Ealing Trailfinders fell to a narrow 38-33 loss against Harlequins in Round Two of the Premiership Rugby Cup.
Tries from Tobi Wilson, Matt Cornish, Jordan Holgate and a brace from Tom Collins meant Trailfinders left Twickenham with two bonus points.
The result leaves Ealing Trailfinders second in Pool C with four group games left to play in the competition.
It was a superb start at The Stoop when Wilson crossed the whitewash. Trailfinders regained the kick-off and the ball was moved out to the right. Wilson found himself in space beat his man and finished well. The conversion just wide.
Harlequins didn’t leave it long to respond, getting themselves on the scoresheet inside the opening ten. Tom Lawday crashed over from the pick-and-go and Jamie Benson converted to give Quins a two-point lead.
Quins dominated the rest of the first quarter. Sean Lonsdale was sent to the sin bin after Trailfinders conceded successive penalties defending their own line, and Quins eventually broke down the defence as, Cameron Anderson walked in on the left hand side.
Harlequins thought they were in again just minutes later, however crossing at the back of the maul allowed Dan Jones to relieve some pressure, and gave Trailfinders possession in the opposition half for the first time since the opening two minutes.
Quins captain Lawday burst through the defence to setup the third of the night for Harlequins.
Wilson made the tackle five metres out, but he passed the ball up to Benson who scored and then converted his own score.
With just five minutes to go before the half-time whistle, a teasing kick was put over the top from Craig Hampson was carried into touch by Benson, creating a perfect attacking platform. Front foot ball off the lineout allowed Dan Jones to throw a delayed pass to Tom Collins who burst through to score the visitors’ second of the night. Jones added the extras.
Ealing Trailfinders were not ready for the break just yet. A well executed line out and a powerful rolling maul allowed Cornish to score and Dan Jones close the deficit to just two points.
Half-time: Harlequins 21 – 19 Ealing Trailfinders
Harlequins came out of the blocks firing in the second 40, converting some early pressure into a Penalty Try and it was a second yellow card of the night, this time for Will Montgomery.
The fourteen men of Ealing Trailfinders looked poised to strike back a minute later. A strong rolling maul got them from the 22 to just five metres out but an agonising handling error let them down. \
Kyle Whyte was then sent to the bin for a high shot, reducing Trailfinders to 13.
After a valiant defensive effort the hosts found a way through the Trailfinders defence with a two man advantage, Bryn Bradley offloaded to George Hammond who scored Quins’ fifth.
Ealing Trailfinders struck next with their bonus point try and it was Collins who had his second.
Another rolling maul set up a good platform. After Jordan Holgate and Reuben Bird-Tulloch came close it was Jones who passed to Collins juggling it over the line and diving over.
With just ten minutes on the clock and nine points down, it was crucial that Trailfinders were next on the scoresheet. A huge shove at scrum won a penalty for the visitors and the penalty came agonisingly back off the post. Moments later Quins slotted a penalty of their own.
In the final play, Trailfinders went in search of a final try and they found it through Jordan Holgate. A trick play at the line out sent the centre over untouched to secure a second bonus point for the visitors.
Full-time: Harlequins 38 – 33 Ealing Trailfinders
Harlequins:
Tries – Tom Lawday 8, Cameron Anderson 20, Jamie Benson 29, Penalty Try 44, George Hammond 52
Conversions – Jamie Benson 9 21 30 53
Penalties – Jamie Benson 79
Ealing Trailfinders:
Tries – Tobi Wilson 2, Tom Collins 36 58, Matt Cornish 40, Jordan Holgate 80
Conversions – Dan Jones 37 40 59, Craig Willis 80
Yellow Cards – Sean Lonsdale 17, Will Montgomery 44, Kyle Whyte 50
Trailfinders Women completed their PWR campaign in fantastic fashion with a scintillating 54-27 victory over Harlequins at the Stoop.
The bonus point win means that Trailfinders leapfrog above Harlequins into sixth to cap off a brilliant first season as an elite outfit.
It was an electric start from Trailfinders Women as Abby Dow ripped the ball free in midfield two minutes in and raced away to score under the posts completely untouched. Green converted.
One try became two just minutes after following a brave charge down by Megan Barwick, with the ball colliding off her face and falling kindly for Liz Crake, who used her boot to nudge it over the line and collapsed on top of it.
Ella Cromack reduced the deficit for Harlequins off the tee after successive infringements inside the Trailfinders half gifted Quins a penalty in front of the posts.
