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Author Archives: Paul Clarke
REPORT: Stourbridge 19 v 31 Ealing Trailfinders RFC
The Ealing Trailfinders travelled to Stourbridge in buoyant mood after their convincing victory at home the previous Saturday. Both sides began the game nervously with Ealing Trailfinders particularly error-prone in the early exchanges. Ealing Trailfinders managed to keep Stourbridge at bay with their defensive prowess. It was the powerful defence from Ealing Trailfinders that led to their first try. A Stourbridge handling mistake, primarily due to pressure being exerted by the Ealing Trailfinders defenders, allowed Ronnie McLean to break and off-load to a waiting Phil Chesters. As is so often the case with the in-form winger, he chipped and then gathered the ball to score. Ben Ward’s conversion gave Ealing Trailfinders a 7-0 lead after 17 minutes. Ealing Trailfinders extended their lead when Peter Hodgkinson managed to beat several defenders on his way to the try-line. Ward’s kick took the score to 14-0. Hodgkinson crossed for his second of the game after Owen Bruynseels initially intercepted the ball and enabled the visiting side to create the opportunity in the Stourbridge 22. Ward’s faultless kicking display made it 21-0 to an ever-impressing Ealing Trailfinders side. Ealing Trailfinders went into the half-time break the happier of the two teams after they defended their 21-0 lead admirably till the whistle blew for the interval.
In the second half the Stourbridge side came out with a point to prove. They were camped in the Ealing Trailfinders half for large parts of the opening 10 minutes of the half. They took advantage of the numerical advantage of Jack Clifford’s sin-binning by opening their account through Captain Ben Hughes who sneaked over from close range. Ealing Trailfinders were almost instantaneously back on the score sheet when a definite candidate for try of the season earned the London side their bonus point. Hodgkinson gathered a long kick in his half which he chipped and gathered and then neatly cross-field kicked to Bruynseels who collected and ran in to score to leave the Stourbridge crowd applauding with appreciation. Ealing Trailfinders were leading 28-7 with half an hour remaining. Stourbridge staged a mini-comeback when tries from second row Rob Hurrell and Number 8 Adrian Hall reduced the score to 28-19. A Ward penalty saw Ealing Trailfinders register a comfortable 31-19 victory. This away victory further builds the momentum that the Ealing Trailfinders side are now gathering at an important stage of the season.
Jon Moyce (first team hooker) said “A game that required a 100% performance, we give it 80% of our best and came away with a win. Much to work on before we face Sedgely Park at home”
Ealing Trailfinders next game is at home at 3pm February 11th against Sedgely Park
REPORT: Ealing Trailfinders RFC 43 v 17 Wharfedale
Ealing Trailfinders had the opportunity to get back to winning ways when Wharfedale made the long trip down to West London. On a blustery afternoon, Ealing Trailfinders opted to play into a strong wind for the first half. Ealing Trailfinders began the game full of confidence with a trade-mark Peter Hodgkinson counter attack almost leading to a try within minutes of the game kicking off. Wharfedale tested the Ealing Trailfinders defence with an encouraging passage of play from the visitors, but the stubborn Trailfinders defence stood firm. Ealing Trailfinders opened the scoring through Phil Chesters’ brilliantly finished try. A powerful Ealing Trailfinders scrum enabled the Ealing Trailfinders back-line to swiftly pass the ball to the speedy winger who beat two defenders on the way to the try-line. Ealing Trailfinders were again celebrating when a forceful drive resulted in a break from flanker Jack Clifford. Quick ball from the ensuing ruck saw the ball passed to Hodgkinson who strolled in for his team’s second try of the game. Ben Ward’s successful conversion gave Ealing Trailfinders a 12-0 lead. Wharfedale fought back and were camped in the hosts half for a sustained period. On 28 minutes Ealing’s Captain Mat Evans was binned for entering a maul from the side. Wharfedale capitalised on the numerical advantage after being awarded a penalty try from a five-metre scrum to make the score 12-7. Just before half-time Sam Wardingley showed impressive strength as he powered his way over to score. Ealing Trailfinders took a well-deserved 19-7 lead going into half-time.
