Hartpury give their all but fall short to league leaders Ealing
Report: By Tom Johnson
Ealing Trailfinders 36 Hartpury RFC 20
An unfortunate day for Hartpury RFC away at Ealing Trailfinders saw them lose 36-20 but the team showed their grit and determination in a promising second half.
It would be Ealing’s lineouts that Hartpury couldn’t contain but a second half push which saw Trailfinders lose three players to the sin bin, two at one time, almost saw Hartpury victorious.
Hartpury felt Ealing’s might within the first two minutes of the game after the Trailfinders were able to make a quick break down the left wing and release Tom Collins to score.
The next 20 minutes saw both teams playing cautiously with the only points coming from an easy penalty kick from Bazalgette to get Hartpury on the board.
Things then went Ealing’s way when Matt Cornish was pushed over the line following a lineout down the right flank.
Hartpury then instantly retaliated with a nice move off the back of a quick break to give Hillman-Cooper acres of space to score.
The next 10 minutes saw Ealing really turn their game plan into success, seeing Collins and Cornish score both their second tries of the match following mauls from lineouts.
Halftime scores saw Hartpury trailing 26-8.
Trailfinders came out to a flying start in the second half too when they were able to extend their lead with Craig Hampson scoring in the 47th minute.
A couple of minutes later and Hartpury were able to score with a penalty try that saw Ealing player William Montgomery get sent to the sin bin for collapsing the scrum.
Things continued to deteriorate for Ealing when Pat Howard committed a high tackle which also saw him sent to the bin, leaving the Trailfinders with 13 players. Hartpury put in a valiant effort to score while they had the advantage but strong defending from Ealing’s defence proved too difficult to penetrate.
A strong rolling maul in the 63rd minute did see Harry Short pushed over the line, giving Hartpury another try.
Will Goodrick-Clarke was then sent to the bin a minute later leaving them two players down again. Ealing continued to show their hardiness by not allowing Hartpury over the line even while they had two less players and seeing out the game to win 36-20.
Hartpury RFC forward Josh Gray said: “It’s frustrating but we’ve got two weeks to recuperate now. We’ve been here a few times and those times we were kind of dominated so to only be 16 points away and with a shout of getting level is promising.
“It’s so cliché but I think it comes down to our discipline for what we need to work on. Giving away silly penalties in the middle of the field meant that we weren’t able to impose ourselves and it meant they got opportunities to kick it into our 22 and then ultimately score.”
Ealing Trailfinders forward Will Montgomery said: “We train for scenarios where if we do go a man down then we’re happy and we take it in our stride. The worst thing you can do is panic.
“Credit to the team, we held up really well at the end there.
“It’s very much about sticking with the game plan. Three yellow cards is not what you really want, especially as we got two at the same time. You just have to stick to what you know and how you train and have the belief you’ll come out on top.”
Scores:
Ealing Trailfinders – 36
Tries: Thomas Collins 2, 31, Matthew Cornish 22, 35, Craig Hampson 46
Conversions: Craig Willis 23, Billy Twelvetrees 32, 36, 47
Penalties: Billy Twelvetrees 80
Hartpury RFC - 20
Tries: Louis Hillman-Cooper 26, penalty try 49, Harry Short 63
Conversions
Penalties: Harry Bazalgette 18
Teams
Ealing – Michael Dykes, James Cordy-Redden, Reuben Bird-Tulloch, Patrick Howard, Thomas Collins, Craig Willis (Billy Twelvetrees 26), Craig Hampson (Lloyd Williams 80); Kyle Whyte (Will Goodrick-Clarke 54, Jordan Reid 72), Matthew Cornish (Henry Walker 68), James Roots (George Davis 54), Bobby de Wee, Barney Maddison (Danny Cutmore 80), Robert Farrar, Richard Hardwick, Will Montgomery
Not used - Cian Kelleher
Hartpury – Alex Morgan, Charlie Powell, Robbie Smith (Tommy Mathews 60), Morgan Adderly-Jones (Sam Smith 76), Louis Hillman-Cooper, Harry Bazalgette, Mike Austin (Matty Jones 63); Aristot Benz-Salomon (Mikey Summerfield 53), Will Crane (Ethan Hunt 60), Jonathan Benz-Salomon, Dale Lemon, Jack Davies, Sam Lewis, Harry Short (Aristot Benz-Salomon 76), Josh Gray (Jarrard Hayler 56)
Not used - Alexander Gibson, Cameron Cobbett
Star players: Richard Hardwick (Ealing) / Louis Hillman-Cooper (Hartpury)
Attendance: 745
Referee: Michael Hudson
Half-time: 26 – 08 (to Ealing).
Stats:
Ealing:
Penalties conceded: 13
Line-outs won: 12
Line-outs lost: 0
Scrums won: 3
Scrums lost: 1
Sin-bins/Reds: 3/0
Hartpury:
Penalties conceded: 17
Line-outs won: 12
Line-outs lost: 1
Scrums won: 4
Scrums lost: 0
Sin-bins/Reds: 1/0
