Future’s looking Bright now at Ealing – Alex Codling
Codling, who joined from Ulster this summer, reckons not enough players put their shoulder to the wheel last season and hopes a mass clear-out which saw 18 players depart and 14 arrive will herald an improvement on their 11th place finish.
Former England lock Codling told The Rugby Paper: “It’s an exciting time for the club but we’ve got to give the supporters a bit of identity with the team and how we’re trying to play.
“There’s a responsibility about how we perform. People want to watch a team that are working hard every week and it’s arguable that at certain times last year that wasn’t the case in terms of people putting their bodies on the line.
“A big focus is making sure players understand their responsibility towards teammates and the club – that will enable us to take this exciting project a few steps forward.
“The owner (Trailfinders travel magnate Mike Gooley) just wants people to work hard for this club and have a real identity and affinity with it. If we do that we’ll start winning a few more games and it’ll be a much more positive place.”
One star summer signing whose arrival from London Scottish, Codling believes, will provide an example to others is 37-year-old No.8 Mark Bright.
Codling adds: “You want young, hungry players but also recognise that this is a very strong league and you need a smattering of experience.
“I’ve worked with Mark before at London Scottish and he’s an outstanding rugby player with a great brain who is incredibly consistent.
“People follow his actions and he’s arguably been the best Championship No.8 of recent years, so we’re just looking for his leadership in terms of the rest of the players understanding what a professional rugby player looks like.
“He’s setting an example on and off the field, but he also knows there’s a lot of back row competition. Chris York and Willie Ryan have worked hard in pre-season so it’s not just a case of Mark playing.”
Codling says fine margins cost Ealing a much higher finish last time around, explaining: “Ealing were leading at half-time in 13 games last season and only won six, so it’s been up to us to look at why.
“We won six games and finished 11th, while another team won 10 games and finished fifth, so the margins are small and where we’ve got positions of dominance we have to nail those results down.
“It’s anticipated that London Irish will win the league, underneath that it’ll be the most competitive ever and we want to finish higher than 11th.”
NEALE HARVEY
