Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club (ETRFC) showed no signs of supporting a Christmas break hangover as they comfortably saw of the challenge of Macclesfield at Vallis Way.
It was the away side that started off the better, kicking themselves into a 3-0 lead with just two minutes on the clock. However, within two minutes of falling behind, ETRFC seemed to have run off their Christmas dinner and mince pies as they began assert their authority on the game.
The home side’s first real meaningful attack on seven minutes resulted in a 5m scrum, from which Sam Shires powered his way through to score for the league leaders. Tom Wheatcroft made no mistake with the extras, giving ETRFC a 7-3 lead.
Minutes later it was the away support that were on their feet as an abysmal pass from ETRFC allowed Macclesfield to intercept and run to the line. The easy conversion was successful, leaving the home side behind for the second time in ten minutes.
It took ETRFC ten minutes to reclaim their lead as a disjointed scrum saw the ball fall to Morgan Thompson, whose pass allowed Andrew Henderson to score between the posts. Tom Wheatcroft’s conversion increased the lead to 14-10.
A moment of brilliance on the half hour mark extended the ETRFC lead to 21-10 as Ronald Mclean-Dents and Sam Wardingley showed fabulous handling skills as they juggled their way through the Macclesfield defence, allowing Peter Hodgkinson to touch down.
Macclesfield did get more points on the board with a penalty just before the break but the home side were all smiles as they walked off the pitch at half time.
The second half began in the same fashion as the first forty-minutes as ETRFC were powering home their territorial advantage. A shortened ETRFC drive, eight minutes into the second half, caught the visitors unaware as Richard Townsend burrowed over to score the bonus point try and extend the hosts lead to 26-13.
Macclesfield refused to lie down as they attempted to fashion a response through a forward-oriented power game but were unable to trouble the scoreboard in the second half.
With both teams cancelling each other out, the game seemed to go incredibly quiet. With five minutes left, a Wheatcroft penalty made certain of the home win before Sam Shires scored in the corner with the last play of the match.
Mike Cudmore, director and general manager at ETRFC said, “ We were a bit rusty coming back from the Christmas break. Nonetheless, we showed good commitment and it was nice to get the bonus point.”
