the Championship Cup knockout stages with a six try, 28-38 victory over Hartpury.

It was a game they were made to work for their victory, with the West Country side securing a bonus point of their own in what was a much improved performance compared to last week.

But after a shaky start, the Trailfinders bench made a real impact and late scores from Andrew Davidson and Jack Digby helped ensure their place at the top of the group.

As the game kicked-off under the Friday night lights at the ALPAS Arena, it was the hosts who started the better and it only took four minutes for Matthew McNab to find himself in space on the wing, before he put in a perfect chip and chase to regather to score.

It only took five minutes however for the visitors to respond, as strong carrying through the middle allowed David Douglas Bridge to burst through a gap before rounding the fullback for his first Trailfinders try.

Ten minutes later, Hartpury managed to get over for their second as quick hands allowed Jake Morris to score in the corner, before Tommy Mathews impressively added the extras from out wide.

The next ten minutes saw the West Londoners slowly wrestle back momentum, as they went back to one of their real strengths this season, the rolling maul. A penalty at the breakdown allowed Dan Lancaster to stick Trailfinders five metres out, before Alun Walker got an armchair ride over the line on the back of a dominant maul.

The visitors then got their third third try just moments later, as Jordan Burns took the ball out of the maul as it was moving forward and put in a well weighted grubber to allow Max Bodilly to dot down and make the score at half-time Hartpury 14-19 Ealing Trailfinders.

The second half started very similarly to the first, with the hosts coming out of the blocks quickly. It only took them five minutes to get back in front as after tying in the defence, Mathews put in an inch perfect cross field kick which allowed McNab to score in the corner.

It was a quick fire double at the start of the second 40 as an equally strong Hartpury maul saw replacement Luke Sranford secure the bonus point try just after the 50 minute mark as they raced into a 28-19 lead.

It was here that Trailfinders rung the changes, with new halfbacks and a new front-row all looking to help get them back in the game. It worked quickly with prop George Davis muscling over from close range just five minutes later.

On the hour mark, Hartpury dropped down a man as Sranford was sent to the bin for illegally collapsing the maul close to the line. This man advantage soon saw Davidson go over on his first Trailfinders start to put the visitors into the lead for the first time.

Then, with just under ten minutes remaining, Jack Digby crashed over on the back of another rolling maul to secure the victory.

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Ealing Trailfinders vs Nottingham

A sensational first-half blitz saw the West Londoners secure the bonus point within 25 minutes and the 11-try victory now sees the Trailfinders return to the top of the pool 1.

The hosts came out of the blocks fast, with Cian Kelleher getting on the end of a beautifully weighted Dan Lancaster kick after just three minutes.

Then Walker scored two tries in ten minutes, both on the back of a rolling maul as the forwards looked to dominate the Archers.

On the 20 minute mark, the visitors managed to get on the scoresheet through Ryan Olowofela after Michael Stronge took a quick tap penalty and allowed the winger to run onto his grubber in behind.

But Trailfinders answered straight back as Uzokwe managed to secure the bonus point. Trailfinders’ fifth try was one of the best of the afternoon, as Steven Shingler regathered a chip in behind. As he was being tackled he threw a no look, reverse offload to put Reuben Bird-Tulloch under the sticks.

Bird-Tulloch then turned provider as he burst through the middle before offloading to Jordan Burns to score under the posts. Then with five minutes to go before the break, another well weighted Lancaster kick found Jonah Holmes to dot down in the corner.

On the stroke of half-time Will Montgomery crashed over for score number eight to make it Ealing Trailfinders 52-7 Nottingham.

The second-half saw a much improved Nottingham performance, but still they were unable to stop Kyle Whyte from crashing over five minutes into the half.

The next half-an-hour saw the game tighten up somewhat, as the defence from both sides got on top of the attack. It was on the 71st minute mark that this deadlock was broken again, as Max Bodilly spotted space in behind as he regathered his own kick to score.

With five minutes to go, Nottingham got their second score through Michael Green, as the centre bundled over after a strong rolling maul had come up just short.

Then, with time almost up, Uzokwe muscled over for his second to make the final score: Ealing Trailfinders 71-14 Nottingham.

Victorious Director of Rugby Ben Ward said: “I’m really pleased. After two defeats this sees us get back on track and I’m really satisfied both with the result and with our performance.”

