Author Archives: Paul Clarke

Bedders out to create more Brickfields memories

For Ealing Trailfinders centre Tom Bedford Saturday’s opponents, Plymouth Albion are a team that he knows well and as such he is well aware of what a huge task he and his team mates face when they travel to his home county on Saturday.

Albion are on a run of five consecutive losses in the Greene King IPA Championship and the British and Irish Cup, but this week their head coach James Shanahan has given his charges the target of ending the season with a brace of wins, starting with Ealing.

“They’re a good Championship side,” Bedford said. “I know they’ve had their ups and downs the last couple of years, but they’ve really come on the last couple of years. They’ve had a new coach in and they’ve developed well.

“They’re a tough team to play against, especially at Brickfields. It will be a good challenge for us and we’re looking forward to it.”

Albion’s home ground, Brickfields is a venue that the 25-year-old Bedford is no stranger to. Growing up in Exeter he and his family would regularly travel down the A38 to take in Devon derbies and after he started playing he has run out there for the likes of Exeter Chiefs, Bedford Blues and Cornish Pirates.

“It is a good rugby ground,” he said. “I remember going there when I was very young watching Exeter versus Plymouth and they used to get five, six, seven thousand.

“They’re struggling a bit with numbers now, but I know they have good support. It is a nice big pitch and the chance to play a bit of rugby, so should be enjoyable. They used to be some great games, big games and great crowds.”

Mike Cudmore’s side go into the match knowing that they can’t afford anymore slip-ups if they want to escape from the clutches of relegation.

Last Saturday they earned a bonus point win over Nottingham, which allied to their previous two fixtures means they’ve taken 10 points from their last three matches and so now sit three points behind Jersey who host London Scottish.

“We can win this weekend,” Bedford said. “It is a hell of a challenge for us to go down there and win, but I think we’re been playing knock-out rugby for the last few weeks, so it is nothing new for us. It is a big challenge and we will do our best to get the win.”

Neville and Bruynseels welcomed to 200-club in style

Ealing Trailfinders’ pulsating 37-35 win over Nottingham at the weekend was a fitting way to mark a special day for two of the clubs’ long-term servants.

Prop Steve Neville and wing Owen Bruynseels both completed 200 matches for the club this season and their milestones were honoured by the club on Saturday. Neville led the team out to a rapturous applause, while the injured Bruynseels was able to share his thoughts with club announcer Mike Schaeffer at halftime.

The match was the type that both would be highly familiar with from their time at Vallis Way; highly-skilled, fast-moving and a try bonus-point apiece after eight tries were scored.

Neville entered the fray early in the second half to lend his power to a strong showing from the Ealing pack as they held off the well-drilled Nottingham eight, notably in the scrum.

“It was a great win and rounded of a good day,” Neville said. “We were always confident of getting a result here, we felt that we were always in the driving position and it was good that we hung on at the end and got the win.

“It was a pleasure (to lead the team out). It is nine, nearly 10 years since I joined and a good way to be rewarded. I knew it was a good club and they’ve always treated me well. They gave me their loyalty, so I’ve always stuck with them.

“We knew we would have to step up and nail our lineouts and compete well in the scrums and if we gave the backs some good ball we could get the win. Especially at the lineout we did well.”

Two minutes from time though Neville and his teammates had to stand by the posts and watch Nottingham fly-half Matt Jarvis hit the far post with a conversion that would have tied the scores.

Owen’s return

A few minutes later though they were able to celebrate a second-consecutive home win, which draws them to within three points of Jersey at the bottom of the Greene King IPA Championship. It means that if Ealing beat Plymouth Albion on Saturday and Jersey lose at home to London Scottish the team will be off the bottom of the table.

“We were calm to be honest,” Neville said. “We knew what we had to do. If he missed we were going to kick long and if he scored we would kick short.”

His fellow bi-centurion Bruynseels joined the club in 2003 and since making his debut in a win at home to Twickenham in London 2 he has helped the team rise through the leagues to their current heights.

As a winger he has been a regular on the scoresheet and also earned a call-up to the England Counties team.

“It has probably been the play-off games or the ones to get into the next game; Cleve to get into the National leagues and then Blaydon at home to get into the Championship, those two really stick out,” he said when asked to pick the highlight of his time at the club.

“The London Scottish games have been pretty good. We’ve beaten them down here a couple of times and they’ve always been good. The local derbies get a good crowd and I always like playing in Jersey, they’ve got a good crowd even though you get a lot of grief.”

