Clifton Lane Archives - Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club

Rotherham Titans vs Ealing Trailfinders

Ealing Trailfinders continued their 100% start to the British and Irish Cup with a 45-10 bonus point victory over Rotherham Titans at Clifton Lane.

After a tight first half the teams went down the tunnel with the score level at 10-10, but the West Londoners looked a completely different side in the second half and registered 35 unanswered points to take control of the match and leave with a deserved win.

It was the Titans who started strongly and went in front with a try from Drew Cheshire after just five minutes. After a number of phases in the 22, the ball was spun wide to the centre who used his feet to step the final defender and open the scoring. Lee Millar’s conversion put Andy Key’s men 7-0 in front.

The Trailfinders were quick to respond and got their first try of the afternoon on the 15 minute mark. Rory Clegg’s inch-perfect cross-field kick was gathered by Will Harries, who drew in the full-back and then passed inside to Luke Daniels who had the pace to run in unattended to cut the deficit to just two points.

Ben Ward’s side then went in front five minutes later with top try-scorer Alun Walker adding another five-pointer to his tally from close range. A rolling maul was dragged down but when the ball was recycled it allowed the Scot to bundle his way over from just a metre out and put his team 10-7 in front.

The remainder of the first half was a cagey affair with both sides making a number of handling errors in the freezing cold conditions, however with the last play of the half a penalty from Millar meant that Rotherham drew level and headed in to the changing rooms with 10-10 on the score board.

A ruthless Ealing side emerged for the second half and produced a dominant display to secure the victory in emphatic style with a mightily impressive 40 minute performance.

Lewis Jones marked his return to the starting line-up just two minutes in to the second half to put the Trailfinders back in front. From the base of a scrum the ball was hit the centre who was right on the gain-line, and he was able to power his way to the line to dive under the posts. Luke Daniels, who converted all five second half tries extended the lead to 17-10.

Just four minutes later the try bonus point was secured and the daylight between the teams increased with a try from Harry Casson. Clegg took a quick-tap penalty inside the Rotherham 22, and after being hauled down just short the captain was able to drive over from close range to ensure that his team left with the extra point.

The intensity stayed high throughout the second half and Grayson Hart was next to go over the line just before the hour mark. A five metre lineout found it’s way to the scrum-half, who dummied and went through the middle of two defenders to score. Daniels’ conversion put Ealing 31-10 ahead, which put the result beyond doubt.

Lewis Robling then joined in the try-scoring with another first-phase try from a set-piece. The ball came off the top of a lineout and was zipped straight to the inside centre who went through four defenders on his 20 metre run to the line to add further gloss to the score-line.

The scoring was rounded off by Lewis Jones who got his second of the match with 10 minutes left on the clock. Piers O’Conor tidied up a fumble in a Rotherham attack and raced straight away before popping the ball up to Daniels. The Titans defence hauled the South African down but he was able to offload to Seb Stegmann, who eventually found Jones to run to the line and extend the lead to 45-10.

The final 10 minutes saw both sides playing open rugby as they went in search of further points but the defences held firm and rounded off what had been a fierce battle at Clifton Lane.

The result means the Trailfinders sit top of the pool with a maximum 15 points from 15 as they continue to chase a home quarter-final, and they welcome Rotherham to Vallis Way next Saturday for the return fixture where they will be aiming to continue their momentum in front of the home supporters.

Rotherham Titans:

15 Ben Foley, 14 Jamie Cooke, 13 Drew Cheshire, 12 Logan Tibbetts, 11 Wesley Hamilton, 10 Lee Millar, 9 Francisco Vieira, 1 Tom Williams, 2 Jonny Murphy, 3 Brandon Palmer, 4 Rob Louw, 5 James Lasis, 6 Dan Grange, 7 Charlie Maddison (c.) 8 Tom Burns

Replacements:

16 Luke Cole, 17 Toby Williams, 18 Andrew Foster, 19 Guy Borrowdale, 20 Tom Calladine, 21 Rhodri Davies, 22 Will Thomas.

Scorers:

Tries: Drew Cheshire (5 minutes)

Conversions: Lee Millar (5 minutes)