Full-time Score: Ealing Trailfinders 71-14 Nottingham

T: Kelleher 3′, Walker 8′, 17′, Uzokwe 25′, 78′, Bird-Tulloch 30′, Burns 33′, Holmes 36′, Montgomery 40′, Whyte 45′, Bodilly 71′

C: Shingler 3′, 18′, 25′, 30, Lancaster 33′, 40′, 45′, 71′

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Jersey Reds vs Ealing Trailfinders

Ealing Trailfinders came agonisingly close to achieving the ultimate comeback in Jersey, but ultimately fell 28-27 to the Reds.

From being 21-0 down just before the break, tries from Alun Walker and Craig Hampson got them back in the game, before Nathan Earle edged the visitors in front.

Jersey then answered back, but Jordan Burns’ late try gave Trailfinders the chance to win it, but the conversion from out wide went just wide.

Despite this, Ealing Trailfinders Director of Rugby said: “I can’t fault the effort in that second-half and I’m really proud of how we responded.”

In this huge clash at the top of Pool 1, it was Trailfinders who started the faster of the two sides, with some early dominance at the scrum and a very impressive rolling maul which marched them 20m up the pitch before winning a penalty.

Sadly, this early pressure couldn’t be converted into points, as slowly Jersey found a foothold in the encounter.

With it still scoreless after 20 minutes, it was anyone’s guess as to who would cross first with both sides making as many errors as they did breaks.

This didn’t last long however, as on the 22nd minute Jersey’s James Hadfield was able to get over for the hosts from close range. Then just five minutes later, James Dun dotted down before Ben Woollett was on the end of a nice free flowing move to grab Jersey’s third, five minutes from half-time.

With the clock in the red, Jersey’s Sean O’Connor was sent to sin-bin for a shoulder off the ball. This allowed Craig Willis to put the ball 15 metres out and for Trailfinders to set up their rolling maul. With some real steam behind it, Walker was able to get over and Willis converted from the touchline to make it 21-7 at half-time.

The second 40 saw a real change in attitude, as to a man Trailfinders fought to get back into the contest. Strong carries and quick ball eventually allowed Hampson to snipe around the fringes of a ruck and despite an attempted tap-tackle, he dotted down under the sticks. Willis converted and it was 21-14.

After this fast start, Jersey were always going to come back. Repeated team maul infringements saw James Gibbons go to the sin bin, but crucially Trailfinders refused to allow Jersey the score, as they managed to hold the hosts up over the line.

From this the green and whites regathered their composure, and went on to win a scrum against the head with only seven forwards on the pitch.

With an hour on the clock, Trailfinders threw the ball around and managed to win a penalty 40 metres out and Willis made no mistake in converting.

With one passage of play left until Gibbons returned, Jersey went on the attack in an attempt to make their extra man pay. But after turning the ball over inside their own half, Trailfinders launched a superb free flowing passage of play. Will Davis was released down the blindside and he passed to his front-row counterpart Kevin O’Byrne. The hooker then played an outrageous no-look, switch pass to James Cordy-Redden who in turn found Nathan Earle, who rounded the final defender to score his first Trailfinders try. The conversion just sailed wide but the score put the visitors 21-22 in front, just as they returned to 15 men.

The next 15 minutes saw the game tighten up somewhat as the clock ticked closer and closer to the end of the game. Then with five minutes to go, Dan Barnes was put through a hole to score under the posts and leave the hosts six points in front.

Despite this setback, Trailfinders remained composed, slowly working their way up the pitch. After a breathtaking passage of play, the ball found its way to Jordan Burns who was playing out of position on the wing. With just a half-yard of space, he put on the afterburners and managed to scorch in and score in the corner with the clock in the red. Willis then stepped up to snatch the win, but agonisingly it sailed just wide.

 

Full-time Score: Jersey Reds 28-27 Ealing Trailfinders

T: Walker 40′, Hampson 47, Earle 63′, Burns 80′

C: Willis 40′, 47′

P: Wills 61′

 

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Ealing Trailfinders vs Coventry

Ealing Trailfinders fell to their first home defeat of the season, as a strong second half performance from Coventry saw the visitors pull off a 19-22 victory.

