Ealing hold off Hartpury’s heroic second half rally
By Thomas Johnson & Luke Jarmyn, at Trailfinders Sports Ground
HARTPURY RFC showed real heart and quality in a rallying second half fightback it wasn’t enough to get a first-ever win over reigning champions Ealing Trailfinders.
Whatever was said or fed by Hartpury coaches at the break had the desired response as the visitors fought back with real from a 12-point deficit, but the home-side’s first half lead proved to be too much to overcome for the men in red.
With the artificial surface of the Vallis Way ground sitting under a typically Autumnal grey sky, it was the all-green kitted Ealing Trailfinders who kicked off all guns blazing and on the 6th minute they put in at the first scrum of the game leading to several phases with openside flanker Jordan Reid stretching over to open the scoring.
It didn’t take the team in green long to add to their tally when five minutes later hooker Scott Buckley threw at the line-out before the Middlesex men produced a devastating rolling maul down the right wing that left Hartpury’s defence dumbfounded and Buckley dotting down.
Hartpury defended for their lives following intense pressure throughout the first 25 minutes but a technical foul saw loosehead prop Harrison Bellamy sinned bin leaving an already pressed defence a man short.
Winger Deago Bailey capped off Ealing’s first half scoring triumph by capitalising on the extra man advantage on the 28th minute, finishing a smooth move in open play from Trailfinders’ backs to go 17-0 up.
All hope wasn’t lost for Hartpury, and a minute after going back to a full complement winger Keir Clark gathered a loose ball around the halfway line with acres of space and took the ball over Ealing’s try line with limited hassle to score just before the half-time whistle.
Ealing’s dominance in the first half was shown by their nullification of Hartpury’s set piece and undeniable success in their own, winning eight lineouts in the first 40 minutes alone to be 17-5 in front.
After an uplift at the end of the half, Hartpury were keen to push the momentum in their favour as they came out swinging from the second half kick-off.
Even as the rain started to pour and with a two try deficit, Hartpury showed real valour, taking the game to Ealing and displaying some well worked attacking plays.
Despite this, Ealing held on and their skipper Josh Taylor broke free in centre field to walk in from 15 metres and score their bonus-point try on the 53rd minute.
The score didn’t seem to dampen Hartpury’s efforts, who continued to show a willingness against the fierce champions. Less than ten minutes after Ealing’s try and Hartpury were back in it, winning four penalties from referee Jamie Parr before a line-out five metres out on the left produced a dangerous catch-and-drive down with hooker Ethan Hunt piling over the line to lift Hartpury’s heads.
The balance seemed to turn as two minutes later relentless pressure from the ‘pury boys caused Ealing to make a number of Mickey Mouse defensive errors, including kicking the ball into over their own tryline and allowing replacement scrum-half Oscar Lennon to jump on the slippery ball and splash over the doused whitewash. His half-back partner Harry Bazalgette converted from a tough angle to bring Hartpury to only five points behind with ten minutes to play.
The tension was high as Hartpury threw everything they had to secure the comeback but Ealing were prepared, mounting an impenetrable defensive line, much to Hartpury’s disappointment.
Just as Hartpury had full belief they could topple the tier two giants, Ealing won a penalty not too far from Hartpury’s 22 with one minute left.
After all of the heart and endeavour Hartpury’s boys displayed, Ealing’s replacement fly-half Rory Scannell sealed the deal for the league leaders with a well-placed penalty kick. Crucially this took away Hartpury’s losing bonus point.
With barely 60 seconds left, Hartpury produced a last-ditch attack but it was too little, too late, as Ealing sealed a 27-19 made it 17 wins in a row against the university’s side.
Stats:
|
Ealing Trailfinders |
|
Hartpury RFC |
|
16 |
Penalties conceded |
13 |
|
14 |
Line-outs won |
6 |
|
1 |
Line-outs lost |
2 |
|
6 |
Scrums won |
10 |
|
0 |
Scrums lost |
1 |
|
0 |
Sin bins |
1 |
|
0 |
Red cards |
0 |
Teams:
Ealing Trailfinders: Patrick Campbell, Deago Bailey, Francis Moore, Jordan Holgate, Michael Dykes (Geordie Gwynn 72), Daniel Jones (Rory Scannell 61), Michael Stronge (Sam Edwards 57); Eleftherios Zigkiriadis (James Kenny 62), Scott Buckley, Adam Nicol (Kyle White 51), Arthur Bobby De Wee, George Shaw (Sean Lonsdale 20), Josh Taylor, Jordan Reid, William Montgomery (Robert Farrar 65).
Not used: Loic Keasey, Sean Lonsdale
Hartpury RFC: Alex Morgan, Keir Clark (Thomas Hill 32-36), Robert Smith, Oliver Allsopp, Oliver Holliday, Harry Bazalgette, Cai Gealy (Oscar Lennon 40); Harrison Bellamy, Ethan Hunt, Jonathan Benz-Salomon (Alexander Gibson 72), Dale Lemon, Jack Davies, Josh Gray, Ellis Hart (Jay Evans 55), Jarrad Hayler (Tom Worts 55)
Not used: Casey Williams, Denty Bradley, Lewis Haydn
Sin-bin: Harrison Bellamy 24
Referee: Jamie Parr (RFU)
Attendance: 1,263
Half-time: 17 - 5 (to Ealing Trailfinders)
Star players: Scott Buckley (Ealing Trailfinders) / Ethan Hunt (Hartpury RFC)
Reaction:
Davies and Hunt discuss Hartpury’s “really tight game” against the Champions
By Thomas Johnson, at Trailfinders Sports Ground
HARTPURY RFC captain Jack Davies cut a disappointed figure at the end of the day but stated his price of how tough the team made it for Ealing.
“It was a really tight game and we could have taken it right at the end there. It’s mixed emotions really. It’s gutting we didn’t come away with a bonus point or two but the game was really decided in the bottom corner, five minutes from the end, in our driving lineout.
“If we could have been a little bit more patient, we could have kept the ball in and scored.
“It was a big momentum swing at a very crucial time,” he said.
Even with defeat and disappointment at the end, Davies was over-the-moon with the heart the team showed in the second half.
He added: “Turning it around like that with the spike in energy, our want and desire that we showed in the second half, that’s what we pride ourselves on.
“I’m so proud of the team for the second 40 minutes. It took a bit of self-reflection; I think we started the game quite tentatively. We were on the backfoot straightaway. We struggled to get ourselves in the game physically in the first half.
“We got a bit of a rocket at halftime, and we just wanted to reinforce the messages we’ve had in the week of being brave and believing in ourselves to be good enough to go out there and take back the game. We saw that in more ways than one in the second half.”
Meanwhile, Hartpury try-scorer Ethan Hunt was adamant Hartpury “weren’t good enough in the first 40 minutes” and gave in too easily to Ealing.
The hooker said: “We weren’t good enough in the first 40 minutes, we made too many mistakes which cost us positions and when you’re playing against a team like Ealing they’re going to capitalise.
With that being said, Hunt admitted the team looked at themselves and knew they had to start believing.
“We knew that if we started believing in ourselves and kept fighting for all the little 50/50s, we could give them a good game and show Ealing a real battle in the second half,” he continued.
“Ultimately at the end, we had the chances to level but unfortunately didn’t. We are going to have to show that heart and desire to stay in the game and get the win next week against a quality opposition in Coventry.
“We’ve got our own little things to work on throughout the week so we can take those into the game from the start.”
