However, unlike Elvis, their situation is not due to love, but due to ground capacity requirements.
Despite being twenty points clear at the top of the Championship table, the West London side will not be able to secure promotion to the Premiership.
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) have stated that Ealing’s home, the Trailfinder’s Sports Ground, does not meet the required standards for ground capacity or have the suitable safety compliance assurances.
The Trailfinder’s Sports Ground. Credit: Alec Kerr
Ealing’s ground has a capacity of 6,000. However, the RFU’s minimum capacity requirement for the Premiership is 10,001.
By comparison, the Premier League football’s minimum capacity requirement is 5,000.
Yet without promotion, it is hard to achieve, and previous ground expansion efforts have, so far, proved fruitless, and communications are unclear.
It is important to note that the Minimum Standards Criteria have recently been adjusted to accommodate promoted sides. As long as the stadium achieves a full statutory safety certificate and a 10,0001 capacity by the start of their fourth season in the league, they can play Premiership rugby.
The Trailfinders ground also houses the Trailfinders Women, who ironically play in the Premiership Women’s Rugby. It has also already hosted Premiership Cup and London Broncos (Super League) games, proving its suitability for higher-level games.
Fans have now launched a petition, which is already at over 1,500 signatures, calling for their club to be promoted to the Premiership.
Ealing’s fan Petition. Credit: Change.org
Campaign leader Adrian Mooney referred to the bureaucratic blockade as “red tape designed to keep teams out”.
Lifelong Trailfinders fan Alec Kerr echoed these concerns.
“It does feel like, you know, the powers that be, Prem rugby clubs and stuff, are now actively restricting Ealing’s ambition to grow as a club.
For me, my biggest question as a fan is pretty much what does the RFU and what does Prem Rugby want us to be? The clubs got to a point of Premiership quality”.
Aside from on-pitch grievances, this petition highlights the socio-economic benefits promotion will have on the club and the local area.
Fans believe that around £5-10million in revenue annually could be delivered from playing Premiership rugby, via avenues such as matchday spending and increased footfall.
One alternative solution proposed by the RFU is that Ealing can opt into a groundshare arrangement with a larger club.
However, fans were quick to raise financial concerns over such an arrangement, drawing parallels to Wasps RFC, which went bust in 2022 due to accumulating around £35million in debt after their move to the Ricoh Arena.
Several other Premiership ships have sunk in recent years in similar seas, but Ealing operate under almost anomalous circumstances. They are supported by long-term sustainable investment, rather than relying on loans or borrowing.
This makes them the only club of the Top 24 with zero debt.
However, some fans feel Ealing are perhaps being treated unfairly compared to their Premiership counterparts.
“In recent years, seeing Newcastle being bailed out by other clubs and stuff, it does feel like that the RFU and Prem Rugby’s focus is purely on defending those teams and that the championship does feel like it’s dying a slow death.
So I would say that the RFU appreciating what the championship is for a pathway for English players and young players, that should be rewarded in terms of more funding, first of all, and second of all, deals regarding television and competitions that don’t cut out championship clubs.
I think making championships feel like equal partners would develop the game and make a stronger second tier as well”.
Locking Ealing in Championship jail is also a frustration for the other inmates. Since 2021, the Trailfinders have achieved a League win percentage of over 85% and currently have 17 wins from 17 games this season.
“Ealing certainly become more of the villain in the league over the couple of years… the juggernaut of the league”.
Their dominance is almost comparable to getting that one sixth former on your team in playground football who scores a double hat-trick every lunchtime and bullies year 9’s off the park.
Whilst calls for the Premiership to expand to accommodate clubs like Ealing can be heard, and rumours of them entering the United Rugby Championship circle, communications from both Ealing and the Premiership have fallen quiet.
So, for now, Ealing must continue to lament in the Championship.
City News contacted the RFU and the Premiership Rugby for comment, but so far has received no response.
Submitted Article
Headline
Short Headline
Standfirst
Published Article
HeadlineThe Ealing Trailifinders are Trapped in Tier Two
Short HeadlineTrapped in Tier Two: Ealing's Struggle
StandfirstThe Ealing Trailfinders cannot secure promotion to the Premiership Rugby despite winning the Championship three out of the past four years.