It was a game that started quickly, with Coventry going on the attack immediately and Pat Pellegrini slotting an early penalty inside the first three minutes.

This early score fired the Trailfinders into life as pressure was able to force a scrum and then from there they were able to win a penalty. A kick to the corner saw the rolling maul set up and although it was illegally stopped, Carlo Tizzano was able to crash over from the subsequent phases. Craig Willis added the extras and it was 7-3.

Both sides then took it turns to attack, with each defence just holding firm to prevent the opposition from crossing the line. This was until the 23rd minute when a powerful rolling maul allowed Tizzano to extend his lead at the top of the league’s try scoring charts. Willis converted to make it 14-3.

The next ten minutes saw three yellow cards, with Rob Farrar being binned for a high tackle, before Josh Bainbridge was penalised for illegally stopping a dominant Trailfinders’ rolling maul near his own line to make it 14 against 14. Then with five minutes to go in the first-half, Bobby De Wee was also shown a yellow for an illegal tackle.

With the half-time whistle approaching, Coventry went on the attack but were unable to get over. Half-time score: Ealing Trailfinders 14-3 Coventry.

After the break, Coventry started the second-half much like the first, quickly! Repeated penalties saw them gain field position, before Rhys Thomas crashed over on the 46 minute mark.

With all the momentum, the visitors went on the attack again and ten minutes later Thomas secured his brace after breaking off on the back of a rolling maul. The try edged Coventry in front 14-15 and they well and truly had their tails up.

With just under 20 minutes to go De Wee was shown a red card for a head-on-head collision and Trailfinders were facing an up hill battle until the end of the game.

With the extra man, replacement Lucas Titherington was able to score Coventry’s third try and as Pellegrini converted he extended their lead to two scores.

Despite being down in numbers and on the scoreboard, Trailfinders refused to give up. Quick and clinical play saw them slowly edge up the field and into the Coventry 22. After winning a penalty, Jordan Burns took it quickly and almost put Reuben Bird-Tulloch over, but although he was pulled down inches short, the ball was quickly spun out to Luke Daniels who dotted down in the corner to make it 19-22 with three minutes to go.

Sadly for the hosts, it was too little, too late as Coventry were able to close out the game.

The Bread Street Café Player of the Match was awarded to Steven Shingler.

Click here to watch Ben Ward’s post-match interview.

Tickets are now on sale for our Championship Cup fixture against Nottingham on Saturday 11th February at Trailfinders Sports Club (KO 3pm). Click here to purchase tickets. To book our delicious pre-match hospitality email: hospitality@etprm.com.

Full-time Score: Ealing Trailfinders 19-22 Coventry

T: Tizzano 9′, 23′, Daniels 77′

C: Willis 9′, 23′

Hartpury RFC vs Ealing Trailfinders

A Simon Uzokwe brace helped Ealing Trailfinders to a 13-26 bonus point victory away at Hartpury.

It was a match that very nearly didn’t happen, with the main pitch frozen over, but Hartpury were able to move the game over to the next door 4G pitch to ensure it still went ahead.

Despite this, the conditions were still difficult to deal with, given the freezing temperatures and heavy fog. But a penalty try in between Uzokwe’s brace and a late Carlo Tizzano score ensured Trailfinders left Hartpury with five points.

When the game finally did get underway, it did not take long for Trailfinders to go on the attack. Ben Ward’s squad had several good opportunities in the first 10 minutes to get on the scoreboard, but lacked that killer edge to convert chances into points and Hartpury came out of the period unscathed.

Then on the quarter of an hour mark, Hartpury managed to score totally against the run of play. A simple missed tackle allowed Brad Denty to break clear, before the ball was popped inside to Matty Jones. The scrum-half ran in under the sticks and Tommy Mathews added the extras to make the score 7-0.

Despite this score, Trailfinders remained composed and built back into the game. The most effective way of doing this came via the scrum. It took 25 minutes for the visitors to get their first put-in, but from there Trailfinders didn’t look back, winning consistent scrum penalties for the rest of the afternoon.

From the first scrum penalty Ealing Trailfinders went to the corner and set up a rolling maul. Although it got disrupted, Trailfinders managed to recycle well and the ball found its way to Uzokwe who powered over from 10 metres out. Craig Willis added the conversion and the score was all tied up.