The 28-year-old missed the match having broken his leg against Moseley back in January, but having recently signed a new contract and being well underway with his rehabilitation, he should be back to terrorising defences next season and was mightily impressed with the team’s showing on Saturday.

“I’m a not very good spectator, but the boys played fantastically and that was some of the best rugby we’ve played and I think the back line were phenomenal,” he said.

“It is great to know that they can go down to Plymouth on Saturday and win. To score 37 points against a Nottingham side that are on a pretty good run of form means we should go down there with massive amounts of confidence.”

RWC 2015 – Ticket deadline 25 April

The 25 April deadline for purchasing Rugby World Cup 2015 tickets from RFU member clubs is drawing near; here is all the information for fans eager to purchase tickets for rugby’s biggest tournament which will run in England and Cardiff from 18 September – 31 October, 2015.

Background
You may have read that the 500,000 tickets which are to be made available through RFU clubs to the rugby community will soon be on priority sale. Tickets will be sold directly to members nominated by the Club and will be processed on-line through the RWC 2015 Ticketing System.
We now know how many tickets have been made available to the Club:
We have an allocation for each of the ten games being played at Twickenham, including the Final. We have a much larger available allocation for the matches being played at the other venues.
The Club has decided that our tickets will be allocated to members on the same basis as we do for Six Nation and autumn international tickets. In other words you are invited to apply under the process detailed below for an allocation. The Officers will then determine how and to whom the tickets should be distributed based on the key priority criterion of contribution to the Club now and in the past.

Warning Notice
These tickets are for personal use only and cannot be used for hospitality or sponsor programmes and corporate names will not be accepted by the ticket website. Any misuse will bring the Club into disciplinary proceedings which could result in future ticket allocations for all international matches being reduced or cancelled altogether.

Process
On 6th May, the Club’s ticket organiser will enter on-line the names of our members who have been pre-allocated tickets for specific matches onto the system. There will be a maximum of two per member per match for Twickenham and four per member per match in the other stadia.
Those members will then be sent an email from RWC 2015 inviting them to register on the ticketing website ahead of the tickets going on sale on 16th May.
On the 16th May the online ticket sale starts when those with an allocation can purchase their tickets. Tickets at the various prices will be sold on a first come first served basis, so it will be important to get on-line as early as possible on the 16th May to get the tickets at your choice of price. The club priority sale will close on 30th June and sales to members of the public will open in September.

Details of all the games being played and the stadia are available at this link http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/home/fixturesresults/index.html and a list of the games being played at Twickenham is on the following page.

What you should do now and when
1. Have a look at the Twickenham match list and the website for the other matches and decide which games you are interested in attending.
2. Respond to the Hon Secretary by email at secretary@ealingrugby.co.uk with your request for an allocation (remember two for each Twickenham match and four for each other match is the maximum) and for which games.
3. To give the Officers due time to consider all requests, we must receive your response by the 15th April 2014.
4. Any questions should be directed to Graham Taylor or Sue Chandler.

Graham Taylor
Hon Secretary
Ealing Football Club (Rugby Union)

REPORT: Ealing Trailfinders 37 – 35 Nottingham

Ealing Trailfinders closed to within three points of Jersey at the bottom of the Greene King IPA Championship after securing a bonus-point win over Nottingham.

It didn’t take long for the scoring to start. Nottingham flanker Tom Calladine broke through the Ealing defence and he popped inside to Joe Munro, who ran in for a try that Matt Jarvis converted.

Ealing hit back immediately as Ben Ward refused the chance to clear with a penalty, found Phil Chesters on the wing with a cross-kick and he ran in his 12th try of the season that Ward converted.

Jarvis put Notts back in front with a well-struck penalty and after a frenetic opening 10 minutes the match settled down into a pattern of to and fro from either team.

Flanker Alex Bradley showed his mettle with a thrusting charge down the centre of the pitch and the pack then repelled a typical Nottingham catch and drive from a lineout before Jarvis stretched the lead further with his second penalty.

Nottingham continued to attack through their scrum which had taken the early advantage, but Ealing scored next.

After a catch and drive of their own, Morgan Thompson got the backs running and while Andrew Henderson was able to force his way over, Ronnie McLean was first to the ball and he had the simple task of dotting down from close range.

Bradley then made another break and after quick hands the returning Sean O’Connell made a charge to the Notts line, but was stopped short. Even so it was a sign that Ealing were gaining the upper hand and shortly before halftime Henderson picked a strong line off McLean’s pop pass to race home from the halfway line.