Penalties: Lee Millar (40 minutes)

Yellow Card: Rob Louw

Ealing Trailfinders:

15 Luke Daniels 14 Seb Stegmann 13 Lewis Jones 12 Lewis Robling 11 Will Harries 10 Rory Clegg (replaced by Piers O’Conor) 9 Grayson Hart (replaced by Luke Carter) 1 James Gibbons (replaced by Djustice Sears Duru) 2 Alun Walker (replaced by Rhys Lawrence) 3 Lewis Thiede (replaced by Mark Tampin) 4 Harry Casson 5 Oli Curry 6 Rayn Smid (replaced by Barney Maddison) 7 Dan Temm 8 Morgan Allen (replaced by Llewelyn Jones)

Replacements:

16 Rhys Lawrence 17 Djustice Sears-Duru 18 Mark Tampin 19 Llewelyn Jones 20 Barney Maddison 21 Luke Carter 22 Piers O’Conor

Scorers:

Tries: Luke Daniels (14 minutes) Alun Walker (22 minutes) Lewis Jones (42, 69 minutes) Harry Casson (46 minutes) Grayson Hart (57 minutes) Lewis Robling (64 minutes)

Conversions: Luke Daniels (42, 46, 57, 64, 69 minutes)

Match Officials:

Referee: Fergus Kirby

Assistant Referees: Lionel Spooner & Ian Bibey

Fourth Official: Andrew Wigley

Championship 2017-2018 Clifton Lane

Rotherham Titans vs Ealing Trailfinders

Ealing Trailfinders ended the first block of the season with a hard-fought 23-18 victory over Rotherham Titans at Clifton Lane.

In what wasn’t a vintage performance from the West Londoners in tricky conditions they ensured that they remain second in the Greene King IPA Championship after tries from Harry Casson, Mark Bright and Will Harries.

Ben Ward’s side made a fast start with Harry Casson bundling over the line after just six minutes to give the visitors an early lead. A Rotherham lineout was stolen and gave the Trailfinders the prime opportunity to score, which Casson accepted with a drive from close range which saw him dot down under the posts. Shane O’Leary’s conversion put his team 7-0 ahead.

Rotherham responded strongly and cut the deficit to just four points with a penalty from Caolan Ryan, before taking the lead just two minutes later.

A turnover on the half way line gave Drew Cheshire acres of space on the wing, and he drew in the last defender before passing inside to Will Porter who had a clear run to the try-line. Ryan converted, and edged the Titans 10-7 in front.

Dan Temm looked to have given Ealing the lead on the half hour mark after he forced his way through a tackle and dived over the line, but he was held up and play re-started with a scrum.

From the resulting scrum Ealing did go in front, with captain Mark Bright picking the ball up just inches short of the line and using enough power to ensure that the defence were unable to stop him. The conversion went wide in the blustery wind, but the visitors now held a two point advantage.

That lead disappeared straight from the re-start as the Titans were awarded a penalty in front of the posts, which was successfully kicked by Ryan to give them a 13-12 lead.

It appeared that the hosts would go in to half time ahead, but an outstanding try from Will Harries in the final play of the half made sure that Ealing would go back in to the changing rooms with the advantage.

From the base of the scrum the ball was spun straight to Joe Munro who made impressive yards before passing inside to Luke Daniels. The full-back raced clear, drew in his opposite number and had Harries alongside who ran to the line unattended to score in the corner and give his side a 17-13 lead at the break.

The Trailfinders had plenty of territory and almost all of the possession in the second-half, but they were unable to convert their dominance in to points, resulting in a nail-biting final 40 minutes.

Peter Lydon replaced Shane O’Leary on the 50 minute mark and his first action was to kick a penalty to extend the lead to seven points.

However Rotherham came back fighting and scored a length of the field try with 20 minutes remaining to bring themselves within two points. Ealing had a scrum just five metres from the line but the Titans stole it and raced away as they saw the opportunity in front of them. Once entering the 22 the ball was recycled to Will Porter who was able to go over for his second try of the match. The conversion went wide which saw them miss the chance to draw level.

