Author Archives: Paul Clarke

Ealing Trailfinders were unable to close the gap to Jersey at the bottom after London Scottish scored six tries to cement their place in the top five of the Greene King IPA Championship.

Andrew Henderson gave Ealing the perfect start when he scored an early intercept try five minutes into the match, but after the Exiles found their rhythm they scored five tries of their own before Billy Robinson marked his return from injury with a score. Miles Mantella then added their sixth just before the end of the match

The home side were quickly on the offensive and after James Love was short with a penalty they opted to kick to the corner with their next.

After the backs moved the ball left, fullback Henderson flew out of the line, plucked a loose pass out of the air and raced the length of the field to score in the corner as wing Miles Mantella closed in.

From the kickoff the Exiles continued to put the squeeze on and after Ealing’s defence repelled their attacks and rolling mauls, from their third attempt their captain Mark Bright popped out of the back for a try that Love converted.

Ealing hit back though and after Henderson had broken out of his half the ball went right Scottish were penalised for not releasing in the tackle and Tom Wheatcroft banged over the penalty to put Ealing back in front.

Sam Wardingley did well to stop Scottish centre Michael Doneghan from breaking through, but when the ball went back to the Scottish right-wing flanker Matt Everard showed a soft pair of hands to set Love free to go over in the corner.

Soon after wing Mantella took advantage of a broken field to pick his way through to the try-line and once again Love landed the conversion.

Ealing started the second half in positive mood and Chris Kinloch gave Wardingley the chance to break clear down the right wing and was only stopped by fullback Jim Thompson.

However, it was the Exiles who scored the first points of the second period, just before the hour mark when they attacked from a scrum and Love added his second try.

Bright scored another from a rolling maul before Robinson latched onto Tom Bedford’s grubber kick to score his second try of the season against the team whom he picked up his knee injury last November.

Scottish added a further seven points just before half-time when Mantella completed a free-flowing end to end move between the posts.

Ealing are next in action next Saturday, 15 March at home to Bedford Blues, kick-off at 15.00. Fans will also be able to watch the Italy v England Six Nations match before and France v Ireland following the match.

Ealing Trailfinders
Andrew Henderson, Sam Wardingley, Chris Kinloch, Tom Wheatcroft, Billy Robinson, Tom Bedford, Tom Parker; Steve Neville, Andrei Radoi, Tim Brockett,
Steve Pape, George Merrick, Adam Preocanin, Ed Siggery, TJ Anderson (captain)
Reserves
Max Crumpton, Darryl Marfo, Conor Carey, Gavin Curry, Sam Hocking, Morgan Thompson, Andy Hall
London Scottish
Jim Thompson, James Love, Mike Doneghan , PJ Gidlow, Miles Mantella, Lee Millar; Jordi Pasqualin; Nick Mayhew, Adam Kwasnicki, Tom Francis, Sam Twomey, Tyler Hotson, Neil Best, Matt Everard, Mark Bright (captain)
Reserves
Ted Stagg, Jamie Kilbane, Lewis Thiede, David Lyons, Joe Trayfoot, Sam Stuart, Dan Newton

Attendance – 715
Referee – Thomas Foley

TJ Anderson (right) will captain Ealing Trailfinders in their Greene King IPA Championship clash with London Scottish on Sunday.

The lunchtime match at The Athletic Ground will be fourth time that the Ulsterman has captained Ealing this season and he will start the fixture at number 8, between flankers Ed Siggery and Adam Preocanin.

Hooker Andrei Radoi begins the match, a day before he jets off to Georgian capital Tbilisi, where he will link up with the rest of his Romania teammates ahead of their match with Georgia on 15 March.

It is a fixture that will decide who tops Europe’s 2015 Rugby World Cup qualification group and goes into a pool with defending champions New Zealand.

Long-time club servants Steve Neville and Tim Brockett will prop down alongside the 26-year-old, while George Merrick and Steve Pape lock out the scrum in the second row.

Two Toms will be in charge of pulling the strings in the backline; Tom Parker (left) starts at scrum-half, while Tom Bedford moves to fly-half having played at inside-centre in the most recent match, against London Welsh last Saturday.

Another Tom, Wheatcroft, takes over from Bedford in the centre and will line-up alongside Chris Kinloch, who scored Ealing’s only try when the sides last met in November.

