Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club
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| Full name | Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Union | RFU | |
| Founded | 1871[lower-alpha 1] | |
| Region | West Ealing, London | |
| Ground(s) | Trailfinders Sports Ground (Capacity: 3,020 (1,000 seats)) | |
| President | Dick Craig | |
| Coach(es) |
Ben Ward Kieran Power | |
| Captain(s) | Danny Kenny | |
| League(s) | RFU Championship | |
| 2015–16 | 11th | |
| ||
| Official website | ||
|
www | ||
Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club is an English rugby union club, located in West Ealing, London. The club's first team play in the Greene King IPA Championship RFU Championship after they won National League 1 in 2014–15, the third tier of the English domestic rugby union league system.
Structure of the club
The club's registered playing name with the RFU is Ealing Trailfinders. The club is a Mutual Society registered with the FSA, and run on behalf of its members and the game. The club is located at Trailfinders Sports Ground, just south of the A40 at the upper end of West Ealing.
The Club has a first team squad, men's section, academy section, youth section, mini section and referees section. The Ealing Trailfinders first team finished as champions in National League 1 for season 2012–13 and won promotion, for the first time, to the second tier of the English rugby union leagues, the RFU Championship. After one season they finished in twelfth place and were relegated back to National League 1.
The men’s section runs four teams, competing in The Shield and the Middlesex Merit Leagues, and veterans rugby. The academy and youth sections are for players aged 13 to 23 and now incorporates the new academy section which feeds players directly into senior rugby. The youth teams cater for boys and girls at all levels of ability and currently have players representing the county at all age group levels, as well as players just being introduced to the game. The youth play in the Hertfordshire and Middlesex leagues and, in season 2011–12, were league winners at U14 level as well as winning Division Three at U16 level. The club is active at all levels. The mini and youth sections have teams in several age groups with over 750 registered players, making it the biggest club in Middlesex and one of the largest in the country. The club's junior teams are regular winners of County Festivals, and champions of the Herts and Middlesex Leagues for Youth Rugby.
The club has developed a pathway for female players starting at 10 and running through to U18. Known as the Emeralds, this section has provided players to the England Elite Programme. The club has also seen players develop through the new structures to play for England and U.S.
History
1869 – 1995
The team played its first match in 1869[lower-alpha 1] on Ealing Common, prior to the founding of the Rugby Football Union in 1871. The early years saw regular fixtures against the likes of Wasps, London Irish, Harlequins, Richmond and Blackheath with 75% win rate for a long period.
Between 1894 and 1958 the club moved location numerous times – Hanger Lane – West Middlesex Polo Club – Gunnersbury Park – Drayton Green – Syon Lane, Horsenden Hill.
Ealing Rugby Club's centenary match was played against Harlequins in 1970. In the 1970s and ’80s Ealing supplied many county level players for Middlesex. In 1987 the club finished top of London Division 1 and during the next six years was never lower than 2nd in London 1 nor higher than 10th in National 5. Ealing won the Middlesex cup three times in this period.
1995 – present
In 1996 Ealing were relegated from London 1. In response, the club formed youth and minis sections, and moved to a new ground at Trailfinders Sports Club in 1999. The Club has been awarded two RFU Presidents Awards, the first in 2007 for its work on referee development that has extended into a national programme, and the second in 2008 for coaching excellence. In 2009, the club fielded two first team players who had been developed through the Juniors.
In the 2009–10, season the Club was the only team in the National Leagues to score more than 1,000 points, averaging more than 36 in each game. The club narrowly missed out on promotion to National One by losing to Barking RFC by 2 points and Rosslyn Park by 1.
In 2010–11, the club started its Community Rugby programme providing coaching support and access to the game to schools and other groups throughout Ealing and West London. During this season, Ealing's winger Phil Chesters scored 70 tries which is the record for the most tries in an English Rugby season.[2]
2007–08: National Division 3 South, 3rd place Mounts Bay 1st; Cinderford 2nd
2008–09: National Division 3 South, 3rd place London Scottish 1st; Rosslyn Park 2nd
2009–10: National League 2 South, 3rd place Barking 1st; Rosslyn Park 2nd[3]
2010–11: National League 2 South, 1st place Jersey 2nd
2011–12: National League 1, 2nd place Jersey 1st
2012–13: National League 1, 1st place Esher 2nd
2013–14: IPA Greene King Championship, 12th
Midway through the season long-serving director of rugby Mike Cudmore announced that he would be stepping down at the season's end. Head coach and fly-half Ben Ward was appointed director of coaching from the start of the 2014–15 season. After fighting against relegation for the majority of the season, Ealing Trailfinders were eventually relegated on the final day of the season by one point after they lost at home to Rotherham Titans, while Jersey won away to Bedford Blues
2014–15: National League 1, 1st
Ealing Trailfinders quickly established themselves in first place in National 1 and they won the title with a haul of 136 points, nine ahead of their nearest rivals Rosslyn Park.
Club honours
- London Division 1 champions: 1987–88[4]
- London Division 2 North champions: 2004–05
- London 1 v South West 1 promotion playoff winners: 2006–07
- National League 2 South champions: 2010–11
- National League 1 champions (twice): 2012–13, 2014–15
Current standings
| |||||||||||||||||
| Club | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Try bonus | Loss bonus | Points | |||||||
| 1 | London Irish | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 399 | 158 | 241 | 9 | 0 | 53 | ||||||
| 2 | Yorkshire Carnegie | 11 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 333 | 259 | 74 | 7 | 0 | 47 | ||||||
| 3 | Ealing Trailfinders | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 259 | 237 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 30 | ||||||
| 4 | Nottingham Rugby | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 230 | 259 | −29 | 3 | 3 | 28 | ||||||
| 5 | London Welsh | 11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 244 | 226 | 18 | 4 | 3 | 27 | ||||||
| 5 | Doncaster Knights | 11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 252 | 249 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 27 | ||||||
| 7 | London Scottish | 11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 244 | 294 | −50 | 3 | 3 | 26 | ||||||
| 8 | Cornish Pirates | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 290 | 277 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 25 | ||||||
| 9 | Jersey Reds | 11 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 255 | 279 | −24 | 4 | 5 | 25 | ||||||
| 10 | Rotherham Titans | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 233 | 297 | −64 | 2 | 2 | 22 | ||||||
| 11 | Bedford Blues | 11 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 242 | 256 | −14 | 4 | 5 | 21 | ||||||
| 12 | Richmond | 11 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 165 | 355 | −190 | 2 | 0 | 10 | ||||||
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| Green background are promotion play-off places. Pink background is the relegation place. Updated: 4 December 2016 Source: "Greene King IPA Championship". NCA Rugby. | |||||||||||||||||
Current squad
2016-17 Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.
Notes
References
- ↑ "Club History". Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
- ↑ History of the Club at official website
- ↑ http://ealingrugby.co.uk/?page_id=2652
- ↑ http://www.hampshirerugby.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=608&Itemid=328
External links
Coordinates: 51°31′31″N 0°19′48″W / 51.525175°N 0.330042°W