Author Archives: Paul Clarke

Academy names team for final game of the season

The Academy team to play London Scottish has been named. It contains some familiar faces along with some new ones.

Second Row, Sam Pitkin and Prop, Cameron Sadiq will make their U20 debuts. Both have impressed since joining the Academy U18 and have earned a chance to show what they can do in the Senior Academy rugby environment.

Academy Director, John Lacey said “Charlie Bannister will again skipper the side, he has worked hard to recover from a couple of niggly injuries. It shows his determination to get back for the last few weeks of the season.

Its great to see new players continue to join up with the squad, Cameron and Sam both deserve a chance to earn a spot for next season and we area excited to see how they go tomorrow.

We are also looking to go with a period at U19 group to allow some players who aren’t yet 18 to play in their preferred position. It shows great spirit between both clubs to make this happen. The collective commitment to player development is fantastic to see and shows both organisations truly believe in a player centred approach.”

Kick off at Vallis Way is at 19:45 and admission is free. Please try to get along and support the boys in the last game of the season.

James Booth selected for London & South East Division

Senior Academy player James Booth has been selected to represent London & South U20 at the Divisional Festival in May.

Booth has impressed in the U20 County Championship, representing his home county of Surrey.

Academy Director John Lacey said “James only joined the Academy this season but has made some good gains through the year. He has worked hard on his conditioning and has shown a commitment to learn.

We are hoping he will do well and if things go his way he could make the England Counties Squad.”

You can see James and the other Academy players take on London Scottish U20 at Vallis Way tomorrow evening. Kick Off is at 19:45 and entry is free.

Academy look to finish the season on a high

The Academy take on our neighbours from London Scottish in the final game of the season on Thursday 3rd May.

After a great day at the Championship U20 Tens Tournament last week, the lads are looking forward to getting back on the pitch together.

Academy Director, John Lacey said “There will be some rye smiles between the squad with several U18 players who inflicted a surprise win against their older team mates involved on Thursday.

We are really pleased with the progress of the U18 this season, there are some exciting players involved.

Its always a tough game against Scottish. I’d like the boys to be at their most inventive and ambitious and show what they can do at match intensity”.

Vallis Way will look great under the lights and it will be a fantastic display of rugby on offer.

Please try to get down to support the boys. There will be more news on Twitter @ETFacademy. You can also now follow us on Instagram @ealingtrailfindersacademy

Nottingham victorious in inaugural Championship U20 Tens

Congratulations to the unbeaten Nottingham Academy squad who won the Cup at the first Championship U20 Tens Tournament on Sunday.

There were some fantastic displays from all involved but the Midlands side were excellent throughout the day and were unbeaten on all fronts.

There were some unexpected results, without doubt the surprise package of the day were late replacements….our own Academy U18s. Middlesex U20 were unable to make the event but following a fine Tournament win at Farnham the week before, the younger Trailfinders stepped in. With wins over London Welsh, a draw with London Scottish and a superb win over the Academy U20. The Cup Final awaited

London Welsh recovered from an early scare to finish 3rd place in the pool stage. Their opponents in the Plate final were the Academy U20 who eventually ran out winners.

Nottingham proved too strong for the Academy U18s, but not before the scare of the day. Nottingham had to come back from a score down in the last 90 seconds. Our Junior Academy boys may have earned some fans but certainly earned some respect!

We were very lucky to have received so much support from so many new sponsors.

We’d like to thank John Martin for his generous help making the day possible.

STORM WATCHES were excellent sponsors of the STORMOneToWatch Player of the Tournament. The competition was fierce for this award, Tom Steene from the Academy U18 was a very close runner up. The well deserved winner was the excellent Joe Barnes from Nottingham Academy.

We cannot forget our other partners from

Graham, The Plumbers’ Merchant
Smith Brothers Stores
G&D Higgins
HBS Limited
London Wealth Management
BEC Limited
Ithaca Roofing Ltd
All Type Roofing Limited

And a huge thank you to Mike Gooley and Trailfinders for their ongoing generosity towards the Academy

We are excited about the potential for this competition. We have received some wonderful feedback already and cant wait to improve the experience for all those who return next year.

