Ealing Trailfinders vs Rotherham Titans

Ealing Trailfinders ended their season with a seven-try victory over Rotherham Titans, a side who had won all three matches between them earlier in the season.

Victory meant that Ben Ward’s side finish one place and one point behind the South Yorkshire side in the Greene King IPA Championship and they will renew their rivalry next season.

After the match opened with a bang when Arthur Ellis ran deep into the Rotherham half from kick-off, errors began to creep in.

Ealing Trailfinders’ James Love and Rotherham’s Will Owen knocked on close in, while Ellis came to his team’s rescue by stopping Darran Harris on the line.

Alun Walker eventually opened the scoring for the home side when he barrelled over from close range after Tom Trotter’s quick tap penalty had taken play up to the Rotherham line.

The home side enjoyed the bulk of territory and possession and they were further rewarded when Ellis was twice driven over from line-outs before the break.

Luke Daniels continued to impose himself on the match with his pace, but as the second half wore on the Titans worked their way back into proceedings and after twice over-throwing line-outs on the Ealing Trailfinders line, substitute Jack Preece eventually scored from a rolling maul.

The hosts hit back immediately when Love jinked past Michael Keating to set Adam Preocanin free to charge home and wrap up the four-try bonus point. Love then set Daniels free to race away for the fifth.

As the clock and season drew to a close Newcastle-bound Harrison Orr signed off his time in W13 with a try and scrum-half Trotter scored a richly deserved first in Ealing Trailfinders colours.

George Edgson pulled one back for Rotherham, but by then the result was long decided.

Scorers
Ealing Trailfinders
Tries (Walker 18, Ellis 24, 40, Preocanin 53, Daniels 57, Orr 65, Trotter 66), Conversions (Ward 18, Love 40, 58, 65, 66)
Rotherham Titans
Tries (Preece 51, Edgson 74), Conversions (Thomas 51)

Ealing Trailfinders
Luke Daniels, Rhys Crane, Toby Howley-Berridge, Joe Munro, James Love, Ben Ward, Tom Trotter; Wil Davis, Alun Walker, Alex Penny, Paul Spivey, Adam Preocanin, Llewelyn Jones, Arthur Ellis, Chris York (captain)
Reserves
Jamie Kilbane, Rhys Lawrence, Sam Rodman, Harrison Orr, Alex Bradley, Tom Wheatcroft, Chris Kinloch

Rotherham Titans
Ross Jones, Michael Keating, Jack Hayes, Will Owen, Lloyd Hayes, Will Robinson, Luke Carter; Toby Williams, Darran Harris, Lewis Thiede, Adam Sinclair, Barney Maddison (captain), Max Argyle, Ali Birch, Willie Ryan
Reserves
George Edgson, Michael Cromie, James Elliot, Josh Redfern, Jack Preece, Dan White, Joe Barker

Referee – Fergus Kirby
Attendance – 667
STORM Watches Man of the Match – Luke Daniels

Ealing Trailfinders vs Jersey Reds

Ealing Trailfinders ensured their place in the Greene King IPA Championship next season with a nail-biting clash against old rivals Jersey, who came close to staging a second-half fightback.

James Love kicked two long-range penalties in the second-half to keep the visitors at bay, with the second calming nerves as the clock ran down to keep the Channel Islanders at arm’s length.

Jersey pressured early on from kick-off, but Ealing Trailfinders’ defence kept their shape and a strong tackle by Toby Howley-Berridge on Pierce Phillips set the tone. Ealing Trailfinders’ pack then played their part to the full; first by forcing a knock-on at a line-out and then by shoving their opposite numbers of the ball, dominance that was to continue as the half went on.

Neither team were able to find any rhythm early on and the match swung back and forth. Luke Daniels led a strong counter-attack that brought the crowd to their feet, but after linking with Arthur Ellis Jersey’s defence recovered to snuff out the threat.

Ealing Trailfinders pack continued to enjoy dominance at the scum and off the back of one on the half-way line the ball went wide, Daniels broke the Jersey defence and he put Love free to race away to the corner for a try that Jonny Bentley converted.