Dominant from the off, Trailfinders struck again 14 minutes in through a sensational effort from Carys Cox, who ran in untouched all the way from inside the Trailfinders half, outpacing all the defenders in her sight to dot down under the posts. Green converted.
Successive penalties pinged Trailfinders back inside their 22, and sustained pressure from Quins saw Abi Burton sent to the sin bin for an offside infringement on the line.
With no penalty try given, Harlequins kicked to the corner with 25 minutes on the clock and scored straight off the rolling maul through their captain Jade Konkel. The conversion went just wide.
Give Abby Dow an inch, and she will take a mile. Harlequins initially knock on, but Vicky Laflin retrieves the ball and makes a brilliant bursting break through midfield, and when felled provided a delightful pop up to Dow, who does what she does best and just scores with an incredible turn of pace. Green’s conversion was good.
Quins hit back 35 minutes in through Lagi Tuima as she burst away from the Trailfinders line on their 22 to dot down. Cormack added the extras.
The away side were not finished for the half however, as Dow played an outstanding pass amidst the chaos of a broken line into Cox, who broke away with a rapid turn of speed to feed in Julia Schell in a two on one on the left flank to score in the corner. Green’s fantastic conversion left the score 15-33 at half time.
The departing Elisa Riffoneau demonstrated just how much of a miss she will be next season 10 minutes into the second half, after some dazzling hands from Trailfinders and an incredible long pass from Tyson Beukeboom fed in Rosie Inman down the right, who popped it inside to Riffoneau off a big breakaway to finish off. Green converted.
Quins hit back five minutes later off the rolling maul again, and with a successful conversion from Cromack, the lead was reduced to 18 points.
Dow secured her hat-trick 68 minutes in with yet another bit of brilliance, bursting through a well-set Quins line as if it wasn’t there to dive over the whitewash from 40 metres out. Green’s excellent day with the boot continued.
The home side scored a consolation try on 78 minutes through Katie Shillaker, who intercepted an offload from Laflin and raced away to score.
The error cleared from memory as quick as control, alt, delete, a mere minute later Laflin was back again making another classy breakaway from the Quins line. This time her pass was perfect, popping the ball up off the ground for Abi Burton to score under the posts in the last play of the game. Schell converted to cap off a brilliant victory and Trailfinders’ first 50+ PWR score!
Trailfinders Women defeated Harlequins Women 42-31 in the Allianz Cup 7th Place Playoff to secure their first-ever win in a London derby.
A brace from Rowena Burnfield and tries from Vicky Laflin, Abi Burton and Liz Musgrove, along with 17 points off the boot of Ellie Green, secured 7th for Trailfinders over their West-London rivals.
This concludes the 23/24 Allianz Cup campaign, with Trailfinders hosting Exeter in the Allianz PWR next up.
The game began at break-neck speed, with Quins conceding consecutive penalties at the breakdown. This gave Trailfinders the ball deep in the hosts’ red zone, and Burnfield converted the opportunity from the pick-and-go.
The pace of the match continued. Laflin made a break down the left wing, forcing Quins out of their defensive organisation. As a result, they were pinged for offside. This gave Green her first penalty kick of the game, taking the score to 10-0 in as many minutes.
Laflin continued to exert herself on the occasion in the following play. Liz Musgrove pounced on turnover ball and broke through the Quins line, finding the new England call-up, who scored from 40 metres out.
Quins then answered back with a try of their own through Rosie Dobson.
The hooker’s score was somewhat of a catalyst for the home side’s fight back, as they scored again through Aseza Hele.
However, Trailfinders had the final act of the first half, as Burnfield dotted down at the back of a thunderous scrum to make the score 24-14 at the break.
The second term started even faster than the first. Quins kicked a Trailfinders kick-off back to the travellers and right down the throat of Laflin, who produced an extraordinary mazy run through the on-coming Harlequins defence only to be dragged down inches from the whitewash. Burton capitalised on Laflin’s break, diving over from short range to score.
It then went from bad to worse for the hosts as Emily Scott was yellow carded for a high tackle on Burton, giving Green the chance to convert another shot at goal.
Musgrove then made Quins pay for the yellow card, as Ella Amory recognised a poor kick chase and found the Scottish winger in acres down the left wing to go over the whitewash.
A final Green penalty followed, leaving the final score 42-31 to Trailfinders, who took the bragging rights home to their part of West London.
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.
Ealing Trailfinders produced a hugely impressive performance and will take a huge amount of positives from what eventually ended in a 22-8 defeat to Harlequins at the Twickenham Stoop.
