Latest news with #EalingTrailfinders
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Fly-half Reed to leave Dragons for Worcester
Dragons fly-half Will Reed will leave the region at the end of the season to join Worcester 23, made his senior debut in March 2022 and has gone on to score 167 points in 50 appearances."I came through the academy system and in the senior set-up with several players who will always remain the closest of friends," Reed said."I want to wish the Dragons all the best for next season and beyond."I'll always remain a Dragon and supporter and look forward to coming back to show my support from the stands." Dragons head coach Filo Tiatia said Reed is a "very good professional who conducts himself in the right way and works hard, on and off the field."Will is always welcome at Rodney Parade. This is his club, he will always be a part of the Dragons, and we look forward to watching the next chapter of his career," Tiatia will link up with former Wales scrum-half Lloyd Williams at Worcester after his Ealing Trailfinders departure.
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Worcester sign former Wales scrum-half Williams
Worcester Warriors have signed former Wales scrum-half Lloyd Williams ahead of their return to professional rugby next 35-year-old, who won 32 international caps and played at two World Cups, will join Warriors from Ealing is the second player to agree terms with the revamped club following Worcester legend Matt Kvesic, and the appointment of Matt Everard as head will play in a newly-expanded second tier, now rebranded as Champ Rugby instead of the will involve 14 teams, with the division's top six at the end of the season entering play-offs to decide the title."There is a real buzz around Worcester Warriors right now and it's the perfect environment for a new opportunity," Williams said."I love a challenge and the chance to help this club rise and thrive is something I couldn't pass up."I can't wait to call Sixways home." Warriors were cleared to rejoin the professional ranks after new owners took control last year. That came after they were suspended in September 2022 over funding issues that led to administration and them dropping out of the played for Cardiff for much of his career and was also a member of three Six Nations-winning Wales teams."Lloyd is an outstanding player and leads with an incredible amount of international and European experience," Everard said."When I first met him, I was very impressed with his calm manner and I know this style of leadership will be brilliant for us bringing a full team together."Williams leaves Ealing after helping them win the Championship title for the second year in a row.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Trailfinders wrap up Championship title with win at Caldy
By Paul Martin Ealing Trailfinders sealed their successful defence of the Championship trophy with a 34-7 win at Caldy. The West London outfit ran in six tries to open up an unassailable 13-point lead at the summit with just two rounds remaining. Bedford Blues are on the brink of sealing second spot after a big win at Cambridge, while Cornish Pirates and London Scottish won close encounters against Ampthill and Chinnor respectively. Coventry came out convincingly on top against Nottingham while Sunday's game saw Doncaster Knights battle to victory away at Hartpury RFC. Party starts for Trailfinders Ealing Trailfinders wrapped up their latest Championship title triumph with victory at Caldy. Craig Hampson's third-minute score represented a perfect start for Trailfinders but they crossed just once more before the interval as Caldy dug in, Hampson turning provider for Francis Moore to dot down. Angus Kernohan's try early in the second period extended the lead to 17-0 but Caldy hit back through Matt Gallagher, who marked his 50th appearance with a try after Ealing's Lefty Zigiriadis had been sent to the sin-bin. The visitors hit straight back as Craig Willis secured the bonus point before Mike Willemse and Rob Farrar added gloss to the scoreline for the champions. Blues run riot at Cambridge Bedford Blues ran in 11 tries to defeat bottom club Cambridge 73-15. The first quarter was hard fought and the scores were locked at 12-12 after 25 minutes, Josh Skelcey and Sam Hanks cancelling out early tries for Blues' Lucas Titherington and Jamie Jack. Dean Adamson re-established the visitors' lead and Louis James' bonus-point score made it 26-15 at the break. It was one-way traffic in the second half as James and Titherington completed doubles and Adamson took his tally to four, while Matt Worley and James Lennon also added their names to the scoresheet. Pirates fight back to down Ampthill Cornish Pirates came from 23-7 down to beat Ampthill 38-33 in a thriller at Mennaye Field. The hosts drew first blood through Josh King but tries from Valentino Mapapalangi and Byron Sharwood, along with three Josh Barton penalties, opened up a sizable advantage for Ampthill. Jack Forsythe and Billy Young reduced the arrears to 23-21 at the break and Pirates went in front when Matt McNab crossed for the bonus point score. Rhys Marshall's try levelled it up at 28-28 but King's second put Pirates back in front, with the boot of Bruce Houston stretching the lead to 10 points. Lekima Ravuvu set up a tense finish with a late try but Pirates held on. Five-star Opoku inspires Coventry win Only Ealing Trailfinders and Bedford Blues have scored more points than Coventry this season and thy