Jersey fullback Ross Adair showed that the visitors carried a threat in attack and he broke the Ealing Trailfinders line as the Channel Islanders sought to hit back, but prop Will Davis raced back to stick out a well-timed arm and stop the move.

Ealing Trailfinders continued to press and after the pack twice tried to roll a maul over, Alun Walker wriggled through a group bodies to ground the ball. Ben Ward then added the conversion.

Daniels nearly put Love away for a second, but the pass was marginally forward. The pack won another penalty from the scrum though and after Ellis and Chris York were stopped short, Iain Grieve powered through from close-range.

As half-time drew closed Nick Campbell pulled a try back for Jersey after Gary Graham had gone close, but soon after the restart Ward slotted a penalty to give Ealing Trailfinders some momentum.

Substitute Uili Kolo’ofa’i was driven over for a try to reduce the arrears, Love hit back with a penalty from just inside the Jersey half and then Kolo’ofa’i grabbed his second in identical circumstances as the match began to open up.

As the hour mark approached Jersey began to enjoy their best period of the match and fly-half Cope found his form. Pierce Phillips secured a four-try bonus point from another driving maul and Cope’s conversion brought the visitors to within a point.

Jersey’s pack and after Ealing Trailfinders’ pack had stopped a number of attempts to maul over, Ellis swept on a loose throw to relieve the pressure.

It gave Ealing Trailfinders the momentum to keep their opponents in their half and when Love had the chance to score a second penalty he duly obliged to leave the Channel Islanders needing a converted try to win.

They were unable to find a way through and the home side were happy to run the clock down until Ward was able to hoof it to touch to ensure their place in the Championship next season.

Scorers
Ealing Trailfinders
Tries (Love 17, Walker 28, Grieve 33), Conversions (Bentley 18, Ward 28, 34), Penalties (Ward 41, Love 49, 76)
Jersey
Tries (Campbell 37, Kolo’ofa’i 47, 52, Phillips 62), Conversions (Cope 53, 63)

Ealing Trailfinders
Luke Daniels, Rhys Crane, Toby Howley-Berridge, Tom Wheatcroft, James Love, Jonny Bentley, Alex Walker; Will Davis, Alun Walker, Alex Penny, Paul Spivey, Adam Preocanin, Iain Grieve, Arthur Ellis, Chris York (captain)
Reserves
Jamie Kilbane, Rhys Lawrence, Sam Rodman, Llewelyn Jones, Alex Bradley, Tom Trotter, Ben Ward

Jersey
Ross Adair, Tom Howe, Ollie Evans, Lewis Robling, Richard Lane, Brendan Cope, Joel Dudley; Sean McCarthy, Joe Buckle, Simon Kerrod, Nick Campbell, Pierce Phillips, Alex Rae (captain), James Freeman, Nick Haining
Reserves
Danny Herriot, Nick Selway, Jake Woolmore, Uili Kolo’ofa’i, Gary Graham, Samisoni Fisilau, Aaron Penberthy

STORM Watches Man of the Match – Chris York
Referee – Ian Tempest
Attendance – 658

Ealing Trailfinders vs London Welsh

Ealing Trailfinders held their nerve as the clocked ticked down to take play from their try-line to the London Welsh 22 where Jonny Bentley scored a penalty to earn Ben Ward’s side a losing bonus point.

It means that Ealing Trailfinders stretch the gap over Moseley to three points at the bottom of the Greene King IPA Championship with three matches remaining.

London Welsh made the early running and a Ryan Glynn chip nearly set Ryan Hodson up for a try, but Carwyn Jones made an important tackle on the line. Even so Hodson made the breakthrough soon after when he was the end of a driven line-out.

Alex Walker stopped Josh Drauniniu after the Exiles’ winger had broken free, but from another catch and drive Nathan Trevett dotted down and Drauniniu then added Welsh’s third when he capitalised on a favourable bounce from Seb Jewell’s kick through.

Ealing continued their policy of keeping the ball in hand and they eventually had their reward just before half-time when fullback Luke Daniels set debutant James Cordy-Redden free to score.

