Ealing Trailfinders and Worcester Warriors meet again on Saturday in the Champ play-off semi-final, with the unbeaten league leaders hosting a side that has rediscovered its edge at just the right time. The winners will move on to the final on 31 May against either Bedford or Coventry.
Worcester booked their place by beating Chinnor 35-29 in last weekend’s quarter-final at Sixways, but the scoreline only told part of the story. Matt Everard’s team had lost their previous four matches before that win, and he said the response showed what they are building. “I thought our physicality was superb. I think on the four games we didn’t win we’ve just consistently reflected on where we’re at and what we need to improve on,” he said. “I’ve said a few times progression isn’t a straight line, there’s peaks and troughs but I thought we had a really strong performance.”
Ealing arrive with a record that has made them the clear benchmark in the division. They won all 26 league games this season and finished 30 points clear of the rest, form that Everard described as making them “out-and-out favourites” for the competition. He also called them “a Premiership outfit with Premiership resource and players,” and pointed to the fact that they have not played in two weeks, with the semi-final taking place at their home ground.
The sides know each other well. They met twice in the regular season, and Worcester came within seconds of taking one of those games in January before missing a match-winning penalty in the final minute, allowing Ealing to escape by one point. Ealing then underlined the gap again earlier this month when they won the penultimate league game 34-28.
That leaves Worcester chasing an upset against a team that has controlled almost everything this season, but the visitors have shown they can at least ask questions. Their win over Chinnor ended a bleak run and kept their comeback season alive under Everard, who took charge last summer after the club returned to competitive rugby. The challenge now is bigger: to do what no side has managed in league rugby this season and beat Ealing at home when a place in the final is on the line.
