Author Archives: Paul Clarke

Festive trip to London Welsh awaits Academy

welsh-flier

A short trip to Old Deer Park to face the London Welsh Academy (called The Griffins) is the next challenge for the young Trailfinders. This is an additional fixture to our original programme and is a great opportunity for us and all Ealing members and supporters to show some support for this historic club. It is also a nice coincidence that the fixture falls in the same week that former Academy member Josh Hodson, made his Greene King IPA Championship debut for the Exiles.

After a convincing win against Birmingham Moseley Academy earlier in the month the Academy are looking to see what our distance members, those players that are away studying at University, can bring to the squad. It will be really good to see how they are all progressing and catch up on their news.

Kick off is at 13:00 so if you have seen enough Turkey to last a lifetime and have a couple of hours to kill, please come along and support the lads.

U16 Training During the Festive Season

Sunday 18 December – Training at Trailfinders 10.00-12 noon
Thursday 22 December – Training at Trailfinders 6.30-7.30pm
Sunday 25 December – CHRISTMAS DAY
Thursday 29 December – NO TRAINING
Sunday 1 January – NEW YEARS DAY – NO TRAINING
Thursday 5 January – Training at Trailinders 6.30-7.30pm
Sunday 8 January – Training at Trailfinders 10.00-12 noon

UPDATE: Denise Steadman RIP

It is with great sadness that the club has learned of the death of Denise Steadman.

Floyd and Denise have been stalwart members and supporters of the club for many years. Their sons, Ollie, Lewis and Josh  joined the Club as Minis, and came through the Youth and Academy sections. The family have many friends at the club and our heartfelt condolences go out to them.

Funeral Arrangements

The club has been asked to confirm the following arrangements:

  • Friday 9th December
  • 2.00pm – Funeral Service at Christ the Saviour Parish Church, Ealing.
  • 3.30pm- Refreshments in the Great Hall of Christ the Saviour School, adjacent to the Church.
  • 4.00pm – Mortlake Crematorium  (a private ceremony for close relatives).
  • 4.30pm onwards – Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club, Vallis Way, Ealing.

For those attending the church, please wear something vibrant. This may be a tie or scarf.

The family have asked that you join them at the Rugby Club to celebrate Denise’s life.

Though grateful for some enquiries about flowers, the family have asked that should you wish, a deserving cause to which to make a donation would be via this dedicated link: Cancer Research UK.

Moseley Academy up next for young Trailfinders

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Ealing Trailfinders Academy continue their travels this month when they head to the Midlands on 17th December to face Birmingham Moseley for their 3rd away match on the spin.

Moseley have been regular opponents for the last 3 seasons and always give a great account of themselves and are a credit to their club. Its testament to their belief in player development that they have continued with the Academy despite last seasons disappointment in the Championship.

Make sure you keep an eye open for further news both here and on the Academy’s Twitter feed @ETFacademy

Academy reunion at National League 2 crunch match

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Saturday saw a great advert for the development and achievements of the Senior Academy over the last 3 seasons when no fewer than five Academy members were involved in a match at Level 4 of the RFU League structure.

Current Academy players Zaki Chamnaoui and Marcus Lowe joined former member Louis Flynn to represent Henley Hawks and line up against former member Matt Killeen, current Pro Squad player and former Academy boy Tyler Bush as well as Academy U18 coach Karl Gibson playing for London Irish Wild Geese.

All players showed great professionalism, playing with pace and intensity, there were no signs of shyness when they matched up individually against players they have known and played alongside for years.

Fielding so many players at this level in only our third season is cause for much pride, the fact that 4 of the lads crossed for tries was the icing on the cake.

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Matt Killeen opened the scoring, followed by Tyler Bush. Marcus Lowe then joined in with Lou Flynn scoring the decisive score for Henley Hawks. a real nail biter for all at Dry Leas!

A massive thank you to the boys for a great display and a collective performance all at the Academy and Ealing Trailfinders should be proud of.

Tour 12th-15th May 2017 Lisbon

Gents/Senhores – tudo bem?

Have you ever imagined yourself sipping a glass of vintage port or Madeira, munching on a grilled sardine or two and enjoying the sunset over the Tagus River?

ronaldoImagine no more! It is no longer a secret that Christiano Ronaldo officially likes us. Therefore he has invited us as a club to his country of birth, Portugal. Indeed we are jetting off to the city of Lisbon where he cut his young teeth in the Primeira Liga. Think Mediterranean climate, a medieval city centre with discrete bars and restaurants, opera, museums, UNESCO sites and mosaic pavements – Lisbon (Lisboa to those in the know) has it all; even the pedestrianised walkway enthusiast.

portugal-rugby-tottie

We are reliably informed that “the territory of modern Portugal has been continuously settled, invaded and fought over since prehistoric times.” So it will come as no surprise that we aim to re-enact the defeat of Carthaginian forces by Scipio Africanus during those tumultuous Roman times by playing a game or two with the oval shaped ball we now use as a pugilistic surrogate.