After half-time the wind continued to thwart both teams’ ambitions to play with the ball in-hand, but Ward knocked over a penalty after 51 minutes to bring Ealing into bonus point territory. Bentley scored his first penalty soon after coming off the bench to close the deficit to only two points.

The Kiwi missed the chance to put the hosts in the lead for the first time when he pulled another penalty wide and after Welsh won a penalty from a scrum they went on the attack for the first time in the half and eventually Trevett went over for his second try of the match.

Barkley’s conversion left Ealing chasing a bonus point. As the clock ticked down Will Davis broke the Welsh line to take them into their 22 and when the Exiles offended one last time Bentley made no mistake.

Scorers
Ealing Trailfinders
Tries (Cordy-Redden 36), Conversions (Ward 36), Penalties (Ward 51, Bentley 62, 80)
London Welsh
Tries (Hodson 9, Trevett 21, 77 Drauniniu 28), Conversions (Bentley 77)

Ealing Trailfinders
Luke Daniels, Rhys Crane, Danny Barnes, Tom Wheatcroft, James Cordy-Redden, Ben Ward, Alex Walker; Will Davis, Rhys Lawrence (captain), Alex Penny, Carwyn Jones, Adam Preocanin, Iain Grieve, Arthur Ellis, Chris York
Reserves
Jamie Kilbane, Karl Gibson, Nathan Buck, Paul Spivey, Llewelyn Jones, James Love, Jonny Bentley

London Welsh
Chris Elder, Nic Reynolds, Guy Armitage, Seb Jewell, Josh Drauniniu, Ollie Barkley, Ryan Glynn; Nathan Trevett, Nathan Morris, Jack Gilding, Josh McNally, Ben West, Will Skuse, Ryan Hodson (captain), Kieran Murphy
Reserves
Koree Britton, Eddie Aholelei, Ben Cooper, Matt Corker, Ben Pienaar, Josh Davies, Joe Carlisle

Referee – Greg McDonald
Attendance – 802
STORM Matches Man of the Match – Arthur Ellis

Ealing Trailfinders vs Moseley

Ealing Trailfinders ran in seven tries and lifted themselves off the bottom of the Greene King IPA Championship with a highly impressive win over their relegation rivals.

The victory lifts Ealing Trailfinders off the bottom of the table and above the Birmingham side by two points.

Luke Daniels was the STORM Watches man of the match, but there were any number within Ben Ward’s team who could have been given the award, not least Rhys Crane who ran in four tries.

It didn’t take long for the scoring to start when Moseley fly-half Charlie Foley knocked over a first minute penalty.

Ealing Trailfinders maintained their composure and the ball in hand while playing into the wind and Phil Chesters was unfortunate not to finish a counter-attack when the ball failed to bounce his way after a chip ahead.

Moseley stretched their lead further when Adam Caves was driven over, but Ward’s first penalty calmed nerves and a minute later his break set Daniels free and he gave Chesters a straight-forward run-in.

Crane then grabbed his first off another Daniels break and with the fullback converting both tries, the match had been turned on its head in the blink of an eye.

With so much riding on the result Moseley regrouped and after kicking a penalty to touch Craig Voisey added their second to close the deficit to two points at half-time.

A thumping Howley-Berridge tackle on Aaron Flagg opened up the second half and moments later Ward’s scored his second penalty.

The hosts used the wind assiduously and after pressuring the Moseley line Adam Preocanin popped up on Alex Walker’s shoulder to stroll over and with Ward off, Jonny Bentley continued their flawless kicking ratio.

Crane secured the four-try bonus point and then the Ealing Trailfinders defence stood firm as a Moseley tried another rolling maul before Darren Hudson knocked on with the line at his mercy.

A scrum-move set Crane up for his hat-trick and then he picked a line off Bentley to make it four.

As the clock ran down Chesters broke free, but George Watkins pulled him back and Andrew Small had little choice but to award a penalty try that Bentley converted to bring the curtain down on a match that will take Ealing Trailfinders to Bedford in good heart next Saturday.

