Matt Everard backs Worcester in Ealing Trailfinders Vs Worcester semi-final
Ealing Trailfinders vs Worcester arrives with the hosts unbeaten and Worcester trying to flip a matchup that has already gone Ealing's way twice this season. Matt Everard said his side will give "everything" in Saturday's Champ play-off semi-final at Ealing's home ground, where the winner moves on to the final on 31 May.
Everard backs Worcester
Everard described Ealing as "out-and-out favourites" and said, "The way in which they play, and clearly prepare, and what they've achieved throughout this season in regards to the unbeaten record makes them out and out favourites to win the competition," after a league campaign in which they won all 26 games and finished 30 points clear of the rest.
He added, "They are a Premiership outfit with Premiership resource and players," and pointed to the venue and the break between matches when he said, "They're not played in two weeks and it's at their home ground, so all the credits are on their side in regards to being definite favourites,".
Worcester's Sixways response
Worcester reached the semi-final by beating Chinnor 35-29 at Sixways last weekend, and Everard said of that display, "I thought our physicality was superb." He also 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."
That win mattered because Worcester had finished the regular season after losing their last four matches, yet still found a way through a tight quarter-final. The last playoff step now brings them back into the same contest with Ealing, after the sides met twice before this semi-final.
Ealing's narrow edge
The January meeting ended with Ealing winning by one point after Worcester missed a match-winning penalty in the final minute. Earlier this month, Ealing again beat Worcester, 34-28, after rallying in the last 10 minutes of the penultimate league game.
Those two results leave Worcester with no margin on Saturday, but the route is clear: beat the unbeaten side at their own ground, and Bedford or Coventry waits in the final on 31 May. For Worcester, the task is the same one Everard set out plainly — give everything and try to turn a season of Ealing control into one upset.
