Joseph seals Notts win with quick double

EALING TRAILFINDERS made it a great start to 2020 with an 18-10 win at Nottingham as they returned to Championship action at Lady Bay.

The west Londoners controlled the game and were deserved winners as they ground down their opponents before Reon Joseph crossed for two tries in quick succession to seal the victory.

It was a win that delighted director of rugby Ben Ward, who said: “We needed that win and we executed our game plan very well. We stayed patient and played in the right areas and were probably unlucky not to come away with a few more points.

“We’ve been inconsistent this year but that was a massive test of character and a real team performance.”

The Trailfinders had only Steven Shingler’s penalty to show for their efforts in the first half, despite their intent. It was 3-3 at the break but the Trailfinders then burst into life in the early stages of the second half to take control with two tries in four minutes from Joseph.

A stolen lineout saw Jordan Els on the charge in attack, and Rayn Smid then broke through the defence before releasing Joseph on the left wing, who used his pace to dive over in the corner. The conversion went wide, but from the restart another try was scored to give the visitors breathing space.

With possession deep in the Nottingham half, the ball went through the hands all the way to Joseph again who stepped past the defender to score again. This time the conversion from Shingler sailed through the posts, putting them 15-3 up with 25 minutes remaining.

The game then started to open up in the final quarter, but the Trailfinders stuck to their game plan and despite Alun Walker going to the sin bin they kept their try-line intact.

Shingler added another penalty to edge his men further ahead, but Nottingham made it a nail-biting final 10 minutes after a length-of-the-field try from Sean Scanlon. However, a crucial penalty allowed Trailfinders to play the final five minutes deep in the Nottingham half.