Scorers
Ealing Trailfinders
Tries (Chesters 25, Crane 28, 54, 70, 76 Preocanin 47, penalty 79), Conversions (Daniels 26, 28 Bentley 48, 54, 70, 76, 79), Penalties (Ward 24, 41)
Moseley
Tries (Caves 21, Voisey 37), Conversions (Foley 37), Penalties (Foley 1)

Ealing Trailfinders
Luke Daniels, Rhys Crane, Danny Barnes, Toby Howley-Berridge, Phil Chesters, Ben Ward, Alex Walker; Will Davis, Rhys Lawrence (captain), Alex Penny, Carwyn Jones, Adam Preocanin, Llewelyn Jones, Arthur Ellis, Chris York
Reserves
Karl Gibson, Sam Rodman, Jamie Kilbane, Danny Kenny, Iain Grieve, Alex Davies, Jonny Bentley

Moseley
Darren Hudson, Kyle Evans, Greg King, Tom Molenaar, George Watkins, Charlie Foley, Sam Brown; Craig Voisey, Adam Caves, Simon Gardiner, Greg Charlton, Harry Casson, Aaron Flagg, Ed Siggery, Chris Brightwell (captain)
Reserves
Sam Raven, Scott Tolmie, Tom Fidler, Ben Nutley, Tom Stephenson, David Brazier, Scott Armstrong

Referee – Andrew Small
Attendance – 626
STORM Watches man of the match – Luke Daniels

Ealing Trailfinders vs Doncaster Knights

Ealing Trailfinders secured two vital points against the second-placed team in the Greene King IPA Championship to open a one-point gap above Moseley at the bottom of the table.

Ben Ward’s side began on the offensive and quickly showed signs that they were happy to take on the Yorkshire side physically. It soon paid dividends when Toby Howley-Berridge set Phil Chesters free down the left and the flying wing scored his first try of 2016 with nine minutes on the clock.

The west London side continued to dominate, but were unable to find a way through the Knights’ defence despite having the wind at their backs.

Eventually Clive Griffiths’ side began to build some momentum and as the half wore on their pack began to take a grip on proceedings. With five minutes left number eight Ollie Steadman powered over from close range and on the stroke of half-time prop Richard List stretched their lead to 12-5 at the break.

They continued to dominate once the teams returned after half-time, but stalemate descended on the match; Doncaster Knights attacked and Ealing Trailfinders defended and that is how it continued for the first 20 minutes of the second half.

The hosts struggled to find any respite from the assault on their line, but a counter-attack just after the hour mark resulted in Rhys Crane wiggling over from close range after he had come close from the original breakout.

Another counter then put Ealing Trailfinders back into the lead. Ward prodded a grubber through the Doncaster defence, Chesters kicked ahead and centre Danny Barnes had the simple job of touching down.

Doncaster weren’t finished and after Ealing Trailfinders’ defence repelled a number of their attacks, eventually Steadman drove over for his second score. They finished the match in the ascendancy, but Alex Walker flung himself in front of Simon Humberstone’s drop-goal attempt to ensure that there was no last-gasp twist to an absorbing 80 minutes of action.

Ealing Trailfinders now travel to league leaders Bristol on Friday evening, while Moseley host Rotherham Titans, who currently sit in 10th, six points ahead of the west London side.

Scorers
Ealing Trailfinders
Tries (Chesters 9, Crane 61, Barnes 68), Conversions (Ward 61)
Doncaster Knights
Tries (Steadman 35, 74, List 40), Conversions (Humberstone 36)

Ealing Trailfinders
Sam Stanley, Rhys Crane, Danny Barnes, Toby Howley-Berridge, Phil Chesters, Ben Ward, Alex Walker; Will Davis, Alun Walker, Alex Penny, Carwyn Jones, Adam Preocanin, Iain Grieve, Arthur Ellis, Chris York (captain)
Reserves
George Porter, Rhys Lawrence, Sam Rodman, Llewelyn Jones, Danny Kenny, Andy Reay, Callum Wilson

Doncaster Knights
Paul Jarvis, Andy Bulumakau Mat Clark, Will Hurrell, Tyson Lewis, Simon Humberstone, Michael Heaney; Richard List, Ben Hunter, Colin Quigley, Matt Challinor (captain), Jon Phelan, Latu Makaafi, Alex Shaw, Ollie Stedman
Reserves
Ted Stagg, Joe Sproston, WillGriff John, Tyler Hotson, Will Owen, Ollie Bryant, Brad Field

Referee – Andrew Small
Attendance – 425
STORM Watches Man of the Match – Alex Walker

Ealing Trailfinders vs Moseley

Ealing Trailfinders ran in three tries against Moseley in their third meeting of the season, but ultimately five tries for the West Midlanders made the difference.