Wing Billy Robinson returns to the team for the first time since picking up a knee injury against the Exiles in November and he will make up a back-three with fellow wing Sam Wardingley and fullback Andrew Henderson.

Ealing Trailfinders v London Scottish, Sunday 9 March, KO 12.30
15 Andrew Henderson
14 Sam Wardingley
13 Chris Kinloch
12 Tom Wheatcroft
11 Billy Robinson
10 Tom Bedford
9 Tom Parker
1 Steve Neville
2 Andrei Radoi
3 Tim Brockett
4 Steve Pape
5 George Merrick
6 Adam Preocanin
7 Ed Siggery
8 TJ Anderson (Captain)
Reserves
16 Max Crumpton
17 Darryl Marfo
18 Conor Carey
19 Gavin Curry
20 Sam Hocking
21 Morgan Thompson
22 Andy Hall

For all of the Ealing Trailfinders players the Greene King IPA Championship match away to London Scottish is something they are eagerly looking forward to, but for Billy Robinson in particular Sunday’s match can’t come soon enough.

The wing is set to make his first start after returning from injury having spent the last three months recovering from a knee injury that he picked up in the November fixture against the Exiles at Vallis Way.

“I just remember carrying the ball into contact and twisting awkwardly when I landed,” he said. “I knew something wasn’t right but it didn’t feel like a normal knee injury, as I’ve had some experience with those before.

“Smithy (physio Justin Smith) suspected that I’d torn multiple tendons in my lower leg and he was right, but subsequent MRI scans also showed that I’d subluxed my patella and, most seriously, dislocated my tib-fib joint.

“It would be dishonest of me to say that I understood perfectly what all that meant, but three injuries in one collision was pretty unfortunate and had nothing to do with my old mate Andy Reay’s ferocious tackling, the London Scottish centre who tackled me.”

Since then the 26-year-old has been a regular visitor to the physiotherapist’s room at Vallis Way and has spent a large amount of time returning to full fitness in the gym.

Prior to his injury the former Moseley player had become a firm fixture in Mike Cudmore’s team primarily on the wing, but also at fullback on occasion. He had also opened his Ealing try-scoring account with a score at home to Cross Keys in the British and Irish Cup last October.

“Obviously it’s hugely frustrating not being able to play or train, but I just tried to make sure I stayed positive and worked hard at the things I could,” he said. “Nick Rees (conditioning coach) was great, and really started challenging me in the gym, which I was very grateful for, as it gave me some focus as an athlete.

“But of course, every player wants to be playing and training every week, so I’m delighted to be back in the team.”

London Scottish have been one of the surprise teams in the Championship this season and currently sit in fifth place, albeit 10 points off the play-off places.

Even so the need for Ealing to leave with something from the match at The Athletic Ground in Richmond is paramount if they are to fight their way clear of relegation.

“The team has improved massively since the last time I played and everyone at the club knows we have a huge amount to play for in the remaining games of the season,” Robinson said.

“I won’t have any anxieties about getting injured again. I think London Scottish are as strong this year as I’ve ever seen them, but we believe that we can go there on Sunday and get something out of this game, though we’ll have to be at our best to do that.”

Ealing Trailfinders are delighted to announce that Ben Ward has been appointed as Coaching Director, starting from 1 June 2014.

In the meantime he will be carrying out his role as coach and player, while working to prepare for next season.

The 29-year-old Ward joined Ealing Trailfinders in 2004 and as fly-half was instrumental in helping the team rise through the RFU leagues to their present position in the Greene King IPA Championship.

Currently he is head coach and has also held the position of backs coach and captain.

“It is a huge honour to be given this opportunity at Ealing Trailfinders,” Ward said. “I was brought to the club 10 years ago by Mike Cudmore and have been fortunate to have been here ever since. Mike has played a huge part in my development and I would like to thank him for that.

“I enjoy coaching attacking rugby. It is something this club has built a reputation for over the years and something I want to build on and continue. We have a great infrastructure already in place and it is about bringing in a few of my own ideas and looking to continue to improve where we can.

“We have a thriving mini and youth section, an academy and development team that is bringing players through towards the first team as well as an amateur section. The club continues to grow and I look forward to playing a major role in that.”

