Sandy Park Archives - Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club

Trailfinders Women vs Exeter Chiefs Women Official Match Report:

Trailfinders Women fell just short as Exeter Chiefs clinched a narrow 36-25 victory at Sandy Park.

Tries from Cristina Blanco, Abby Dow and Julia Schell, as well as two penalties from the boot of Emma Taylor, weren’t enough to secure a win against a strong Chiefs outfit.

Trailfinders got on the board through Blanco, who crashed over at the back of a strong driving maul after ill-discipline from the Chiefs allowed them territory into the red zone.

The hosts struggled to get any momentum in the early excursions thanks to a solid defensive effort by Trailfinders, as they didn’t allow Chiefs any rhythm in attack.

Although, Exeter were certainly getting dominant at scrum time, which kept them in the game-winning penalties.

Eventually, the hosts got their first score as they worked the ball well into a position for Sabrina Poulin to score.

Trailfinders responded immediately by extending their lead through the boot of Taylor as she excellently slotted a penalty.

In a tight game, both sides were fighting for every inch in what became a very attritional matchup between the two sides.

Exeter had a try from a driving maul of their own, with replacement Rachel Johnson going over.

However, Trailfinders took the opportunity for another three via Taylor’s boot and headed into the break with a narrow lead.

Half-Time: Trailfinders Women 10-13 Exeter Chiefs Women

Chiefs came out of the sheds looking like a completely different side striking through the rolling maul and Andrea Stock was shown yellow for collapsing it, and Chiefs awarded the penalty try.

The rolling maul was strong once again, with Clara Nielson crashing over mere minutes later, and then Hope Rogers added another crashing over from close range from the pick-and-go.

Trailfinders kept in the contest with an excellent finish by Dow diving in the corner.

Schell followed it with a brilliant intercept try running the length of the pitch.

However, the Chiefs edged the victory, with Lori Cramer collecting a cross-filed kick at the death to secure the win.

Full-Time: Exeter 36-25 Trailfinders Women

Trailfinders Women:

Tries- Blanco 4, Dow 64, Schell 74

Conversions- Taylor 5, 75

Penalties- Taylor 29, 38

Yellow Card- Andrea Stock 45

Exeter Chiefs:

Tries- Poulin 25, Johnson 38, Nielson 50, Rogers 53, Cramer 80, Penalty Try 46,

Conversions- Tessier 80

Trailfinders Women were beaten 38-19 by Exeter Chiefs in a thrilling encounter at Sandy Park.

Tries from Abby Dow, Carys Cox and Kate Zackary contributed to a strong showing for the away side against last year’s league finalists.

This result leaves Trailfinders Women 5th in the table, heading into a massive doubleheader at TFSC next weekend as Ealing Trailfinders take on Caldy and Trailfinders Women face off reigning champions Gloucester-Hartpury.

The first half was by far the more one-sided of the two terms, and it started with an Exeter score. Hope Rogers crashing over after a Brooke Bradley break for the Chiefs.

Claudia MacDonald and Danielle Preece would cross the whitewash quickly to leave the scores 17-0 with 20 minutes gone.

Trailfinders were not deterred, though, and battled well for the following 15 minutes, with defensive pressure forcing multiple Exeter handling errors, only for a Gabby Cantorna try to move the scoreboard to 24-0 35 minutes in.

The away side would then open their account through Dow. The Red Rose broke through four tacklers to muscle over the line from short range.

That would take the game into halftime, with Ellie Green’s conversion leaving the score at 24-7.

The second term opened with a yellow card for Tighthead Sara Seye after repeated infringements at the lineout.

Chiefs’ Cliodhna Moloney at the back of a rolling maul immediately followed from the resulting lineout.

Again, Trailfinders replied with more defensive pressure, only for Taz Bracknell to widen the gap to 38-7 with 57 minutes gone.

This would be the home side’s last score, and Trailfinders battled back brilliantly, narrowly missing out on a bonus point try.

Cox scored after a magic 50m break left the Sandy Park crowd stunned. The Welsh International, playing at fullback today, beat five players in a mazy run that Director of Rugby Giselle Mather said: “Had shades of Van Der Merwe.”

The away side weren’t done, though. Zackary would cross in the corner untouched after some sumptuous phase play fed the Number Eight in against her old club.

That try left the final score 38-19, with Trailfinders Women 5th in the league after six games.