Ealing Trailfinders came storming out the blocks after the break when Chesters was just inches away from adding to his tally. Ealing’s bonus point try came through the returning scrum-half Morgan Thompson. Ealing Trailfinders stole the Wharfedale lineout and Jon Moyce gathered and drove on. Like all good scrum-half’s Thompson spotted the gap round the fringe and burrowed his way over to score. Ealing Trailfinders were beginning to run riot after a Wardingley break and off-load saw Chesters sprint over for his second of the day to further enhance their lead to 29-7. On the hour mark Clifford snuck over for his first try in an Ealing Trailfinders jersey. Ward’s excellent touch-line conversion extended the home side’s lead to 36-7. The England under-20 representative went over for his second of the game from a similar distance to give Ealing Trailfinders an impressive 43-7 lead with just 10 minutes to go. Wharfedale managed to score two consolation tries through replacement Dan Solomi before the final whistle blew. Ealing Trailfinders will be happy with their convincing 43-17 victory at Vallis Way.
Ealing Trailfinders captain Mat Evans believes it was a well-deserved victory for the home side. “The lads came out today and delivered a great performance in front of our vocal home support. Their last two tries aside, I believe we snuffled them out defensively all day. We knew they like to play rugby from anywhere on the pitch, so we focused on nullifying this threat…and I believe we achieved that,” said Evans.
Evans was also full of praise of his team’s character. “I am proud of the way the team have reacted today in the wake of some poor results recently. The whole team played well, but there were some outstanding individual performances today, “remarked the Ealing Trailfinders captain.
Ealing Trailfinders travel to Stourbridge this Saturday in a 3pm kick off.
REPORT: Beaconsfield Vets 36 – 12 Ealing Evergreens
After a stressful week of knowing that we would struggle to get a full 15 to play on Saturday due to losing players who were coaching at the Eithad Cup, injuries picked up from our previous Saturday’s titanic game and a call up for Ben Hesketh from the Cougars we importantly decided to honour the game with 11 players. Fortunately Beaconsfield were on hand to lends us 4 of their players so a game was certain. We unfortunately lost one of them mid way through the 1st half due to an ear injury and were very grateful for an injured Dyll stepping up and slotting into the back row.
The Evergreen spirit that was shown in the game was immense and buoyed on by our massive performance against the Cougars the week before we took the game to Beaconsfield and it was only due to some silly handling errors and a few missed tackles from us that gave them their opportunities to score which they did on four occasions in the first half. Importantly we got something out of our 1st half efforts when we took a tap and go penalty 10 yrds from their line just before half time we had Brathers (the Bull) in hand to smash over there line for a well deserved try.
This really gave us a massive boost and we fronted up for the second half confident we could get something out of the game including the now three borrowed Beaconsfield players who were giving everything for Ealing on the park. We were again unlucky with some silly handling errors which gave them a few more tries but as a team we defiantly won the second half battle and, with a bit more luck on our side, we could have easily won the half but we had to wait till the final minute to score more or less a replica try from the first half with Dyll our try scoring champ this time. Paul H duly hit over the conversion which made the final score 36 12 which was somewhat flattering for our excellent hosts and for a game that was played with hugh determination from both sides but fairness. The spirit and determination that was shown on the day from each and every one of us is what makes playing for the Evergreens an honour, Thank you to one and all….
The Evergreens 12
• Paul Hoban – Brilliant tactical kicking all game
• Mark Rutherford – Try saving tackle and gave 100% as always
• Greg Holdsworth – Great game at number 10, a natural
• Brathers – The Bull… Great try and gave his all
• Fergus Molloy – Man of the Match performance from the New Boy
• BOF – Frustrated Skipper as always..