Hartpury added a penalty from Mathews to edge in front again, but Trailfinders answered straight back on the 35 minute mark. With a 10 metre line-out, Ealing Trailfinders set up a strong rolling maul that was moving forward at serious pace. With the try-line beckoning, Hartpury cynically entered from the side to pull it down and the referee was left with no choice but to award the penalty try and send the Hartpury player to the sin-bin.

Then on the stroke of half-time, Trailfinders were in again. Another dominant rolling maul crashed over with Uzokwe dotting down and Willis adding the conversion to make it 10-21 at the break.

With the hosts restored to a full compliment, they started the second-half the stronger of the two sides, attacking right from the outset and eventually settling for a penalty through Mathews on the 47 minute mark.

Although Hartpury would have liked to have kicked on from here, Trailfinders’ defence stood firm throughout the second 40 and were able to limit the hosts to just three points. This was partly due to the scrum which got Trailfinders out of trouble on the five metre line on several occasions.

With 15 minutes to go, the scrum was able to help Ealing Trailfinders set up the bonus point score, winning the penalty that saw the visitors go to the corner. Here Trailfinders launched a fierce attack and after several patient phases, quick ball allowed replacement Tizzano to further his lead at the top of the Championship try-scoring charts.

With the bonus point secured Trailfinders were able to see out the rest of the game, securing an important 13-26 victory.

After the game, Director of Rugby Ben Ward said: “I’m really pleased with that result, Hartpury are the form team in the league as they’ve won their last five, so we’re delighted to come here and get the five points.”

Tickets are selling fast for next Saturday’s Championship clash with Coventry at Trailfinders Sports Club (KO 3pm). Click here to purchase tickets.

Full-time Score: Hartpury 13-26 Ealing Trailfinders

T: Uzokwe 26’, 39’, Penalty Try 35’, Tizzano 67’

C: Willis 26’ 39’

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Ealing Trailfinders vs Ampthill

We got back to winning ways as we ran out 35-24 victors against a resilient Ampthill side at Trailfinders Sports Club this afternoon.

It was a game that we took a while to build into and credit has to go to the visitors for hanging in the fight and picking up a deserved try bonus point.

Amid some poor conditions, when the game got underway in West London, it took both teams some time to build into the encounter. It was on the ten minute mark that the deadlock was broken, as Ampthill’s Morgan Strong went over on the back of a rolling maul.

This score looked to have woken us up as we went on the attack immediately from the kick-off, but despite five minutes of constant pressure inside their 22, we were not able to get over.

This didn’t last long however, and just after the 20 minute mark, Jonah Holmes dotted down after a beautifully delayed pass from Craig Willis to put him under the sticks. Willis added the extras and the game was tied up.

From the restart The Mob answered straight back. Kyle Whyte was sent to the bin for repeated penalties and then Strong got over for his and Ampthill’s second score.

The final 15 minutes of the half saw constant pressure as the Trailfinders were roared on by the vocal home crowd. Repeated penalties saw us camped on the Ampthill five metre line and with the half-time whistle beckoning, a powerful rolling maul was illegally stopped and the referee went straight under the posts to award a penalty try.

Half-time score: Ealing Trailfinders 14-12 Ampthill.

After a great half-time display from the Ealing Trailfinders Cheerleaders, we came out of the blocks fast in the second 40. Early impetus saw a great break from Pat Howard as he made 30 metres and beat several defenders. With Ampthill struggling for numbers defensively, Conor Rankin rushed out the line and was able to grab the intercept and run 80 metres to put the visitors back in front.

It was a lead that again didn’t last long as another great rolling maul was stopped just short and we were able to quickly recycle to the short side as Jan-Henning Campher burst through the tacklers to retake the lead.

The next score came 10 minutes later and it was from a lovely break finished off with a considerable amount of luck. After strong play, Carlo Tizzano was put through a hole on the half-way line and raced clear. The league’s top try-scorer was pulled down meters from the line and looked to offload to Craig Hampson. His pass hit the scrum-half directly in the face and the ball bobbled over the try line before Hampson dotted down. As the ball going forward off someone’s head isn’t a knock-on, the referee conferred with his assistant referee given the rare nature of this try, before awarding the score. Craig Willis slotted the extras to ensure his 100% success rate from the boot.