Ward added his third conversion, but Nottingham hit back through their pack and after they had tried to bulldozer their way over from close range the ball went wide and wing Joe Cobden to leave the score precariously balanced at 21-20 at halftime.

After the break Ealing secured the bonus point after slick hands from Tom Bedford and Chesters allowed Henderson to pick another strong line to score his second.

Jarvis closed the gap to five points with a simple penalty, but when scrumhalf Sean Romans was held up, Ealing’s pack stopped the Nottingham drive and were then able to clear the danger. When the visitors then tried to drive over with their pack they knocked on and Ward was able to clear.

The fly-half nearly picked out Chesters with another cross-kick and while the wing was adjudged to have knocked on, it did allow the hosts to relieve the pressure and position themselves in the opposition 22, from where Ward dropped a goal to stretch the lead further.

Morgan Thompson popped over a cheeky drop goal from the back of a ruck, but Notts pulled to within seven points with a Tom Calladine try that Jarvis converted. Substitute Harrison Lee-Everton then raced away to the corner, but Jarvis struck the upright with his conversion, much to the relief of the home crowd.

It meant a nervy last few minutes, but after Ealing took the sting out of Nottingham’s last efforts, Ealing’s forwards ran down the clock and fittingly Ward kicked the ball out to secure the win.

Ealing Trailfinders
Andrew Henderson, Chris Kinloch, Ronnie McLean, Tom Bedford, Phil Chesters,
Ben Ward, Morgan Thompson; Ryan Storer, Andrei Radoi, Tim Brockett, Adam Preocanin, Gavin Curry, Mat Evans (captain), Alex Bradley, Sean O’Connell
Reserves
Richard Townsend, Steve Neville, Conor Carey, Steve Pape, Ed Siggery,
Tom Parker, Billy Robinson
Nottingham
Henry Purdy, Ryan Hough, Joe Munro, Javiah Pohe, Joe Cobden, Matthew Jarvis, Sean Romans; Campese Ma’afu, Alun Walker, Michael Holford, Toby Freeman, Dan Montagu (captain), Rupert Cooper, Tom Calladine, Alex Shaw
Reserves
Ryan Bower, Jon Vickers, Harry Williams, Joe Burton, Harrison Lee-Everton, Alfie Molloy, Jacob Knight

Referee – Dean Richards
Attendance – 473
Man of the match – Alex Bradley

Academy U20s take Trailfinders rugby to Notts

Nottingham Rugby Academy v Ealing Trailfinders Academy (a) won 51-3

An early start for the bus trip to Nottingham for the final fixture of the U20/23 season, the squad was drawn from the Championship Development and U18 groups but having played and trained together on several occasions there were familiar faces and a great sense of anticipation in the air.

This would be the first time we have played our fellow Championship Academy, the corresponding fixture at Vallis Way fell foul of the weather, so we could only concern ourselves with our game and the accurate execution of it.

The game started with Nottingham enjoying plenty of possession and Ealing defending well, making tackles but an early penalty allowed Nottingham to take the lead.

Gaining possession from the restart allowed our first period of meaningful attack, we showed great pace and energy with good work after the tackle producing quick ball for U’Chong and Killeen to probe the Nottingham defence, despite some good final tackling by our opponents Killeen spotted the gap and went through to open the young Trailfinders account.

Brimming with confidence and playing with ambition and tempo first flanker Giuseppe Salustri, then Killeen again crossed the whitewash before Development Squad winger Kwaku Asante combined well with full back Chris Fagan for 2 more tries before the half time whistle.

The second half followed the same pattern as the first with the Academy enjoying long periods of possession and territory bringing further scores from Academy U18 Emerging Players Louis Walker and Marcus Lowe along with Development and ex Academy winger Damaro Woodruffe.

Skipper Matt Killeen finished off the scoring with a clever chip over and side step off the full back to cap an impressive individual performance with a well-deserved hat trick.

Thanks to our hosts who were crippled by unavailability for a great day out and a fine example of what we have achieved with the close collaboration between the Championship, Championship Development and Academy Squads for the U20/23 programme this season. Superb wins against the Army, Navy and Combined Services U23 as well as Championship rivals London Scottish and Nottingham have provided a great benchmark and learning environment for our young players.