underlined their offensive prowess with a 67-5 victory against Nottingham. Winger David Opoku was in irresistible form, crossing for a club record five tries, as the hosts punished a Nottingham team that spent a quarter of the match with 14 men due to a pair of yellow cards. Flanker Matt Kvesic scored the first try, before Opoku scored twice in three minutes – the first following a Sam Maunder kick-through. A penalty try on the brink of half-time confirmed the bonus-point, while Nottingham responded for their only try minutes into the second half when James Cherry crossed in the corner. But Coventry hit the accelerator again as Opoku added three more tries, Aaron Hinkley, Tom Hitchcock (2) and Will Lane also crossed to cement a special win. Scottish edge past Chinnor London Scottish put some distance between themselves and Chinnor in the scrap for ninth-place with a 24-19 away win. The visitors made a fast start and crossed for the first try in the 10th minute as Jonny Law crossed, but Chinnor hit back with two tries to take a 12-7 lead shortly before half-time. Roman Zheng replied for Scottish, before Will Trenholm powered over on the stroke of half-time whistle to establish a 21-12 lead. Kieran Goss threatened a Chinnor comeback by scoring a try 10 minutes from time, but a late Josh Bellamy penalty secured Scottish the points. Doncaster hang on to win thriller Obi Ene scored two tries as Doncaster Knights saw off Hartpury RFC 41-35 and leap into fourth place in the table. In a thrilling final 10 minutes, the two teams traded three tries but Hartpury just ran out of time to snatch an unlikely win. Hartpury were quick out of the blocks, as Josiah Edwards-Giraud and Toti Benz-Solomon crossed for tries within the first 10 minutes, before Ene replied for the Knights. Alex Dolly and Ben Murphy then helped Knights into a 19-15 half-time lead with a try each, while Ene's second soon after the re-start looked to have put the visitors decisively clear. Zach Kerr added a further score but James Short reduced the gap to 34-23 with 11 minutes to go. Oliver Fox seemingly iced the game for Knights with a try five minutes from time, but Alex Morgan's score and a Harry Bazalgette penalty cut the gap to six at full-time.
The Independent
16-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
RFU unveils plans for radical revamp of second tier of English rugby
A six-team promotion play-off for the right to play in the top flight will take place in the newly-rebranded Champ Rugby league from next season. The second tier of English rugby will be known as Champ Rugby from the 2025/26 season and will consist of 14 teams, including the 12 current Championship sides, along with Richmond, who have been promoted from National League One, and Worcester Warriors. Teams will play each other home and away over 26 rounds of the regular season. Clubs who finish in the top six will qualify for the play-offs, starting with quarter-finals between the third to sixth-placed teams followed by semis for the winners of those against the top two ranked sides. The winner of the final will be crowned Champ Rugby champion and will face the bottom team in the Gallagher Premiership in a two-legged promotion/relegation play-off. The winner will play in the top flight the following season, subject to meeting the minimum standards criteria. Tier 2 board chair Simon Gillham said in a statement: "We are excited to announce the structure of Champ Rugby, which will bring a highly-competitive and gripping conclusion to the season, providing both aspiration and jeopardy. "We have worked closely with the clubs and stakeholders on developing a compelling league format that rewards ambition and plays a key role in growing the sport, supporting both player and club development." Despite finishing top of the Championship this season, Ealing Trailfinders were denied a shot at promotion after not meeting the minimum standards, but Gillham suggested the criteria could be revisited in future. He told reporters at an online briefing: "There still will be minimum operating standards. "Without telling tales out of turn, we've had discussions and an oral commitment that we will be revisiting those minimum operating standards for next year, because, quite frankly, the way things happened this year was not satisfactory as far as Tier 2 was concerned. We definitely need to revisit that." When asked what could be done to help bridge the gap in funding between the Premiership and Champ Rugby, Gillham added: "That's something we're discussing right now. "We've started exchanges with the RFU (Rugby Football Union) and Premiership. It's absolutely right that the current gap in funding makes it difficult for someone who goes up then to stay up. "The way it's structured at the moment means it's a problem, but things can be renegotiated and we very much will continue to push forward the idea for a strengthened Championship. That means funding as well. "I think one of the first things we've got to do as a Championship, and what we're doing now, is to make our claim stronger, get all the clubs together and work as a collective." At the opposite end of the table, the team that finishes bottom of Champ Rugby will be relegated to National League One, whose champions will be promoted, subject to the Champ Rugby minimum standards. The teams who finish 12th and 13th in Champ Rugby will meet in a one-off fixture, with the loser facing the National League One play-off winner over one leg for a spot in the second tier.