• Bill Miller (1) – Well stuck in mate, gave your all
• Stef M – Massive bulk busting performance
• Dyll Davies – Great try and made a huge difference when he came on
• Dec Mcgrath – Brilliant, great to have you back in the team
• Bill Miller (2) – Pulled a hamstring but kept going.. great spirit
• Mark Cannon – Great 1st game in the back row
Support
• Steve Weekes – Thank you
• Paul Clarke – Thank you
REPORT: Cinderford 27 v 24 Ealing Trailfinders RFC
The Ealing Trailfinders travelled to Cinderford attempting to get back to winning ways. The Christmas period has not been kind to the Ealing Trailfinders side, whereas Cinderford have hit a rich vein of form winning their last 2 games as they look to progress up the table. A bitterly cold Gloucestershire afternoon greeted the players as a vocal crowd welcomed them onto the field. Ealing Trailfinders were on the back foot just minutes into the game when poor defending on the blind side allowed Will Foden to score in the corner. Ex-Gloucester fly-half Rory Teague seemed to be able to turn the Ealing Trailfinders side with ease as he continually found the corners with an impressive kicking display. Ealing Trailfinders found themselves 12-0 down after less than 20 minutes gone on the clock. Simple hands in the Cinderford back-line exposed the Ealing Trailfinders defence and enabled Joe Smart to score from the ensuing ruck. Teague added the extras to make a tough day even more so for Ealing Trailfinders. After a patient attack against a determined Cinderford defence, Ealing Trailfinders eventually scored through Phil Chesters. Ben Ward noticed the acres of space behind the ruck and delicately chipped the ball for the winger to score. Ward’s conversion reduced the score to 12-7. Teague punished Ealing Trailfinders for an off-side offence by slotting a penalty making it 15-7 to the home side. A powerful drive from the line-out took Ealing Trailfinders metres from the try-line. Jon Moyce broke off from the drive beating two defenders to dive over and to put the visitors within a score of Cinderford. Ward’s successful conversion took Ealing Trailfinders to within a point going into the half-time break.
The beginning of the second half was a tight affair as each team were patiently eying up any possible attacking opportunities. Ealing Trailfinders were first on the board as a penalty enabled Ward to kick the West-London side into a 17-15 lead. Ealing Trailfinders then put together their best passage of play of the game. The forwards went through the gears and continuously forced the home side on the back foot. Anders Nilsson took a short ball from close range and burst through a tackle to score and give Ealing Trailfinders a deserved 24-15 lead. Despite Ealing Trailfinders looking in control, George Evans crashed through sloppy defending to take his side within a point with 15 minutes remaining. Cinderford’s risk-free game plan constituting a kicking game, forward possession and aggressive rucking ultimately enabled them to starve the attacking Ealing Trailfinders side for the last quarter. Ealing Trailfinders looked in a solid attacking position with a scrum in the Cinderford 22mt. Unfortunately they were turned over and winger Michael Wilcox received the ball to run the length of the pitch to touch down and take the Foresters back into the lead. Despite their final endeavours Ealing Trailfinders were unable to score again and lost 27-24.
After the game Ben Ward conveyed his disappointment at the result. "We are all disappointed with the result today. It’s another game where we have lost by just a few points but it is small margins that make the difference in this league,” he said.
The Ealing Trailfinders coach also gave credit to Cinderford and the patriotic travelling Ealing Trailfinders support. “Fair play to Cinderford, they had a game plan and executed it well. Thanks to all the support that came to watch, as always it’s greatly appreciated by the players. We will continue to work hard in training this week and look to put on a good performance against Wharfedale this weekend,” said the fly-half.
Ealing Trailfinders will hope to stop their recent loss of form when Wharfedale visit Vallis Way on Saturday 3pm kick off.
To find out more about this game please click here
REPORT: Ealing Exiles 25-6 Old Isleworthians II
Exiles set the record straight against OI IIs in a game of many scrums and some cracking runs! Nick Greenhalgh reports from the open side flank and the front row.
Thanks to a delayed KO, the Exiles had a good 20 to 25 minutes warm-up which was well led by the sergeant major Danny, who did an excellent job of ensuring we started the match firing on all cylinders.
We started strongly and maintained much of the possession. Scrums were rife, too rife, as were injuries to our props. Within 15 minutes we had lost Greg to a damaged rib and then Ghassan to a back injury. Luckily it was my birthday match so I got the honour of playing hooker and Fabio manned up to shuffling to loose head prop. The expert scrum tactician Eff tinkered with the second row configuration to provide us a stable platform.
After ten minutes of battle we were awarded a penalty within easy reach of James H’s boot, and as it was a league match and as we lost last time against these fellas I took the decision to kick for the three points and settle us into a lead early on. James found his target! Barry was out of the country in Brussels drinking funny lagers so I knew I’d be safe, though I am sure I will face the wrath of his disappointment when he hears we kicked for points!