New signing Jonny Bentley was handed his first start and he gave the Vallis Way crowd an early glimpse of his quality by breaking the Moseley line, though he was unable to find James Stephenson with a grubber kick.

Moseley started in equally energetic mood as they chased a place in the quarter-finals. Centre Greg King came close to opening the scoring before he was bundled into touch, but moments later captain Chris Brightwell touched down in the corner.

Alex Davies knocked over his first penalty shortly afterwards and he and Hughes exchanged penalties before Alex Bradley was driven over from close range to give Ealing Trailfinders the lead for the first time.

Joe Munro then made a slashing break that Danny Barnes was unable to gather with the line beckoning, but Ben Ward’s team maintained the pressure without breaching the Moseley line.

As half-time drew close Moseley scored their second try when Greg Charlton barged over from close-range to give the visitors the lead at the break.

They extended their lead soon after half-time when wing Drew Cheshire danced his way through the home defence for Moseley’s third before Sam Stanley narrowly missed out on scoring the home team’s second try when he followed up his own up and under.

Moseley continued to hammer Ealing Trailfinders’ line and while the home defence held out their forwards Cheshire ran in his second of the match to secure the four-try bonus point.

Another Bentley run broke the Moseley line and he was able to pop the ball to Stephenson for a simple run-in, but the visitors scored next when Greg King cut a sharp angle through the home side’s defence.

Bradley was driven over for his second try to set up a thrilling last 10 minutes but neither side was able to add to the scoring as the match drew to a close.

Scorers
Ealing Trailfinders
Tries (Bradley 21, 71 Stephenson 57), Conversions (Davies 21, Bentley 57, 71), Penalties (Davies 13, 19)
Moseley
Tries (Brightwell 10, Charlton 35, Cheshire 42, 53, King 66), Conversions (Hughes 10, 35, Foley 66), Penalties (Hughes 16)

Ealing Trailfinders
Will Harries, Callum Wilson, Danny Barnes, Joe Munro, James Stephenson, Jonny Bentley, Alex Davies; Will Davis, Rhys Lawrence (captain), Nathan Buck, Llewelyn Jones, Adam Preocanin, Harrison Orr, Alex Bradley, Chris York
Reserves
Jamie Kilbane, Karl Gibson, Alex Penny, Paul Spivey, Iain Grieve, Alex Walker, Sam Stanley

Moseley
Mike Penn, Kyle Evans, Greg King, Aaron Pinches, Drew Cheshire, Glyn Hughes, Dave Brazier; Tom Fidler, Adam Caves, Aaron Gardiner, Harris Casson, Greg Charlton, Aaron Flagg, Ed Siggery, Chris Brightwell (captain)
Reserves
Tom Warren, Craig Voisey, Scott Tolmie, Jordan Onojaife, Harry Hone, Charles Foley, Sam Brown

Referee – Fergus Kirby
Attendance – 456

Ealing Trailfinders vs Yorkshire Carnegie

Ealing Trailfinders were unable to stage a late rally to finish with a four-try bonus point against a powerful and well-drilled Yorkshire Carnegie side.

Callum Wilson, James Stephenson and Alun Walker scored tries and Alex Davies slotted four penalties and a conversion for Director of Coaching Ben Ward’s side, who remain one place off the bottom of the Greene King IPA Championship on points difference from Moseley.

It didn’t take Yorkshire to take a grip on the match and after Kevin Sinfield pushed an early penalty wide, fullback Jonah Holmes slipped through the Ealing defence to touch down between the posts.