Despite there being just one score between the sides, it was Ealing who were controlling the match as they searched for the bonus point try. Will Harries found himself in space on the right wing and chipped over the final defender but the bounce went agonisingly in to touch.

Lydon kicked another penalty with five minutes remaining to allow some breathing space and put the visitors 23-18 up, and they were then awarded another penalty with just two minutes left.

It was kicked to the corner and a five metre lineout presented a great opportunity, but the chance passed by and the referee blew his whistle to conclude what had been a hugely competitive match at Clifton Lane.

The win means that after the first block of matches Ben Ward’s side have registered eight wins from their nine fixtures, heading in to a blank weened before hosting Yorkshire Carnegie in a fortnight at Vallis Way.

Rotherham Titans:

15 Will Thomas, 14 Drew Cheshire, 13 Yiannis Loizias, 12 Luke Peters, 11 Jake Henry, 10 Caolan Ryan, 9 Will Porter, 1 Toby Williams, 2 Luke Cole, 3 Matt Shields, 4 Rob Louw, 5 Byron Hodge, 6 Adam Peters, 7 Tom Calladine (C), 8 Tom Burns.

Replacements:

16 Charlie Maddison, 17 Brandon Palmer, 18 Matt Postlethwaite, 19 Tom Willis, 20 Ben Foley, 21 Francisco Vieira, 22 Lee Millar.

Scorers:

Tries: Will Porter (13, 56 minutes)

Conversions: Caolan Ryan (13 minutes)

Penalties: Caolan Ryan (10, 35 minutes)

Ealing Trailfinders:

15 Luke Daniels 14 James Cordy Redden 13 Piers O’Conor 12 Joe Munro 11 Will Harries 10 Shane O’Leary 9 Grayson Hart 1 Will Davis 2 Alun Walker 3 Lewis Thiede 4 Harry Casson 5 Barney Maddison 6 Rayn Smid 7 Dan Temm 8 Mark Bright (c)

Replacements:

16 Matt Cornish 17 James Gibbons 18 Sam Rodman 19 Oli Curry 20 Morgan Allen 21 Luke Carter 22 Peter Lydon

Scorers:

Tries: Harry Casson (5 minutes) Mark Bright (32 minutes) Will Harries (40 minutes)

Conversions: Shane O’Leary (5 minutes)

Penalties: Peter Lydon (51, 75 minutes)

Match Officials:

Referee: Simon Harding

Assistant Referees: Matthew Daubney & Phil Watters

Fourth Official: Jamie Leahy

Half Time Score: Rotherham Titans 13 – 17 Ealing Trailfinders

Championship 2016-2017 Clifton Lane

Rotherham Titans vs Ealing Trailfinders

Ealing Trailfinders stay in the Greene King IPA Championship play-off places after running in six tries in their maiden victory at Rotherham Titans’ Clifton Lane home.

Kieran Murphy grabbed a brace of tries, Luke Carter scored one on his return to South Yorkshire and there were further scores from Will Harries, Rayn Smid and Sam Rodman.

Rory Clegg made his club debut after his deadline day move and he finished with a 100 percent record with his boot of six conversions and three penalties.

Ben Ward’s team were helped after Rotherham Titans second row Miles Normandale was sent off for catching Carter’s head with a boot after 16 minutes. It meant there was plenty of room for Clegg to set his runners free; either the outside backs into space, or powerful drives from the forward pack.

Clegg had scored his first penalty by the time Normandale received his marching orders and soon after he converted Murphy’s first try after the back-row had been driven over from the back of a lineout.

The flanker then added his second when he peeled round the back of a lineout to leave him with a straight-forward run over the line.

After the pack continued to exert more pressure on the line Carter scooted around the side of a ruck to leave a four-try bonus point on the cards just before the half-hour mark. It duly came shortly before half-time when Murphy turned creator with a clever chip over the defence that Harries swooped on.

Clegg kicked his third penalty to bring the half to a close, but when they returned it was the 14 men of Rotherham Titans who started in the ascendancy.

Prop Jo Rees was driven over for their first points and while Ealing Trailfinders responded with Smid’s first try for the club, wing Tom Collins received the biggest cheer of the day when he intercepted a loose pass and raced home from his half.