Shortly after the restart we struck again, this time with an awe-inspiring try orchestrated by the backs. From a ruck on our ten yard line Danny passed the ball to Paul T who started a back move that saw the ball go through three pairs of hands to Jez on the left wing. After making some ground Jez off-loaded back to Paul T who had come all the way over to the left wing in support. Paul T gained another 20 metres whilst miraculously avoiding stepping into touch whilst fending off a defender. Eventually the ball was spilled backwards and Alex K was in support to scoop it up, smash through the remaining defender and have an easy run in for the last 20 metres, with plenty of time to celebrate and then ground the ball under the posts. A successful conversion from James H and it was ten points to nil!
A couple of minor changes took place at half-time with Jez moving to number 9 and Danny taking a well earned rest. Chandra came in on the wing and proved a safe pair of hands under several kicks from the opposition number 10. However, early on the opposition took advantage of sloppy Exiles play and also kicked a penalty bringing us to 10-3. We responded pretty much straight away thanks to a cracking snaffle of the ball on the halfway line by back row Jonathan who popped it to elder statesman Steve R to make a few more hard yards before he in turn handed it on to Eff who used his 127 kg to drag several OIs over the line.
Up to 15-3 now, still not out of sight but getting there, then the opposition got another penalty and we were 15-6, looking more fragile… But not for long again. Poor OIs’ line-outs were a disaster: they seemed to lose all their put-ins. Sadly for them one line-out was on their five yard line and it got fumbled to ground in the channel close to touch where an ever eager scavanging Exile hooker in the form of Fabio made short shrift of nursing it over the line to bring us to 20-6.
After a few more scrums, seemingly we could not have too many this day, the game was closing down and the final glory run came in from Jonathan who whooped and bucked like a crazy horse charging in the final try of the match.
Great win for the Exiles, no cards awarded to us. A yellow was received by one of the OIs for punching Craigy in front of the ref, not the smartest move. The ref, Hugh, policed the game well, and unlike the disappointing game we had back in November we all left the pitch smiling and satisfied. Big thanks to OIs for giving us a good game.
We’re now 3rd in the MMT Division 5 league with 1st and 2nd place not being an unassailable number of points ahead of us!
Tries: Alex Kruczkowski, Fabio Krasniqi, Antony ‘Eff’ Lynch, Jonathan McKeogh
Conversions: James Hitchcock
Penalty: James Hitchcock
REPORT: Ealing Trailfinders U23’s 26 v 12 London Irish Nomads U23’s
Wednesday 21st December proved to be a great night for our club. We had a reunion match for our players who have played through the mini and youth sections, and are now away at university or working.
E – mails were sent out to prospective players a few weeks previous and by the week of the game we had almost 30 players ready to play; although unfortunately, on the evening of the game it was a different story…….5 cry off’s & 3 no shows!!
The team assembled at 5:00pm ready for a 7:00pm kick off under floodlights on the first XV pitch. A warm up took place, match tactics discussed and players were put into their positions. We had a very young team – all were under 21 – playing what appeared to be an older, more experienced Irish side.
The game kicked of at a very fast pace and Ealing quickly took the lead with two tries, one from Nathan Brady and the other scored by man of the match Chris Hitchcock after an intercept by Dan Thomas. Both tries were successfully converted by James Hitchcock. However, the Irish came back very strongly and after good forward work scored a converted try just before half time, to bring the half time score to 14-7 in our favour.
London Irish started the second half as they finished the first – very strongly! They were quickly on the score sheet again, with a well worked try in the corner. However the tide was about to turn and the Ealing Trailfinders boys came back powerfully and Will Key, an 18 year old colt, scored a great individual try under the posts, after an incredible burst through the middle, and again, James Hitchcock converted. This brought the score to 21-12, but there was still enough time for an Irish comeback. Any doubt about the result was cancelled out after good work on the left hand touch line resulted in an unconverted try in the corner, by Richard Smith. Final score 26-12 to Ealing Trailfinders! The man of the match award went to Chris Hitchcock for his excellent line out work and all round support play.
The players then retired to the bar to be fed and watered. Thanks to some very kind donations by one or two club members, there was plenty of beer to send them home for Christmas in high spirits.