Well played to all the players on the day, your efforts were only trumped by the selfless contributions from our volunteers, a very humble thank you all for making this happen.

See you next year….!

Photos of the day can be found at www.dingleimages.com – our thanks to Harish Chavda for the great shots!

Championship U20 Tens

It’s only two days to go before the kick off of the inaugural Ealing Trailfinders, Championship U20 Tens Tournament at Vallis Way.

Teams from Nottingham, London Scottish, London Welsh, Birmingham Moseley and two sides from our Academy at Ealing Trailfinders will battle it out on the Stadium pitch.

We are all really excited with the huge support we have received from local businesses and a small army of volunteers.

Now it’s down to the rugby….

Entrance prices are as follows

Walk in spectators £5.00 (including a programme)
Car with up to 4 spectators £10.00 (including 1 programme)
Additional passengers pay £5.00 (including programme)

Concessions – U16s and OAPs enter free.

Programmes cost £2.00

We’d love to see you all down at the club to support what we expect to be a fantastic day of exciting, running rugby.

There will be full updates on Twitter @CahmpsU20 and @ETFacademy

Smith Brothers Stores to sponsor the Ealing Trailfinders U20’s Rugby Tournament

As Ealing Trailfinders first ever U20’s Championship 10’s rugby tournament on Sunday 22nd April fast approaches we are delighted to add Smith Brothers Stores to the list of event sponsors. The Tournament will feature the very best of the Championship’s U20 rugby talent playing at the state of the art Ealing Trailfinders sports ground in Ealing, West London this Sunday.

Dating back to 1897 Smith Brothers is one of the largest and oldest independent heating, ventilation, and air conditioning merchants in the UK, and SBS now has 14 national depots, which includes their head office in Blaby, Leicester. Their business is underpinned by three commitments: to holding a consistently available high level of stock; to offer value through the highest levels of customer service; and to maintain high levels of investment in their team and their training to ensure a committed, helpful and knowledgeable customer experience – on time, every time.

Marketing Manager at SBS, Adrian Smith commented: “Smith Brothers are proud to support the Ealing Trailfinders first National U20’s 10’s Rugby Championship in partnership with David Higgins at G&D Higgins Mechanical Services. We hope the event is a great success showcasing young rugby talent and giving them a platform to excel.”

John Lacey, Trailfinder’s Academy Director commented “We are very happy to welcome a highly reputable business like SBS to our key sponsors. Their and our other sponsors involvement allows us to host such events – we are grateful for their tremendous support. We are looking forward to welcoming all of the teams and local rugby fans to what will be a fiercely fought competition – it will be a great day and all are welcome. The day kicks off at 10:30am this Sunday and there will be the usual range of top quality food and drink available throughout the day.”

Academy U18 retain Farnham Fat 10s Cup

The Academy U18s have won the Cup Competition at the Farnham Academy, Fat 10s Tournament for the second time in as many years.

There were some great performances across the Squad but the coaches voted Luke Parry as the player of the day. Other notable performances from Ryan McPartlin as top try scorer and Ciaran Poynter who could only stay for an hour but managed 2 games and scored 3 tries.

Academy U18 head Coach Dave Samuel said “We are really pleased with the attitude of the players today, each member of the squad contributed to the win. We applied lots of our principals of play throughout the game and were relay hard to defend against.

I’m very proud of the boys, there was a large proportion of U17s in the squad so it seems we are already shaping up well for next season”.

Focus moves on to next weeks Championship U20 10-a-side Tournament at Vallis Way. Its going to be a great day of exciting running rugby. Please try to get down to support the boys.

G&D Higgins & HBS Limited join Ealing Trailfinders U20’s Tournament Sponsors

As Ealing Trailfinders Academy finalise arrangements for the first ever U20’s Championship 10’s rugby tournament on Sunday 22nd April at the clubs state of the art Trailfinders Sports Club home ground they are pleased to add G&D Higgins & HBS Limited to the list of event sponsors. The Tournament will feature the very best of the Championship’s U20 rugby talent and will no doubt prove a valuable draw to scouts, out to spot tomorrow’s stars!

