ALUN WALKER

IN MODERN SPORT, IT IS RARE FOR AN INDIVIDUAL TO SPEND AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME AT ONE CLUB, BUT FOR ALUN WALKER LOYALTY REMAINS KEY TO HIS SUCCESS.

Astandard contract is normally two or three years long before someone then decides to re-sign or move on to their next opportunity. This is what makes Alun Walker’s time at Ealing Trailfinders even more impressive. He’s been at the club for such a long time that when he sat down for an interview, we double checked how long he’d actually spent in West London.

“Nine seasons, I think,” said the hooker. After briefly double pausing and double checking in his own head, he comes back with a more definitive response. “Yeah nine years I’ve been here, that feels like a very long time now I’m saying it out loud,” he jokes.

And he’s not wrong. The club has progressed an awful lot over the time he’s been at Trailfinders; from parttime to full-time, from National 1 to winning the Championship.

“I remember when I first joined, really useful given the unpredictable British weather! But it’s not just here, the whole programme and facilities at Brunel University are also really impressive.” we only had a grass pitch which we trained on once a week in the evening because we all had jobs in the day.

Despite all these changes, for anyone to stay at a club for nine years shows an immense sense of commitment and belief towards the organisation and to the team.

“The expansion has been rapid, we’ve now got two 4G pitches, a state of the art indoor facility, which is

“I’m a very competitive person and I think part of the reason that I’ve stayed is because when you see the club’s drive and ambition, they match my own.

“Everyone here, from the owner Sir Mike Gooley, through to the most junior member of staff, we all share the drive of wanting to push this club as far as possible.”

“I think after my first year when I was injured for most of it and the club supported me, I’ve always felt loyalty to stay and achieve something special. Clearly that’s something we’re still trying to achieve.”

As well as feeling loyalty to the club, there are also the relationships that he’s forged on the pitch that meant he wanted to stay at Trailfinders.

“Both Will Davis and Luke Daniels signed in my first year and we’ve all stuck together throughout that time.

“I went to Will’s wedding and I wouldn’t have even met him had it not been for the club, and now they’re people I can guarantee are going to be there for the rest of my life. Reasons like this are a huge factor to why I’ve stayed.”

After spending nine years at Trailfinders, Alun is now one of the senior players within the squad and part of the responsibility that comes with this is to create new relationships with some of the younger players and pass on his knowledge.

“I think personally there’s a massive difference between when I first started to where I am now, it’s like it’s two different people.

“I look back and I was probably quite selfish when I was younger, only doing things to benefit myself.

“Now I’m older and I’m in the position where I’ve had bad injuries, times where my form was really good and times where it wasn’t, it’s nice to be able to pass on that knowledge to someone like Cam (Terry).

“He’s a great player and he’s only been playing hooker for two years and the progress he’s made has been immense. He’s always asking questions about how to improve and wants to know as much as possible.

“I’m looking forward to the day when he turns around to me and says ‘I like that idea, but how about we do this instead?”

Following a knee injury in preseason Alun spent the first half of the season recovering and watching Shaun Malton and Cam Terry take their opportunity with both hands. It meant when the time came for Alun to regain his position he needed an opportunity to build his form and impress the coaches. That opportunity came in the shape of a brief loan spell at Premiership club Newcastle Falcons.

“It came a bit out of the blue. After being out for 12 weeks, I just wanted to get back to playing and they had a few injuries so I jumped at the opportunity when it came up.

“After nine years, the opportunity to be in a different environment was great as it’s very easy to get comfortable and used to the same thing every week. Just being up there with new lads, new coaches, new staff, really refreshed everything for me.

“They had a real emphasis in terms of speed and collisions and I like to think I’ve picked up a few things up there that I’ve added to my game at Trailfinders.”

All these extras skills will be important as Alun and his teammates prepare for one of the tightest title races in recent years.

“As we come into the end of the season, the performances come thick and fast and I think there are a few games where we’ve got a point to prove and to right a few wrongs from earlier in the year.

“I know it sounds cliché, but every game is massive for us! We need to perform every week as there are no easy teams in the league. The only match I’m focused on is the next one.”