Ealing are caught in a trap and can’t walk out.
However, unlike Elvis, their situation is not due to love, but due to ground capacity requirements.
Despite being twenty points clear at the top of the Championship table, the West London side will not be able to secure promotion to the Premiership.
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) have stated that Ealing’s home, the Trailfinder’s Sports Ground, does not meet the required standards for ground capacity or have the suitable safety compliance assurances.
The Trailfinder’s Sports Ground. Credit: Alec Kerr
Ealing’s ground has a capacity of 6,000. However, the RFU’s minimum capacity requirement for the Premiership is 10,001.
By comparison, the Premier League football’s minimum capacity requirement is 5,000.
Yet without promotion, it is hard to achieve, and previous ground expansion efforts have, so far, proved fruitless, and communications are unclear.
It is important to note that the Minimum Standards Criteria have recently been adjusted to accommodate promoted sides. As long as the stadium achieves a full statutory safety certificate and a 10,0001 capacity by the start of their fourth season in the league, they can play Premiership rugby.
The Trailfinders ground also houses the Trailfinders Women, who ironically play in the Premiership Women’s Rugby. It has also already hosted Premiership Cup and London Broncos (Super League) games, proving its suitability for higher-level games.
Fans have now launched a petition, which is already at over 1,500 signatures, calling for their club to be promoted to the Premiership.
Ealing’s fan Petition. Credit: Change.org
Campaign leader Adrian Mooney referred to the bureaucratic blockade as “red tape designed to keep teams out”.
Lifelong Trailfinders fan Alec Kerr echoed these concerns.
“It does feel like, you know, the powers that be, Prem rugby clubs and stuff, are now actively restricting Ealing’s ambition to grow as a club.
For me, my biggest question as a fan is pretty much what does the RFU and what does Prem Rugby want us to be? The clubs got to a point of Premiership quality”.
Aside from on-pitch grievances, this petition highlights the socio-economic benefits promotion will have on the club and the local area.
Fans believe that around £5-10million in revenue annually could be delivered from playing Premiership rugby, via avenues such as matchday spending and increased footfall.
One alternative solution proposed by the RFU is that Ealing can opt into a groundshare arrangement with a larger club.
However, fans were quick to raise financial concerns over such an arrangement, drawing parallels to Wasps RFC, which went bust in 2022 due to accumulating around £35million in debt after their move to the Ricoh Arena.
Several other Premiership ships have sunk in recent years in similar seas, but Ealing operate under almost anomalous circumstances. They are supported by long-term sustainable investment, rather than relying on loans or borrowing.
This makes them the only club of the Top 24 with zero debt.
However, some fans feel Ealing are perhaps being treated unfairly compared to their Premiership counterparts.
“In recent years, seeing Newcastle being bailed out by other clubs and stuff, it does feel like that the RFU and Prem Rugby’s focus is purely on defending those teams and that the championship does feel like it’s dying a slow death.
So I would say that the RFU appreciating what the championship is for a pathway for English players and young players, that should be rewarded in terms of more funding, first of all, and second of all, deals regarding television and competitions that don’t cut out championship clubs.
I think making championships feel like equal partners would develop the game and make a stronger second tier as well”.
Locking Ealing in Championship jail is also a frustration for the other inmates. Since 2021, the Trailfinders have achieved a League win percentage of over 85% and currently have 17 wins from 17 games this season.
“Ealing certainly become more of the villain in the league over the couple of years… the juggernaut of the league”.
Their dominance is almost comparable to getting that one sixth former on your team in playground football who scores a double hat-trick every lunchtime and bullies year 9’s off the park.
Whilst calls for the Premiership to expand to accommodate clubs like Ealing can be heard, and rumours of them entering the United Rugby Championship circle, communications from both Ealing and the Premiership have fallen quiet.
So, for now, Ealing must continue to lament in the Championship.
City News contacted the RFU and the Premiership Rugby for comment, but so far has received no response.
Hackney schools and police are on high alert following the emergence of the Hackney Wall. As territorial graphics move from TikTok to the streets, authorities are scrambling to prevent online posts from escalating into real-world violence.