They continued to dominate after Sinfield had broken the line, he slipped the ball to Andy Saull to race through for their second.

Ealing Trailfinders didn’t capitulate and Alex Davies knocked over a penalty on 34 minutes to ensure they wouldn’t go in pointless at half-time and the scrum-half added a second just before the break.

The hosts continued their good form immediately into the second half. Harrison Orr broke the line and when the ball went wide Callum Wilson powered over in the corner.

Davis drew the hosts level with a penalty from the halfway line, but the visitors him back almost immediately through their pack to win a penalty-try and while Davies slotted his fourth penalty David Doherty swept on a loose kick by Pete Lucock to secure the four-try bonus point.

Another penalty-try stretched Yorkshire’s lead further, but Ealing Trailfinders hit back through James Stephenson despite being down to 13 men at the time.

Ryan Burrow’s driven try and Doherty’s second appeared to end the contest, but after Alun Walker was driven over with a minute to go the home side scented a four-try bonus point of their own, but ultimately were unable to get through the Yorkshire defence for a fourth time.

Scorers
Ealing Trailfinders
Tries (Wilson 43, Stephenson 71, Alun Walker 79), Conversions (Davies 71), Penalties (Davies 34, 38, 47, 55)
Yorkshire Carnegie
Tries (Holmes 7, Saull 19, Penalty 50, 68 Doherty 57, 76, Burrows 73), Conversions (Sinfield 7, 19, 50, 58, 68)

Ealing Trailfinders
Luke Daniels, Callum Wilson, Danny Barnes, Joe Munro, James Stephenson, Tristan Roberts, Alex Davies; Will Davis, Rhys Lawrence, Alex Penny, Carwyn Jones, Llewelyn Jones, Harrison Orr, Arthur Ellis, Chris York
Reserves
George Porter, Alun Walker, Sam Rodman, Nathan Hannay, Danny Kenny, Alex Walker, Will Harries

Yorkshire Carnegie
Jonah Holmes, Taylor Prell, Pete Lucock, Harry Leonard, David Doherty, Kevin Sinfield, Chris Pilgrim; Lee Imiolek, Phil Nilsen, Rob O’Donnell, Dean Schofield, Chris Jones (captain), Richard Beck, Andy Saull, Ryan Burrows
Reserves
Jordan Poole, Charlie Beech, Ben Hooper, Matt Smith, Mike Myerscough, Joel Hodgson, Andy Forsyth

Attendance – 621
Referee – Matt O’Grady

Ealing Trailfinders vs Leinster

Ealing Trailfinders ran in two tries against an impressive Leinster A side, who continued their unbeaten British and Irish Cup form by running in five tries at Vallis Way.

James Stephenson and Carwyn Jones crossed the line for Ben Ward’s team, but a hat-trick from Dan Leavy helped the 2013 winners to victory.

With both teams used to playing on 3G pitches there was a frenetic opening period with the Irish side in particular aiming to move the ball wide as soon as possible. They missed a great opportunity to open the scoring on five minutes when Tadhg Beirne opted to pass inside despite Cian Kelleher being free outside him.

Shortly after though Leinster A opened the scoring when Adam Byrne stepped through a gap after Ross Molony had won lineout, but Ealing Trailfinders hit back immediately when Stephenson forced his way over in the corner.

Leinster A continued to strengthen their grip on proceedings and Leavy scored a second try when he was driven over from a line-out. They were only denied a third when Byrne was unable to control his kick-through over the line, but Mick McGrath escaped down the left wing soon after.

The hosts stuck to their game plan and enjoyed a good period as the half came to a close, but were unable to find a way through the blue-shirted defence.

The second half began in similar fashion to the first with both teams trying to stretch the play, but with defences continuing to stay on top. Eventually Leinster A made the breakthrough when Leavy scored his second in similar style to his first from a driven line-out.

A Joe Munro kick through on 55 minutes gave Ealing Trailfinders good field position, but again they were unable to take advantage. A powerful Stephenson hit on Byrne lifted the team, but again it was Leinster who came closest to adding to the score when captain Peadar Timmins knocked on over the line.