Ward will succeed Mike Cudmore who is due to stand down as Director of Rugby at the end of May 2014 after 12 years at the club. He has worked closely with Cudmore in recent years as part of his coaching team, having first met him during his time as a student at St Mary’s College in Twickenham.

Ward’s appointment underlines the club’s strong commitment to producing and developing their own coaching talent and allowing that talent the chance to flourish.

The Club’s executive said, “We are delighted that Ben will be stepping into this new role. After 12 years as director of rugby Mike Cudmore will leave a well structured and impressive legacy.

“We fully expect that Ben, as head of the coaching team, will bring the knowledge and experience he has amassed over the last 10 years to build upon these solid foundations.”

Ealing Trailfinders’ home Greene King IPA Championship match against Bedford Blues has been rescheduled for Saturday, 15 March, kick-off 15.00.

The Blues were originally supposed to visit Vallis Way on Valentines’ Day, Friday 14 February, but both that match and the previously rescheduled fixture on Saturday 22 February were unable to go ahead after the pitch was deemed unplayable.

England’s final RSB Six Nations match against Italy in Rome will be on the big screen from 12.30, while the concluding fixture of the tournament, France v Ireland in Paris will also be shown, kick-off at 17.00.

For lunch reservations please email sue@ealingrugby.co.uk

Ealing Trailfinders Director of Rugby Mike Cudmore has made only a handful of changes to the team for the visit of London Welsh in the Greene King IPA Championship on Saturday.

In the backline there is one change and one tactical switch; Ronnie McLean returns to the outside centre berth having started at inside centre against Leeds Carnegie last time out.

He will be partnered in midfield by Tom Bedford, who returns to the starting team and so reunites the centre pairing that started the 18-18 draw away to Cornish Pirates.

In the pack there are two changes in the front-row, where Ryan Storer and Andrei Radoi, fresh from helping Romania reach Rugby World Cup 2015, will pack down alongside Conor Carey.

Steve Pape and man of the match against Leeds, George Merrick will lock out the scrum at second-row, while in the back-row captain Mat Evans starts at number 8, between flankers Ed Siggery and TJ Anderson.

Ealing Trailfinders v London Welsh, Saturday 1 March, KO 15.00
15 Andrew Henderson
14 Sam Wardingley
13 Ronnie Mclean
12 Tom Bedford
11 Phil Chesters
10 Ben Ward
9 Morgan Thompson
1 Ryan Storer
2 Andrei Radoi
3 Conor Carey
4 Steven Pape
5 George Merrick
6 Tom Anderson
7 Ed Siggery
8 Mat Evans
Reserves
16 Richard Townsend
17 Steve Neville
18 Jordan Saunders
19 Dan Collier
20 Sam Hocking
21 Tom Parker
22 Tom Wheatcroft

Like all the Ealing Trailfinders players Conor Carey is determined to make up for lost time against London Welsh on Saturday.

The Greene King IPA Championship fixture is the team’s first in three weeks after the Valentine’s Day match Bedford Blues was twice postponed.

For the players it meant they were left kicking their heels and unable to get the previous match’s 46-11 loss to Leeds Carnegie out of their systems.

“We are all really looking forward to getting out there,” Carey said. “We want to get another win under our belts to help push us to safety.

“There is a good excitement around the camp and we are looking forward to playing again and getting out on the pitch, especially because we will be at home, in front of our home crowd and hopefully we can give them something to cheer about.”

Prop forward Carey started the previous match against the Exiles up the M40 at Oxford United’s Kassam Stadium.

Despite finishing on the end of a 28-0 defeat to the promotion hopefuls, the side put up an impressive performance against a team containing players with international and Aviva Premiership experience.

“They are a big strong team, up at the top of the league and are going to be very good,” Carey said. “Last time we played them was one of our best performances, but we only made four mistakes against them and they scored four tries and secured a bonus point.

“We played well, went out and spread the ball and had nothing to lose. This time I don’t think they’ll underestimate us as much.”

Carey is in his first season with the club and it is something of a home-coming for the 23-year-old. Despite his strong Ulster tones and rise through the playing ranks at the province he was actually born in Ealing and lived in the area for two years before his parents moved on to Wales and then Hong Kong.

I’ve really enjoyed it, especially coming ‘home’,” he said. “Despite the results we have a good bunch of boys and the spirit is still high. The season has picked up and we are starting to get into it. We know and other teams know that we are good enough to be here.”