Ealing Trailfinders enjoyed the final word as the pack again took command of proceedings and with the clock running down prop Rodman scored Ealing Trailfinders’ sixth in a similar way to their first by being driven over following a lineout win from Willie Ryan.

Scorers
Rotherham Titans
Tries (Rees 47, Collins 60), Conversions (Ryan 60)
Ealing Trailfinders
Tries (Murphy 15, 23, Carter 29, Harries 37, Smid 55, Rodman 71), Conversions (Clegg 15, 23, 29, 37, 55, 71), Penalties (5, 19, 40)

Rotherham Titans
Will Thomas, Ben Foley, Callum Wilson, Will Owen, Tom Collins, Charlie Foley, Connor Murphy; Tom Williams, Luke Cole, Joe Rees, Miles Normandale, Oli Curry, Tom Calladine, Charlie Maddison, Lewis Ludlam
Reserves
Joe Graham, Toby Williams, Danny Herriot, Darren Oliver, Tom MacDonald, Matt Walsh, Caolan Ryan

Ealing Trailfinders
Will Harries, Miles Mantella, Aled Jenkins, Joe Munro, James Cordy-Redden, Rory Clegg, Luke Carter; Will Davis, Alun Walker, Lewis Thiede, Llewelyn Jones, Barney Maddison, Kieran Murphy, Rayn Smid, Mark Bright (captain)
Reserves
Rhys Lawrence, James Gibbons, Sam Rodman, Harry Casson, Willie Ryan, Josh Davies, Curtis Wilson

Referee – Ian Tempest
Attendance – 773

British and Irish Cup 2015-2016 Clifton Lane

Rotherham Titans vs Ealing Trailfinders

Ealing Trailfinders were unable to break their duck against Rotherham Titans as the South Yorkshire side ran in seven tries to secure their third win from three this season in the re-arranged British and Irish Cup match.

Nathan Buck scored Ealing Trailfinders’ only try and Academy flanker Tyler Bush came off the bench to make his debut in a fixture that was initially due to be played on 16 January, before the team had to turn around halfway up the M1 after the Clifton Lane pitch was deemed unplayable.

The result marked a winning start for their new Titans coach Justin Burnell and ended their run of 10 consecutive losses.

Ealing Trailfinders made a great start as Nathan Buck was driven over from a driving maul that Alex Davies converted to give the visitors a 7-0 lead after 10 minutes.

Rotherham wing Will Goodwin knocked a penalty off a post, but the host side continued to build their pressure and flanker Tom Calladine was driven over for a try that Goodwin converted to ensure the scores were level at half-time.

The hosts didn’t hang around to take control in the second half when wing Michael Keating swept on a loose ball to race in, with Goodwin adding the conversion. Calladine then scored his second and Goodwin his third conversion to stretch their lead further.

Before the hour mark Rotherham wrapped up a try bonus point when centre Will Owen collected the ball on the right hand side and galloped through. Two minutes later second row George Oram powered over and with Goodwin making it five from five from the tee the hosts had a lead of 35-7.

Rotherham Titans kept their foot on the accelerator as the match ran to its conclusion; first Josh Redfern crashed over in the corner following good work by the pack and then Willie Ryan hacked through to chase down and score the seventh Titans try.

Scorers
Rotherham Titans
Tries (Calladine 2, Keating, Owen, Redfearn, Ryan), Conversions (Goodwin 5)
Ealing Trailfinders
Tries (Buck), Conversion (Davies)

Rotherham Titans
Sean Scanlon (captain), Michael Keating, Jordan Davies, Will Owen, Will Goodwin, James McKinney, Dan White, Robin Hislop, Darran Harris, Mark Tampin, Toby Salmon, George Oram, Willie Ryan, Tom Calladine, Josh Redfern
Reserves
Charlie Maddison, Toby Williams, Lewis Thiede, Jack Preece, Lloyd Hayes, Andy Davies, Luke Carter

Ealing Trailfinders
James Love, Callum Wilson, Sam Stanley, Joe Munro, James Stephenson, Tristan Roberts, Alex Davies; Jamie Kilbane, Karl Gibson, Nathan Buck, Nathan Hannay, Paul Spivey, Eoghan Grace, Alex Bradley, Danny Kenny (captain)
Reserves
George Porter, Matt Cornish, Michael Holford, Harrison Orr, Tyler Bush, Tom Trotter, Andy Reay

Referee – Jack Makepeace
Attendance – 618

Championship 2015-2016 Clifton Lane

Rotherham Titans vs Ealing Trailfinders

Ealing Trailfinders were denied a win on their return to the Greene King IPA Championship when Rotherham Titans fly-half Tom Barrett landed a last-minute penalty from 48 metres to win the match.

