Ealing Trailfinders hope their ‘colourful’ rugby will pay off this time around
With the Rugby World Cup entering its knockout stages, Ealing Trailfinders are hoping to capitalise on the growing interest in the sport.
Returning to the Championship this season, having won National League One in April, Ealing have seen their crowds increase by nearly 40% in the opening games.
Last week, they ran the giants of Bristol close, losing only 26-21 in front of 874 fans, against a team boasting the talents of Gavin Henson and Tom Varndell.
And director of coaching Ben Ward believes the World Cup, and the expansive style of rugby played in the Championship, will attract new faces to the club.
He said: “We’ve noticed there’s more people coming through the gates and we’re trying to do a lot of work within the community to get ourselves involved in it.
“The amount of players playing in the World Cup that are playing in the Championship, or have played in the Championship, shows the quality is definitely better than it was two years ago [when Ealing were last in the division].
“The games you see are exciting as well. Teams like to throw the ball around and a large amount of games finish within seven points of each other. I imagine it’s exciting to watch.”
Australian flanker Harrison Orr, who joined Ealing in the summer, has already noticed the high standard in the Championship, and praised the club’s style of play.
He said: “We try to play quite a colourful game, a running style which I’m quite used to and I think everyone’s buying into that.
“Last week was a big test for us and that type of score just consolidates the fact that we are here to compete.
“When we came in at half-time in the lead, we knew we had something special in the team. With such a large squad, everyone is competitive and it’s hard for Ealing right now just to pick the right team.”
Ealing suffered badly in the division two years ago and were relegated after a dreadful start in which they took 11 games to earn a single league point.
This time, although they have won just one of their first six games, Ward said performances and close results show they are much more competitive.
He added: “We’re playing some good stuff but there’s little periods of games where we’re giving teams points and at this level you just can’t do that.
“I think, bar the London Scottish game where we had two guys in the bin and conceded 21 points during that period, we’ve been in every single game.
“We’ve just got to get better at finishing off and getting over the line.”
Ealing travel to bottom side Moseley on Saturday, with their next home game at the Trailfinders Sports Ground against Bedford Blues on 24 October.
Kick-off for the Bedford game is at the earlier time of 2pm, ahead of the World Cup semi-final at 4pm. For more on the club, visit www.ealingtrailfinders1stxv.com.