The Star
15-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Rugby-English second tier becomes 'Champ Rugby' with promise of easier promotion
FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - Premiership Rugby Cup - Semi Final - Ealing Trailfinders vs Leicester Tigers - Trailfinders Rugby Club, London, Britain - February 18, 2024 Leicester Tigers' Matt Scott scores a try. Andy Couldridge/Action Images/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) -The second tier of English club rugby is to be relaunched as 'Champ Rugby' with a new promotion and relegation structure and promises of an easier pathway into the Premiership for ambitious clubs previously stymied by exacting demands on ground capacity. Revealed by the RFU on Thursday, the 14-team league for next season will include the 12 current clubs, a re-formed Worcester, who went bust and dropped out of the Premiership 2022, and Richmond, champions of the third tier National League this season. All teams will play each other in home and away fixtures over 26 rounds, leading to playoffs and a final. The champions will then face the Premiership's bottom club in a two-legged playoff, with promotion subject to the Champ club meeting the minimum standards criteria that have caused so much disquiet in recent years. There will also be relegation and playoffs at the bottom end of the table. Ealing Trailfinders and others have routinely been kept out of the top tier by strict rules that demand a phased ground capacity of 10,001, or evidence of plans to be able to introduce such a development, as well as other financial commitments. The clubs have argued that it is unreasonable and unrealistic to expect them to spend huge amounts on plans, let alone development, to reach a capacity they might never need. Simon Gillham, Tier 2 Board Chair, told a media briefing that the way things happened this season (with only one club, Doncaster, ruled suitable for promotion) was "not satisfactory". "It strikes one as a closed shop and protectionism and those are things that we really don't want to see in sport," he said. "We have an oral commitment that we will be revising those minimum standards. There needs to be a runway and a three-year plan and then if you don't meet that plan you have committed to after a year, then you are out.' This new-found appreciation of a pathway to the top – with Exeter's climb through the ranks to be crowned champions always held up as the ultimate example - remains at odds with the thoughts of many Premiership clubs and RFU CEO Bill Sweeney, who said last month that he thought the Premiership should be a closed shop, with new clubs joining only as part of a franchise model. The issue of funding that might enable a promoted club to be competitive also remains far from clear. The RFU's funding of Championship clubs has plummeted from 600,000 pounds ($797,280) per club to 160,000 in recent years. "It is absolutely right that the current gap in funding makes it difficult for someone who goes up to stay up," Gillham said. There will be a "centralised resource dedicated to the championship", while discussions are ongoing with potential sponsors. Conor O'Shea, the RFU's director of performance rugby, said there were "grown up conversations" taking place about funding but said he saw the relaunch as part of a potentially glorious period for English rugby with the Champ playing a hugely important part in the development of young players. 'Our focus is the step change we want to make in the Champ. It's already a great competition, but we want all the standards across the board to grow," he said. New rules will mean 18 players in a matchday squad must be English-qualified, with an allowance of six players per matchday squad dual-registered with a Premiership club. The launch promotion highlighted how several of the new British and Irish Lions squad cut their teeth in the second tier, with Northampton's breakthrough star Henry Pollock playing for Bedford last season. "Henry is the first cab off the rank of three to four generational players," O'Shea said. "Our job is to create the structure for the players to fulfil their talent. This is going to be a very special time if we get it right." ($1 = 0.7526 pounds) (Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Toby Davis)
