This weekend, skipper Jay King and his Ealing team make the short trip to Barnes Elms to visit the club of Ex Ealing 2nd XV captain and now Barnes Chairman Mike "Rhino" Whitfield.
Friends from our days together in London 1, Barnes completed their meteoric rise to the National leagues last season following a 39-18 win over Bracknell RFC in the play off. This was the 8th promotion since starting out in Surrey Division 3 in 1987.
Barnes current place in National 2 show’s just how hard they have found their introduction to National league rugby, 2 wins from their 13 outings have left them in 14th position, one of which was against their old close foes Richmond and one that left the Barnes Chairman Mike "Rhino" Whitfield to come out with the legendary quote " Your boys took one hell of a beating", such is the fierce rivalry between the two clubs!
A brief history of Barnes RFC
Barnes Rugby Club is a club with a rich history and was established in Barnes in the 1920’s. Although there are indeed possibilities that our earliest recorded match was in November 1862 versus Richmond and played at Barn Elms, it is from the 1920’s that our true history is clear.
For many years we played at Harrodian Club in Lonsdale Road, Barnes, which is now The Harrodian School, before moving to our Barn Elms location in 1994.
Barnes RFC 1st XV has been promoted eight times since being arriving in Surrey Division Three in l987. The 1st XV now play in National 2 having gained promotion in the 2008/2009 season.
We run six teams including a Veterans XV and a Ladies XV and with a thriving and exciting minis section Barnes is a totally inclusive, fun loving and successful local rugby club.
Barnes’s danger men – Full back Warren Gower is their top points scorer on 92 ( 5 tries 14 conversions and 13 penalties), wing Anthony Wilde has crossed for 4 tries. Their home form has been poor , but they have had some close games where more was defiantly possible ( Westcombe Park 19-20, Worthing 14-19).
Comparing the attacking stats for both teams Ealing have crossed the try line 64 times this season compared to 21 from Barnes, scoring 160 points away from home to 69 from Barnes at Barnes Elms. Barnes have had 11 yellow cards, including 3 in one game against Richmond, and 1 red to Ealing’s 4 yellow cards – They breed them angelic at Vallis Way!
Despite their league position, Ealing Trailfinders DoR Mike Cudmore will not take the threat of Barnes lightly – "I was very pleased with our performance last week against Clifton. They were very complimentary about us after the game regarding the way we played in attack and defence. One thing I have learnt is that there are no easy games in this league and our away trip to Barnes this Saturday will be no exception. I will be looking for the team to build on last weeks performance and go into the turnround on a positive note"
Recent results between Ealing Trailfinders & Barnes
29/10/2005 Ealing Trailfinders 15 Barnes 14
21/01/2006 Barnes 23 Ealing Trailfinders 13
30/09/2006 Barnes 27 Ealing Trailfinders 36
17/02/2007 Ealing Trailfinders 47 Barnes 20