It was redemption for Barrett who had earlier missed 11 points-worth of kicks and which meant Ben Ward’s side went into the closing minutes 23-21 ahead.

The visitors fully played their part in an absorbing contest, which is a marked improvement on the last time they visited South Yorkshire and left with a 79-9 defeat in their second match of the 2013-14 season.

Ealing Trailfinders opened the scoring two minutes in when Alex Davies knocked over the first of his 10 points on his competitive debut for the West Londoners after Rotherham’s defence had come up offside.

It set up a good opening period for the visitors with James Stephenson and Joe Munro making good headway when they had the chance to stretch their legs.

Eventually the hosts found their feet and while Tom Barrett knocked a penalty wide on 12 minutes, he quickly made amends by dropping a goal to level the score. It marked a dominant period for the hosts and when Ealing Trailfinders’ defence held their backline out they turned to their forwards.

Barney Maddison caught a line-out throw, flanker Tom Calladine raced round on the peel and after he was tackled Rotherham captain Tom Holmes kept the move alive to dive over and put the hosts into the lead.

They continued to enjoy the upper hand, but Ealing Trailfinders worked their way back down the field and into the game and just before halftime captain Chris York picked off from the back of a scrum to dot down for a try that Davies converted to put the visitors in the lead once more.

Rotherham came strong again, but a well-timed Stephenson intercept stopped their momentum and while they won another penalty from a rolling mail on the stroke of halftime Barrett dragged his kick wide.

Ealing Trailfinders stretched their lead early in the second half when Tristan Roberts popped over a drop-goal, but Barrett slotted a penalty to keep Rotherham in contention.

Rotherham then scored their second try after punching a number of holes in the Ealing Trailfinders defence and eventually Number 8 Tim Cree forced his way over. They continued to dominate and fullback Will Harries stopped his opposite number Sean Scanlon as he threatened to break through.

The match swung 15 minutes from time when Roberts attacked from deep and set Stephenson running. He offloaded to York and him in turn to Arthur Ellis who ran in from just outside the 22.

Barrett landed another penalty, but with three minutes remaining Davies landed another of his own to give Ealing Trailfinders the lead. As the clock ran down Rotherham rallied once more. York’s line-out steal and Roberts charge down appeared to have thwarted the danger, but from a ruck Rotherham won one a last penalty and Barrett dropped his kick onto the bar and over for the win.

Rotherham Titans
Scanlon, Keating, Owen, Barker, Wilson, Barrett, Carter; Hislop, Maddison, Tampin, Holmes (captain), Argyle, Calladine, Cree
Reserves
Preece, Williams, Thiede, Oram, Birch, White, Goodwin

Ealing Trailfinders
Will Harries, Rhys Crane, Danny Barnes, Joe Munro, James Stephenson, Tristan Roberts, Alex Davies; George Porter, Alun Walker, Michael Holford, Carwyn Jones, Llewelyn Jones, Iain Grieve, Arthur Ellis, Chris York (captain)
Reserves
Sam Rodman, Matt Thompson, Nathan Buck, Adam Preocanin, Harrison Orr, Tom Bliss, Toby Berridge

Scorers
Rotherham Titans
Tries (Holmes 27, Cree 48), Conversions (Barrett 48), Penalties (Barrett 45, 68, 80), Drop-goals (Barrett 20)
Ealing Trailfinders
Tries (York 38, Ellis 66), Conversions (Davies 38, 66), Penalties (Davies 2, 77), Drop-goals (Roberts 42)

Referee – Matthew O’Grady
Attendance – 887