Both highly reputable new sponsors operate in the building sector providing a range of specialised services. G&D Higgins are one of the industry’s best known and most respected providers of quality project and maintenance services. They work with many well-known contractors and directly with many London boroughs. HBS Limited provides expert heating plumbing and mechanical services across all industry sectors including prestigious hotels, education sites, embassies and hospitals.

David Higgins is closely involved in both businesses and has been a volunteer youth coach at Ealing Trailfinders for many years.

David states “I am thrilled to see a new competition encouraging and keeping young people playing at this level at this fantastic club.  It’s additionally a great pleasure to be involved as a sponsor and I’m really looking forward to seeing the quality of the young nationally based players that will be joining us at Vallis Way on the 22nd April – it promises to be a feast of top quality knock out rugby!”

John Lacey, Trailfinder’s Academy Director commented, “It’s been outstanding to see the support this new competition has generated and we are very happy to welcome two new sponsors to our U20’s Tournament. Our sponsors’ involvement allows us to host such events and we are clearly grateful for their tremendous support. We are looking forward to welcoming all of the teams and local rugby fans to what will be a fiercely fought competition – it will be a great day and all are welcome. The day kicks off at 10.30am and there will be the usual range of top quality food and drink available throughout the day.”

For further Tournament information including sponsorship and participation enquiries please contact:  academydirector@ealingrugby.co.uk

RFU Grand Draw 2017/18

During the winter months many members and guests bought tickets for the RFU Grand Draw and we want to thank everyone who participated in any way – either by buying tickets or helping to sell them. This is the first time we have made a concerted effort to distribute RFU Grand Draw tickets across the club, so selling over 5,000 is a splendid achievement.

As a result, we raised more than £4,800 for the benefit of all sections and age groups of the ETRC community rugby club. We also want to congratulate one of our members, who won fifth prize which is an England Rugby Shirt signed by the Six Nations Squad. Well done everyone and thank you very much.

Oliver Comins

Academy win away at London Welsh

London Welsh Griffins 14 – 68 Ealing Trailfinders Academy

Two tries on debut for flanker Haseen Hashim was one of the highlights of the day on Saturday, as the Academy secured the win at Old Deer Park.

The score-line certainly doesn’t tell the whole storey of what was, for 40 minutes a close affair.

London Welsh asked plenty of questions of a young Academy side without many Senior Academy players. A lack of speed and intensity meant the game was a stop start affair. This led to few opportunities to open up the field.

Credit to the young Exiles who worked really hard at the breakdown to disrupt and steal plenty of Ealing ball.

Tries from Hashim, Skipper Alfie Hill and a penalty try plus 2 Nolan Hutchinson penalties saw the young Trailfinders go into the half time break 21-7 up.

The second half was more recognisable performance with far more pace on the ball both through the hands and at the breakdown.

However it was Welsh who looked most dangerous early on. A great spot by Harry Vidler allowed him to pick off what could have been a killer pass, he had just enough pace to make it home from 80m out. The Griffins refused to lie down and were deservedly next to score.

Another dominant scrummaging performance gave a good attacking platform and with space beginning to appear, Hashim scored his second try.

Further scores from Ollie Morris (2), James Booth, Josh Steadman and another penalty try, all converted by debutant fly half Ewan Starling completed the game.

Academy Director, John Lacey said “A pleasing second half performance flatters us a little. While we looked dangerous in parts we struggled in the first half.

It was nice to see Haseen Hashim and Ewan Starling both feature well in their first game for the Academy.

Josh Steadman was back to his mercurial best, threatening all the time with ball in hand as well as knocking players back behind the gain line. Ollie Morris continues to look good at Outside Centre too.”

Its only a couple of weeks before the boys are back in action at Vallis Way against London Scottish. Keep an eye out here for more details soon.

Ealing Trailfinders Academy

Rugeley, Bridgewood, Morris, Luk, Booth, Nolan-Hutchinson, Steadman, Hill (c), Wake, Hashim, Accelam, Barton, Eubank-Anderson, Joyce, Robbins

Replacements

Osuntoki, Brathwaite, Vidler, Starling, Monponbanua

Scorers

Tries – Hashim 2, Morris 2, Penalty 2, Hill, Vidler, Booth, Steadman

Cons – Nolan Hutchinson 2, Starlng 5