Yes, but what does it cost and what do I get?

The cost of £390.00 (yippee not Euros), paid in five easy monthly instalments, includes return flights from Lisbon, hotel accommodation for three nights based on shared rooms, a tour shirt/tour stash, travel & playing insurance, tournament costs and “lavish” beer kitty. The tour is open to all Ealing RFC members, all Ealing RFC queijo grande (= grande fromages), management, coaches and friends & sponsors of Ealing RFC.

How do I get on the bandwagon/gravy train/tour bus?

Please let BOF (boflaherty69@gmail.com) know you want to tour and secure your place by making a small deposit of £75.00 on or before 20th December, or make a cash payment direct to BOF/Jake/Jacko/Rahim/Paul. Ideally you should set up a standing order so that we don’t have to chase for these monies:

£75.00 1st February (Total collected £150.00)
£75.00 1st March (Total £225.00)
£75.00 1st April (Total £300.00)
£90.00 1st May (Total £390.00)

Payment details:

Paul Clarke
09-01-28
53525526
Reference: Your Name

Small print: note that a £50 surcharge is payable (on 1st May 2017) by those who are not club members or who are in arrears for their membership subscription or match fees.

Men’s Section Christmas Curry

montysImportant diary notification!! Saturday 10th December at 7.30 pm.
Montys at Ealing Broadway. Men’s Section Crimbo Curry Night.

£25 per head – payable on the night. Numbers are limited to 35 so if you want to attend then reserve your place with Club Skipper John john.worthington@hotmail.co.uk

Being a professional negotiator John has arranged a fabulous menu deal.

  • Entrees (dontchaknow): Poppadums and Pickles
  • Starters: Sharing plates of Chicken Tikka, Meat Samosa, Onion Bhaji etc
  • Mains (every man for himself): Butter Chicken, Lamb Makhni, Chicken Tikka Masala, Lamb Rogan Josh
  • Sides: Aloo Gobi, Saag Aloo, Naan bread, Pilau rice
  • Drinks (of course): 2 beers included

What could be better!!!

monty-cameron

Academy passes 1000 hour mark for 2nd successive season

Ealing Trailfinders Academy have passed the 1000 hours of coaching delivery for the second season in a row, a full month earlier this time round, and looks set to improve on last seasons total.

Commenting on the figures, Academy Director John Lacey said ” This is a fantastic achievement and I’d like to take the opportunity to thank all the coaches for their hard work and dedication, the amount of effort and professionalism they show is inspiring, these figures only represent the physical time on the grass and gym mats, it doesn’t take into account the hours of planning and mentoring that goes on behind the scenes.

We have continued to grow our Emerging Player Group and are working to expand our Schools programme further with hopefully another school coming on board in the coming weeks.

We are incredibly grateful for the support from the club and also The Mike Gooley Trailfinders Charity who’s funding allows us to reach out into the community to spread the Rugby message.”

AGM Tuesday 10th October 2017

Dear Club Member

Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday 10th October 2017 at Trailfinders Sports Club commencing at 7.00pm.

The purpose of this meeting is:

  1. Consider and approve the accounts for the 2017/2018 season.
  2. Allow a forum for Q&As to the Executive — questions must be submitted to Graham Taylor in advance, they must be received no later than Tuesday 3rd of October to the following email address: secretary@ealingrugby.co.uk

Graham Taylor
Hon Secretary

Academy need last gasp kick to save the day

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The Senior Academy needed a last gasp kick from replacement fly half Callum Nolan-Hutchinson to snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat.

The first half had been a scrappy affair with little shape and little of the pace that the young Trailfinders strive to play at. Despite the overall lack of fizz there were still some high points, another try for flanker Alfie Hill, this time showing great strength and determination to get over the line despite the attention of 3 Navy tacklers.

Alfie Hill square

There was also a fine try that epitomises the style we aim to play, 2 strong carries, the first from centre Chris Hitchcock and No8 Marcus Lowe with aggressive clear outs from the support players allowed the ball to move at speed and full back Josh Steadman to dot down the ball.

In the 2nd half the whole team picked up the tempo and as the bigger Navy opposition began to tire an excellent individual try from Chris Hitchcock set up a thrilling finale.

A silly infringement gave the Navy a chance to take back the lead, which they gladly took and only some determined play from the boys won a penalty at the very edge of Nolan-Hutchinson’s range, he showed cool nerves to step up and stroke the ball over with the final kick of the game.

Academy Director John Lacey said “The draw meant we have gone undefeated against the Services for the first time and is another example of the strides the group are making. What’s really pleasing was that we had 2 U18 lads playing in the pack against last years Senior and U23 Inter Service Champions and they never gave an inch. The boys should be rightly proud of what they have achieved today and enjoy the bus ride home.”

Next up for the Academy are fellow Championship Academy Nottingham at Lady Bay on Sunday 20th November at 14:00.