Ealing Trailfinders Academy

Fagan, Walker, Buller, Day, Asante, Killeen (c), U’Chong, Lowe, Alton, Salustri, Avis, Wake, Hitchcock, Blackhurst, Burman

Replacements

Luk, Steadman, Shehabi, Harris, Woodruffe, Conor

Scorers

Tries – Killeen 3, Asante 2, Lowe, Salustri, Walker, Woodruffe

Cons – Killeen 2, Luk

O’Connell back for Notts visit

Sean O’Connell is back in action for the first time since early February when Ealing Trailfinders take on Nottingham in the Greene King IPA Championship at Vallis Way.

The number 8 has been out of action since the 18-18 draw away to Cornish Pirates on 2 February, but is now back to full fitness and he will pack down in between captain Mat Evans and Alex Bradley in the back row on Saturday.

O’Connell’s return means that Adam Preocanin moves forward into the second row, where he will link up with Gavin Curry, while Tim Brockett, Ryan Storer and Andrei Radoi make up the front row.

The backline is unchanged from the one which helped secure a four-try bonus point away to Bristol Rugby last time out.

Fullback Andrew Henderson will be out to try and repeat the brace of tries he scored at the Memorial Stadium and once again he has wings Phil Chesters and Chris Kinloch either side of him.

Ronnie McLean and Tom Bedford pair up in the centre, with McLean eyeing a repeat of his brace of tries the last time the two sides met. Ben Ward and Morgan Thompson are the familiar half-back duo.

Ealing Trailfinders v Nottingham, Saturday 12 April, 15.00 kick-off
15 Andrew Henderson
14 Chris Kinloch
13 Ronnie McLean
12 Tom Bedford
11 Phil Chesters
10 Ben Ward
9 Morgan Thompson
1 Ryan Storer
2 Andrei Radoi
3 Tim Brockett
4 Adam Preocanin
5 Gavin Curry
6 Mat Evans (captain)
7 Alex Bradley
8 Sean O’Connell
Reserves
16 Richard Townsend
17 Steve Neville
18 Conor Carey
19 Steve Pape
20 Ed Siggery
21 Tom Parker
22 Billy Robinson

Preo out to make it a double double

Ealing Trailfinders’ Adam Preocanin is aiming help his side to a second double of the season when they take on Nottingham in the Greene King IPA Championship on Saturday.

The last time the teams met Ealing made a winning start to 2014 by scoring three tries in a 28-27 victory at Meadow Lane, while the most recent time they played at Vallis Way they secured their second win of the season against long-time rivals Jersey, 25-23.

Since Jersey visited W13 Mike Cudmore’s side also picked up a highly welcome bonus point away to league leaders Bristol Rugby when Tom Parker wiggled over with the final play of the match.

“We want to carry on with what we did against Jersey,” Preocanin said. “It will keep our season alive, so it is a must win game and very important for us and very important for them as well.

“We got a good bonus point away to Bristol and you always look at the positives. We conceded a few points, but we didn’t fixate on that and we worried about getting the bonus point, because that is what we wanted out of the game.”

When Ealing met Nottingham in January two Ronnie McLean tries and one from Phil Chesters in the first half set them up for their win in the east midlands, before stout defence in the second half and a Ben Ward penalty completed the job.

Three of Nottingham’s tries that day came through their captain Brent Wilson scoring from the back of rolling mauls from lineouts.

While they may have gone over three times from such a tactic, Ealing’s defence stopped just as many and even though it should come as no surprise that a team coached by ex-England and Bath second row forward Martin Haag is likely to be strong upfront, Preocanin is under no illusion that the team cannot ignore the threat their backline possesses.

“It was disappointing the last game because three out of their four tries came from their rolling maul, so that is an area we are looking at and we can do better this week and one of our big aims is to do that,” he said.

“We all enjoy playing in the sun a bit more and it suits our style and we like to throw it around and run teams around, but Nottingham like to play quite wide as well. They have a big strong pack and one of the strengths is their maul, but they do like to go wide and they have some fast guys on the wing, so you can’t discount those threats as well.”

Sexton chasing World Trophy dream in Hong Kong

While his Ealing Trailfinders teammates begin the run-in to the close of the Greene King IPA Championship season, Simon Sexton is away in Hong Kong, aiming to help Canada to success in the IRB Junior World Trophy.

The 19-year-old scrum-half qualifies to play through his father, who was born in Canada’s capital Ottawa and he linked up with the Canucks for a pre-tournament training camp, before the team jetted off to Asia.

“I have really enjoyed the experience so far,” he said. “I spent a week in camp in Leeds getting to know all the boys, who are a great bunch, and the way the team plays.

“There are some real differences in culture between the English and Canadians but fortunately when you’re playing rugby together it is easy to break down some of the barriers.”