Leavy was denied a hat-trick when he was held up from another driven line-out and good work from Adam Preocanin secured the turn-over. After clearing their half Alex Bradley’s charge took the hosts to within touching distance of the try-line and eventually Jones drove over from close range.

Leinster A immediately hit back when Leavy was driven over for his third and they comfortably closed the match out to ensure a happy flight back over the Irish Sea.

Scorers
Ealing Trailfinders
Tries (Stephenson 12, Jones 69)
Leinster A
Tries (Byrne 9, Leavy 22, 48, 73 McGrath 29), Conversions (Marsh 9, 22, 29, 73), Penalties (Marsh 16)

Ealing Trailfinders
James Love, Callum Wilson, Sam Stanley, Joe Munro, James Stephenson, Tristan Roberts, Alex Davies; Will Davis, Rhys Lawrence (captain), Alex Penny, Carwyn Jones, Adam Preocanin, Harrison Orr, Alex Bradley, Chris York
Reserves
Jamie Kilbane, Karl Gibson, Sam Rodman, Danny Kenny, Arthur Ellis, Alex Walker, Luke Daniels

Leinster A
Cian Kelleher, Adam Byrne, Collie O’Shea, Tom Daly, Mick McGrath, Cathal Marsh, Charlie Rock; Peter Dooley, Bryan Byrne, Oisin Heffernan, Tadhg Beirne, Ross Molony, Josh Murphy, Dan Leavy, Peadar Timmins (captain)
Reserves
Aaron Dundon, Jeremy Loughman, David O’Connor, Tony Ryan, Matthew D’Arcy, Steve Crosbie, Ian Fitzpatrick

Referee – Dan Jones

Attendance – 804

Ealing Trailfinders vs Nottingham

Phil Chesters scored a late try to salvage a four-try bonus point as Nottingham staged a second-half comeback to take all five points on offer with five tries in 20 minutes.

Ealing Trailfinders led 12-3 through tries from Alex and Alun Walker, but Martin Haag’s side found their rhythm midway through the second half to turn the match around.

Nottingham kicked off and enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges, but when they tried to drive their way over from line-outs first Jamie Kilbane and then James Stephenson cleared up to take play up to the half-way line.

At the first scrum Ealing Trailfinders’ pack forced their opposite numbers backwards to win a penalty that Ben Ward cleared to the Nottingham 22. Carwyn Jones’ catch allowed the pack to drive Nottingham forwards backwards and after Iain Grieve was stopped short, Alex Walker wriggled his way across the line.

Mugford hit back with a penalty for Nottingham’s first points and while Toby Freeman broke the Ealing Trailfinders line with a strong run, Luke Daniels hauled him down before Chris York and Chesters combined to bundle Heath Stevens into touch.

Stephenson nearly finished from a cross-kick and Grieve was then stopped short from another catch and drive. Neither side were able to add to the score as the first half drew to a close, though Ealing Trailfinders’ back-line was able to put the Nottingham defence under pressure.

Nottingham scrum-half Darryl Veenendaal started the second half with a break that Pia Iongi was unable to collect, but Alun Walker grabbed the next score when he raced home down the line from an exchange of passes with Carwyn Jones at the front of a line-out.

Veenendaal continued to be a nuisance and from one of his breaks the ball was sent wide and Freeman picked a strong angle to run in for a try that Mugford converted.

The try boosted the visitors’ confidence and number eight Paul Grant added a second from a driven line-out catch to give them the lead for the first time in the match.

Ben Woods extended their lead further when he raced in an intercept try and he added his second soon after to cap a swift counter-attack to put Nottingham fully in control and ensure the four-try bonus point.

Grant’s second try came with seven minutes remaining, but Ealing Trailfinders rallied to ensure they didn’t finish empty-handed.

Hooker Rhys Lawrence was the next player to be driven over from a line-out catch and drive and with two minutes remaining Will Harries led a counter-attack Stephenson continued the move and Chesters was on hand to race away and score in the corner.