Without the help, and support of numerous members of the club, the game would not have been able to go ahead. A huge thank you to Jan & Rodger Hitchcock, from New World Interiors, for kindly sponsoring the game, thanks also to Mike Gooley of Trailfinders for making it possible to play this game on the main pitch, under floodlights and to those who turned up on the night to support their club.
This kind of game now needs to be a regular fixture and already we are looking to take a similar team to London Irish at the Easter break. If you are an ex-Ealing Trailfinders youth player (aged 19-23) and would like to take part, please contact Andy Killeen by email: andykilleen@yahoo.co.uk
Ealing Trailfinders RFC U23’s v London Irish U23’s 21/12/11 KO @7PM
v
Ealing Trailfinders U23’s v London Irish Amateurs U23’s
Wednesday 21st December
KO @ 7PM
Match Sponsored by: 
Looking for one last live game of rugby before Christmas? Well Ealing Trailfinders are having an Under 23’s reunion match against London Irish Amateurs Under 23’s on Wednesday 21st December.
The kick off will be @ 7pm and entrance is free so make sure you get down early for a few pre drinks and a catch up.
Winners of The Big Christmas Auction
Auction Items
Lot 1 –
A signed Harlequins playing shirt – Rhidian Jones
Lot 2 –
A signed London Irish playing shirt – Brendan O’Flaherty
Lot 3 –
A signed Joe Simpson Wasps shirt (signed by the Wasps squad) – T.Williams
Lot 4 –
A signed pair of World Cup veteran Steve Thompsons training shorts – Rhidian Jones
Lot 6 –
2 tickets for England v Ireland – Ivan
REPORT: Fulleriarians 17 – 31 Evergreens
As in typical Evergreens style It was a game of two halves with the score line in the first half 17 nil to Fullerians with the help of an almighty wind and a winger that was young enough to be half the teams son and who would probably qualify for the 100 meters at next year’s Olympics. They must have also thought that Christmas had come early as each of their scores was a gift from Ealing via the way of some silly mistakes. We were also hindered by the fact they choose to have non contested scrums from the off with the excuse of having no hooker which didn’t please the diehard forwards such as Ash Spencer, Bill Miller, Dyll Davies, Rahim, Mike Whitney, James Playll, Ray Dennis, Rahim Virani, Big Stef, Jim Cox and myself.
But with a quality team helped by having Mike Whitney, Ash Spencer, Johnny Murphy, John Knot, James Phyll, & Adam Hulmston from the Cougars, Ray Dennis first outing of the season and new boy Damian Leslie we started to control the game in which Fullerians had no answer to. It was also great to see Paul Hoban back in an Evergreen shirt who had a fantastic game but with a man of the match performance by Bill Miller who is slowing getting back to his best after a long layoff with injury the Evergreens looked posed for that long awaited first win of the season and gladly took it when the ref blew the final whistle.
Backs
Greg Holdsworth – Great second half,
Andy Cleary – Tough first half with that wind but great to see him on the park
Mark Rutherford – Played well for both us and Fullerians
Mark Cannon – Gagging to play in the back row but played well for both us and Fullerians
Ben Hesketh – Our new discovery at scrum half, great game
John Knot – Top player amazing how fast you can run when you are fit
Paul Hoban – Great game and very happy to see him in an Evergreens shirt again
Johnny Murphy – Two tries and made a new referee friend.. Brilliant
Forwards
James Playall – Brilliant in the line-out and generally around the park – Top Class
Mike Whitney – Top-class player, great to see him playing for the Evergreens
Ash Spencer – Not happy with the non-contested scrums, took a while for him to get angry
Jim Cox- fantastic game and got to every breakdown even at his age
Adam Humston (Pup) – That’s how you do it, brilliant
Ray Dennis – Great to see you back and made a difference for both us and Fullerians
Bill Miller 1 – Man of the Match performance.. great rucking
Stef M – A man who really missed the contested scrum. But made the big hits when required
Dyll Davies – Great performance and good to have him back in an Evergreens shirt
Damian Leslie – Great new recruit, a natural back row player, solid first game
Rahim Virani – Shame about the non contested scrums, but a great performance in the 2nd half.
Importantly I felt that Saturday was a massive Evergreen and Club effort and it was a pleasure playing alongside the Cougar boys. Well done to all and a really enjoyable game if not frustrating. See you all on the 10th for last game of the year if not before.
Best
BOF