Canada are out to improve on their performance in 2013 when they lost to Italy in the final, but they began with a 37-25 loss to Namibia, a match with Sexton started on the bench.

They next take on Uruguay on Friday, before the complete their group against Japan next Tuesday, 15 April.

Final aspirations

“The loss against Namibia was a tough one,” Sexton added. “We expected to do a lot better in the game and there was a lot to be desired with our play and so we were disappointed with the result.

“Our aspirations before the tournament, which are still the same, were to win the trophy. Last year we made it to the final and lost to Italy who were promoted to the IRB Junior World Championship, so we are looking to go one better this time around.”

Sexton isn’t the only Ealing player to have featured for Canada’s U20 team or played at the Junior World Trophy; hooker Richard Townsend featured for the Great White North at the 2009 Junior World Championship in Japan, while fly-half Will Magie captained the USA to glory at the 2012 tournament.

The Cambridge-born Sexton has been a regular in the Development side this season. He also made his senior debut off the bench away to Moseley in the British and Irish Cup and is planning to keep up to date with Ealing’s home fixture against Nottingham via the internet, a match which kicks-off at 22.00 in Hong Kong.

In September he will begin a degree in business and economics at Loughborough University and feels his year at Vallis Way will help stand him in good stead in the east midlands.

“My first year at Ealing has also been my first year playing men’s rugby, having come straight from school, so it has been one of the steepest learning curves I’ve ever experienced and I had to sharpen up quick,” he said.

“It has been massively challenging and a huge test, but because of this I’ve loved it. I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to play in this professional environment full time and I feel my skills and confidence have grown hugely; not many get the same sort of chance.

“From day one I have felt one of the team and welcomed by everyone. There is a great team vibe at the club which I have been lucky to be a part of. All in all I couldn’t have wanted the season to go much better.”

Call to ETRFC fans ahead of season’s climax

Today Ealing Trailfinders players are counting down the final 24 hours before their penultimate home match of the season, against Nottingham on Saturday, 12 April.

It is a huge match and one that the team must win if they are to retain any realistic hope of staying in the Greene King IPA Championship.

As such the club is calling on as many ETRFC fans to make their way to Vallis Way that Saturday afternoon for the 15.00 kick-off and help roar the team to another victory.

Mike Cudmore’s side broke their home duck for the league season in their most recent match in W13, an absorbing and entertaining 25-23 win over old rivals Jersey. They then followed that up by earning a bonus point away to league leaders Bristol Rugby to close the gap to their rivals from the Channel Islands to eight points with three matches remaining.

“It has certainly been a tough first season in the Championship, but we are still alive and fighting to stay up,” Cudmore said. “We have had some memorable days this season and we are sure that with the vocal support of our ever-loyal fans that we can enjoy another on 12 April.”

Earlier in the season the team earned their second win of the season away to Nottingham, with an enthralling 28-27 victory at Meadow Lane. After scoring three tries they were unable to secure the try-scoring bonus point with a fourth, but with the help of the fans a bonus-point win is a definite possibility.

It would send the team into their final two matches in great heart and firm their resolve ahead of the trip to Plymouth Albion a week later and at home to Rotherham in the final match of the season on 26 April.

Eight more sign on for 2014-15

A further eight players have signed contracts with Ealing Trailfinders to remain with the club for the 2014-15 season.

Wings Chris Kinloch and Sam Wardingley, flankers Alex Bradley and Anders Nilsson, fullback Andrew Henderson, second-row Steve Pape, scrum-half Morgan Thompson and hooker Karl Gibson have all committed to the club for a further 12 months.

“I am delighted to have resigned with Ealing Trailfinders for next season,” Kinloch said. “I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of such a tight knit group and am looking forward to being part of this again next season as the club moves forwards towards its high aspirations.”

Current head coach Ben Ward is due to take over as director of coaching from Mike Cudmore, who will step down after 12 years at the club at the end of the season and he has been working tirelessly behind the scenes to secure players for next season.

The eight are the second wave of players to commit to the club following the announcement of the first seven to do so ahead of the home match with Jersey in late March.

“Anders and Karl have been unfortunate with injuries this season but both are back in training and already preparing for next year,” he said.

“Henderson has been one of the stand-out performers this year and is a match-winner. He is a Championship player and I want to build a squad of players capable of playing at that level.

“Morgan has been at the club for a number of years and each year he faces more competition but he always raises his game. His speed of service when the ball hits the ground is exceptional and suits the style of game I’m intending to play.”