With the game ticking into the final 20, Ben Harris scored Ampthill bonus point try to make the margin only four points. This meant the final quarter of an hour could have been a very nervy affair, but the dominance of our replacement props helped keep us on top. A penalty at the scrum gave us field position and then repeated infringements and a deliberate knock-on eventually saw Ampthill down to 14.

With the man advantage, we chose to go to a scrum five metres out. The power shown pushed Ampthill back at a rate of knots and after they cynically infringed, the referee had no choice but to run under the posts for another penalty try.

With a few minutes on the clock we were able to close out a hard fought 35-24 victory.

The Bread Street Café Player of the Match was awarded to Carlo Tizzano.

Tickets are now on sale for our next home fixture against Coventry on Saturday 28th January at Trailfinders Sports Club (KO 3pm). Click here to purchase tickets. To book our delicious pre-match hospitality email: hospitality@etprm.com.

Full-time Score: Ealing Trailfinders 35-24 Ampthill

T: Holmes 21′, Penalty Try 38′, 74′, Campher 47′, Hampson 55′

C: Willis 21′, 47′, 55′

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Nathan Earle

Caldy vs Ealing Trailfinders

Ealing Trailfinders suffered their first defeat of the 2022/23 Championship season, going down 26-24 in a titanic battle at Paton Field.

In front of a big and vocal home crowd, Caldy crossed for their bonus point try in the final moment of the game to clinch an impressive victory and secure their third win of the season.

Ealing Trailfinders arrived at Paton Field confident and determined following their powerful 43-22 win over Jersey Reds on Christmas Eve, however on a tough, wet and slow pitch, the battle with Caldy was always going to be heated.

Up against a physical and large Caldy pack, the Trailfinders forwards hit the game with power, barging over the whitewash with a well executed driving maul in the 15th minute, Jan-Henning Campher the scorer. Craig Willis added his first kick of the afternoon and Ben Ward’s side led 0-7.

The match took a pivotal turn seven minutes later with Ealing Trailfinders tight-head Ross Kane red carded for a dangerous tackle in the ruck. Kane’s dismissal meant Trailfinders were down to 14 players for the next 58 minutes.

Needing to keep the scoreboard ticking over, Ealing Trailfinders were then awarded a penalty in front of the sticks. Willis stepped up and calmly slotted the penalty kick for the 0-10 lead.

With dark clouds forming over Paton Field, Trailfinders shot out of the blocks straight after the half-time break, with a swift wide pass to Reuben Bird-Tulloch who collected and ran in for an untouched try. Willis nailed the conversion and the visitors were 0-17 ahead.

The lead was only short lived with Caldy responding two minutes later, taking advantage of a loopy wide pass to intercept and cross for their first try. The conversion was successful and the score reduced to 7-17 with 35 minutes left to play.

Determined to remain on the front foot, Ealing Trailfinders hit back just three minutes later with their third try. Jan-Henning on the end of a powerful driving maul to score his second. Willis added the extras for the 7-24 lead.

Holding the 17 point advantage and with 30 minutes left on the clock, Trailfinders looked on track to secure their 11th win of the season, but Caldy were’t done yet and to their credit found a way to get themselves back in the match. Converted tries in the 57th and 65th minute reduced the deficit to just 21-24 with 15 minutes left on the clock.

Roared on by a boisterous home crowd, Caldy continued to throw everything at the Championship leaders. They worked their way into Trailfinders’ 22 on a number of occasions, before taking full advantage of a dramatic final three minutes.

First Luke Daniels was yellow carded in the 77th minute, before fullback Jonah Holmes also found himself in the sin-bin two minutes later. With Ealing Trailfinders reduced to 12 players and with one final attempt at the line, Caldy swung the ball swiftly wide, using the overlap to score in the corner and secure a famous comeback win. The conversion was missed but the home supporters could not care less.

Ealing Trailfinders picked up the losing bonus point to maintain a two point lead at the top of the Championship table. A special mention to flanker Ollie Newman who made his Ealing Trailfinders debut.

Full-time Score: Caldy 26-24 Ealing Trailfinders

T: Campher 15′, 48′, Bird-Tulloch 42′,

C: Willis 16′, 43′, 49′

P: Willis 29′

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