In atrocious conditions Ben Ward’s men gave an outstanding account of themselves, and with some more clinical finishing they may well have left with a different result.
The West Londoners dominated the opening exchanges and saw plenty of possession as they took the game to the hosts. Captain Sam Dickinson smashed his way through a number of defenders to take his side up towards the try-line in the first five minutes but a turnover saw Quins escape.
The clinical hosts then took the lead on the 10 minute mark courtesy of a try from Luke Wallace. Quins had a number of phases in the 22, and with an overlap on the left wing they spun the ball wide to the flanker who scored in the corner.
For the remainder of the first half it was Ben Ward’s men who enjoyed most of the ball as they continued to show an impressive account of themselves.
A penalty at scrum-time allowed Dave Johnston to cut the deficit to just two points by dissecting the posts with his left foot, and then a huge moment saw the Trailfinders take the lead before play was brought back for an earlier infringement.
From the top of a lineout Seb Stegmann went flying through the middle and raced under the posts from outside the 22, but the referee blew up for crossing and the chance went missing. Johnston then had another penalty opportunity but in the wet conditions the kick flashed wide of the posts.
In the final moments of the first half Quins then extended their lead with a try from Joe Marler. A number of penalties took them up to the try-line, and the England prop then bundled over from close range. Smith converted to put his side 12-3 up at the break after a fiercely competitive opening 40 minutes.
The Trailfinders then continued in the same style in the second half but the heavens had well and truly opened making running rugby almost impossible, however an early chance saw Ollie Stedman break through the line before a knock on gave Quins a scrum.
Penalty after penalty then took the Trailfinders up to the Quins try-line, and after Stan South was sent to the sin bin Ben Ward’s men finally got their reward. With the rolling maul powering towards the line Rayn Smid broke away to dive over in the corner, cutting the deficit to just four points.
Marcus Smith moved the lead back up to seven with a penalty, but still the visitors were enjoying the majority of the ball as they looked to level the score.
Quins then broke away with just 10 minutes left to give them control of the match. After a five metre scrum they got a free kick, and Renaldo Bothma took it quickly before smashing his way to the line. Lang’s conversion put them 14 points ahead with time running out.
The Trailinders refused to give up and with the game becoming more open there were chances for both sides but the match ended with a narrow defeat but plenty of positives ahead of next weekend’s Greene King IPA Championship opener.
Harlequins:
15. Mike Brown 14. Charlie Walker 13. Joe Marchant 12. James Lang 11. Nathan Earle 10. Marcus Smith 9. Danny Care 1. Joe Marler 2. Elia Elia 3. Will Collier 4. Stan South 5. Matt Symons 6. Chris Robshaw (c) 7. Luke Wallace 8. Dino Lamb
Replacements:
Nick Auterac, Mark Lambert, Max Crumpton, Dave Ward, Phil Swainston, Ben Glynn,Archie White, Renaldo Bothma, Charlie Mulchrone, Dave Lewis, Tim Swiel, Tim Visser, Henry Cheeseman, Paul Lasike, Ben Tapuai, Gabriel Ibitoye, Aaron Morris, Ross Chisholm
Scorers:
Tries: Luke Wallace (8 minutes) Joe Marler (38 minutes) Renaldo Bothma (72 minutes)
Conversions: Marcus Smith (38 minutes) James Lang (72 minutes)
Penalties: Marcus Smith (55 minutes)
Yellow Card: Stan South
Ealing Trailfinders:
15 David Johnston 14 Seb Stegmann 13 Guy Armitage 12 Pat Howard 11 James Cordy Redden 10 Laurence May 9 Luke Carter 1 Jack O’Connell 2 Alun Walker 3 Mark Tampin 4 Ben West 5 Tom Denton 6 Rayn Smid 7 Jordy Reid 8 Sam Dickinson (c)
Replacements:
George Edgson, Matt Beesley, Elliot Millar Mills, Jordan Onojaife, Andrew Durutalo, Ollie Stedman, Jordan Burns, Sam Olver, Segundo Tuculet, Peter Lydon, Howard Packman, Will Harries
Scorers:
Tries: Rayn Smid (52 minutes)
Penalties: David Johnston (16 minutes)
Match Officials:
Referee: Andrew Jackson
Assistant Referees: Bill Burton & Matt Carley
Attendance: 4,200
Half Time Score: Harlequins 12-3 Ealing Trailfinders
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