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 Women put in a fighting display away at the Twickenham Stoop for the inaugural match in the club’s history, coming up just short in an entertaining 31-21 Allianz Cup loss.
The game ebbed and flowed in both directions, with Trailfinders finding their feet in the 10th minute with a fast counter attack by Courtney Pursglove, but Quins managed to keep the visiting side at bay after a lengthy period of sustained attack.
It was Amy Layzell that broke the deadlock however in the 22nd minute, breaching the Trailfinders defence after some incisive passing down the left.
The Trailfinders responded well and continued to trouble Quins, but a charge down on the 5m line enabled Quins winger Katie Shillaker to touch down for their second try and extend Quins’ lead to 14-0.
Trailfinders finally got their reward at the end of the first half, with Ellie Boatman making an initial break and then Pursglove turning on the after burners to cross the try line for the first time in Trailfinders Women’s history. A moment followed by raucous celebrations from the travelling supporters!
Trailfinders started the second half just like they ended the first, on the front foot and making the early pressure count with an Abi Burton converted try levelling the scores at 14-14.
Quins immediately responded to this with their third and fourth tries of the match, with England international Bryony Cleall and Layzell stretching Quins’ lead back out to 28-14.
Trailfinders responded well to the setback, finding themselves in some good attacking areas but this time unable to breach the home defence. However, an individual piece of brilliance by Boatman set the Trailfinders fans alight with less than 10 minutes to play, with her weaving run bringing Trailfinders back to within 7 points of the Quins.
Urged on by the travelling fans, Trailfinders pushed for a 4th try, but it wasn’t to be in the end with Harlequins Women running out 31-21 winners.
A great first performance by Trailfinders Women, who showed exciting potential throughout the match. After a two week break, they will be making their home debut against Gloucester-Hartpury at Trailfinders Sports Club on Saturday 14th October.
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.
Ealing Trailfinders began their 2023/24 campaign with a preseason match against Zebre Parma in Piacenza, Italy.
It was both side’s first match in over three months, so there was bound to be a cagey start to proceedings. After the cobwebs were blown away, it was the hosts that opened the scoring, with a penalty in front of the sticks.
The greasy conditions aided Zebre for the opening try of the encounter. A loose ball was capitalised on, Simone Gesi hacked the ball though and dived over in the corner. Tiff Eden stretched the lead to ten nil.
Jonah Holmes struck just before the half time whistle to give the West Londoners something to take into the break. Steven Shingler’s touchline conversion narrowed the gap to three points.
Half-Time – Zebre Parma 10 – 7 Ealing Trailfinders
The visitors came out firing in the second half. A penalty won at the breakdown allowed Shingler to kick to the corner and Trailfinders unleashed the rolling maul. After being on the field for just three minutes Matt Cornish crashed over.
Halfway through the second 40, Zebre converted a penalty from inside their own half to make it a one point game.
As the game entered the final 10 minutes, Trailfinders had an attacking scrum inside Zebre’s 22. A move straight from the training ground allowed Reuben Bird-Tulloch to cross the whitewash from close range.
It was two in as many minutes for Bird-Tulloch, to almost put the game out of sight. Shingler kicked the ball over the top for Holmes to collect and pop inside to Bird-Tulloch to go over untouched.
Zebre would not lie down, with 60 seconds to go the Italian side were awarded a penalty try, giving them one last shot at turning the tie around. The hosts failed to convert with their last attack, allowing the West Londoners to take the spoils
A superb second 40 from Ben Ward’s men meant Ealing Trailfinders ran out 20-26 winners.
Full-Time – Zebre Parma 20-26 Ealing Trailfinders
Tries – Holmes (35), Cornish (43), Bird-Tulloch (73, 75)
Conversions – Shingler (36, 44, 76)
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