Scorers
Ealing Trailfinders
Tries (Alex Walker 11, Alun Walker 51, Lawrence 77, Chesters 78), Conversions (Ward 11)
Nottingham
Tries (Freeman 55, Grant 60, 73, Woods 65, 66), Conversions (Mugford 55, 60, 66), Penalties (Mugford 13)

Ealing Trailfinders
Luke Daniels, James Stephenson, Danny Barnes, Tom Wheatcroft, Phil Chesters, Ben Ward, Alex Walker; Jamie Kilbane, Michael Holford, Carwyn Jones, Adam Preocanin, Llewelyn Jones, Iain Grieve, Chris York (captain)
Reserves
George Porter, Rhys Lawrence, Nathan Buck, Harrison Orr, Alex Bradley, Alex Davies, Will Harries

Nottingham
Billy Robinson, Pila Iongi, Ben Woods, Heath Stevens, Sam Coghlan Murray, Dan Mugford, Darryl Veenendaal; Kieran Davies, Jon Vickers, Conor Carey, Toby Freeman, Dan Montagu (captain), Ben Morris, Rob Langley, Paul Grant
Reserves
TJ Harris, Tom Heard, Harry Morley, Rupert Cooper, Murray McConnell, Lawrence Rayner, Ricky Andrew

Referee – Greg MacDonald
Attendance – 310

Ealing Trailfinders vs Rotherham Titans

Ealing Trailfinders suffered their second British and Irish Cup defeat in two weeks when Rotherham Titans ran in eight tries in an impressive performance at Vallis Way.

Mark Jones’ side led 31-0 at half-time and while Ealing Trailfinders rallied in the second half through tries from Alex Bradley and Callum Wilson, three more Rotherham tries in the latter stages stopped any hopes of a comeback.

Ealing Trailfinders enjoyed the better of the opening 10 minutes, but Rotherham’s defence held out and after some fierce counter-rucking fly-half Will Goodwin led a counter-attack that Tristan Roberts and James Love teamed up to stop.

The visitors maintained their pressure and after the impressive Tom Calladine was stopped on the line from a rolling maul, prop Mike Cromie kept the move going and drove over from close range.

Goodwin raced in Rotherham’s second try and they continued to build the pressure and Bradley and then Harrison Orr stopped their attempts drive over from scrums on the five metre line.

Eventually the pressure paid off when Calladine was driven over and as half-time approached winger Curtis Wilson twice ran in, the second from a sweeping back-line attack from the back of a scrum.

Wilson completed his hat-trick at the start of the second half when he took advantage of a mix-up in the Ealing Trailfinders defence, but soon after Bradley powered through the Rotherham defence for Ealing Trailfinders’ first points of the day.

Wilson added a second when he found a gap in the centres, but as the match went into the final quarter Rotherham’s reserves reinforced their defence and James McKinney came on to bring new life to their back-line.

It meant the visitors ended in the ascendancy and first Jack Hayes and then Ben Rath ran in tries as the final whistle approached.

Scorers
Ealing Trailfinders
Tries (Bradley 48, Wilson 53), Conversions (Roberts 54)
Rotherham Titans
Tries (Cronie 8, Goodwin 20, Calladine 30, Wilson 33, 38, 41, Hayes 64, Rath 78), Conversions (Goodwin 8, 30, 38, 41)

Ealing Trailfinders
James Love, Chris Kinloch, Toby Howley-Berridge, Callum Wilson, Will Harries, Tristan Roberts, Tom Bliss; Will Davis, Matt Thompson, Sam Rodman, Nathan Hannay, Llewelyn Jones (captain), Alex Bradley, Eoghan Grace, Harrison Orr
Reserves
George Porter, Karl Gibson, Alex Penny, Carwyn Jones, Arthur Ellis, Alex Davies, Danny Barnes

Rotherham Titans
Sean Scanlon (captain), Michael Keating, Jack Hayes, Joe Barker, Curtis Wilson, Will Goodwin, Andy Davies; Michael Cromie, Charlie Maddison, Lewis Thiede, Toby Salmon, Barney Maddison, Kyle Gilmour, Tom Calladine, Josh Redfern.
Reserves
Jack Preece, Robin Hislop, James Elliot, George Oram, Ben Rath, Luke Carter, James McKinney

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