Grantchester Road Archives - Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club

Ealing Trailfinders secured a commanding 7-57 bonus point victory over Cambridge this afternoon.

Tries from Biyi Alo, Matt Cornish, Lloyd Williams, Ollie Newman, Andrew Davidson, Bobby De Wee, Reuben Bird-Tulloch, Mike Willemse and Dan O’Brien helped them to their tenth win in the league this season.

Trailfinders moved 12 points clear at the top of the Championship table after this weekend’s action.

The hosts started the brighter of the two teams. Turnover ball on halfway allowed Kwaku Asiedu to take advantage down the left wing and run round under the posts to make it a straight forward seven pointer.

This would prove to be Cambridge’s best moment of the half as Ealing Trailfinders went on to score five unanswered tries. Biyi Alo opened the scoring for the visitors, powering himself over from just a couple of metres out. Five minutes later, Matt Cornish scored Trailfinders’ second. It was smart thinking from the hooker, as the forwards were counter rucking, he picked the ball up and dived over the line.

Lloyd Williams would provide the next try of the game. A mazy run from Reuben Bird-Tulloch following a broken tackle on halfway allowed him to gift the Welshman a five pointer. Bird-Tulloch popping it up to him from two metres out after a great covering tackle from the Cambridge defence. Minutes later, Ollie Newman secured the bonus point. He broke from the driving maul to dot down out wide.

40 minutes was up on the clock, however Andrew Davidson wasn’t ready to head to the sheds just yet. The second-row hit a short line off Williams and crashed through the defensive line to score, making the half-time score 7-31 in favour of Ealing Trailfinders.

The West Londoners’ physically dominant display would continue in the second half, with Bobby De Wee first to get his name on the score sheet. De Wee had defenders hanging from him as he fell over the line to extend the lead.

With a quarter of the match to play, Reuben Bird-Tulloch raced away to score the eighth try of the contest. He intercepted a miss pass and dotted down underneath the sticks. Ten minutes later, replacement hooker Mike Willemse would break through the Blood and Sand’s defensive line after a pick and go, to bring up a half-century of points for Trailfinders.

Dan O’Brien would have the final say in this encounter. A huge hit from Will Montgomery knocked the ball loose allowing O’Brien to pick up inside his own half and run away to the try line.

An emphatic performance and second half clean sheet meant Ealing Trailfinders took all five points back to West London.

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.