Ealing Trailfinders director of rugby Mike Cudmore is staying positive despite suffering a second loss of the season, against Rotherham Titans on Saturday.
Andy Hall scored all Ealing’s points with three penalties in the 79-9 defeat and while the team came close to scoring on a number of occasions, they were unable find a way through the Yorkshire side’s defence.
“We were in the match in the first and second half for certain periods of the game and did a lot of things well,” Cudmore said. “We did not look after our possession well enough when we had it though and in defence let in some soft tries. What we need to do now is concentrate on putting on an 80 minute performance and test the opposition to the full.
“I was delighted to see that the boys never gave up though. Others teams may have thrown in the towel, but it says a lot for the character of our team that they continued to battle for the entire match.”
There were four changes and one tactical switch to the team that had opened the season against London Scottish at Allianz Park.
Flanker Alex Bradley was one of the new faces and caught the eye with a strong showing in trying circumstances.
“I don’t like to pick out players too often, but I was delighted with Alex Bradley’s performance,” Cudmore said. “He really stepped up on his debut for the club and put in an excellent performance that really did him enormous credit. He is a young lad and still learning the game, but showed he belongs at this level.”
Next up for Trailfinders is the visit of Cornish Pirates, who opened with a win over Bristol Rugby, but then slipped to a loss to Leeds Carnegie.
“We know that we face another tough test at home to Cornish Pirates, but that is the nature of this league,” Cudmore added. “We know what we have to do to improve and we will be working hard all week in training to ensure that we can be as competitive as can be on the day.”
