Trailfinders Women are a professional women's rugby union club based in Ealing, Greater London. They currently compete in Premiership Women's Rugby, the highest division of women's rugby union in England.
| Full name | Trailfinders Women |
|---|---|
| Union | RFU |
| Founded | 2023 |
| Ground(s) | Trailfinders Sports Ground (Capacity: 5,000) |
| Coach(es) | Barney Maddison |
| Captain(s) | Kate Zackary |
| League(s) | Premiership Women's Rugby |
| 2023-24 | 6th |
| First match | |
| Harlequins Women 31–21 Trailfinders Women (Twickenham Stoop, London) 30 September 2023 | |
| Largest win | |
| Trailfinders Women 64–33 Loughborough Lightning (Trailfinders Sports Ground, London) 13 October 2024 | |
| Largest defeat | |
| Gloucester-Hartpury 59–12 Trailfinders Women (Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester) 19 May 2024 | |
History
editAmateur side
editIn the 2010–11 season, Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club operated an amateur women's side, Ealing Jades Ladies, which competed in RFUW NC South East 1. They finished 7th place out of the 8 teams.[1] The team did not appear again until the 2021–22 Women's NC 3 South East (Central) season when they were known as Ealing Trailfinders Ladies and they finished at the bottom of the table.[2] In 2022–23, they competed in Women's National Challenge 3 South East (West) when they finished in 5th place.[3]
After the founding of Trailfinders Women, Ealing Trailfinders Ladies changed names and became Ealing Women II. Trailfinders Women were founded as a new team.
2023 onwards: Premiership Women's Rugby
editIn July 2022 Giselle Mather was named as Director of Women's Rugby at Ealing Trailfinders.[4] The club then announced in December 2022 that it had been granted a license by the RFU to join the Premier 15s (later renamed to Premiership Women's Rugby) starting in the 2023–24 season.[5] The full coaching staff for the club was named later that month.[6] The clubs first signing was England wing Abby Dow.[7][8] Other notable signings for Ealing's inaugural season included Ireland international Emma Swords and Italy prop Sara Seye.[9][10]
Ealing's first ever win in the league came in a 36–7 victory over Leicester Tigers Women.[11]
Current players
editThe Ealing Trailfinders squad for the 2024–25 season is:
Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
Season Summaries
edit| League | Cup | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Competition | Final position | Points | Play-offs | Competition | Performance |
| 2023—24 | Allianz Premiership Women's Rugby | 6th | 29 | Allianz Cup | 7th | |
Gold background denotes champions
Silver background denotes runners-up
Pink background denotes relegated
Club staff
editThe coaching staff for the 2023–24 season is:[6]
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Director of Women's Rugby | Giselle Mather |
| Forwards, Line-out and Breakdown Coach | Barney Maddison |
| U23s and Defence Coach | Oli Bishop |
| Assistant Line-out and Assistant Defence Coach | Pat Metcalfe-Jones |
| Scrum Coach | Brett Wilkinson |
| Skills Coach and Athlete Mentor | Kim Oliver |
References
edit- ^ "RFU". www.englandrugby.com. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ "RFU". www.englandrugby.com. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ "RFU". www.englandrugby.com. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ^ "Giselle Mather Becomes Ealing Trailfinders' Director Of Women's Rugby". ealingtrailfinders.com. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ^ "Allianz Premier 15s Update". www.premier15s.com. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ^ a b "Ealing Trailfinders Announce Their Women's Coaching Team". ealingtrailfinders.com. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ^ "Abby Dow: England wing to leave Harlequins and join Ealing Trailfinders at end of season". BBC Sport. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "England wing Dow to join Ealing at end of season". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ "Ealing sign Ireland scrum-half Swords from Quins". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ "Ealing Trailfinders sign Italy Women prop Seye". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ "Allianz Premier 15s (Sky Sports)". SkySports. Retrieved 17 February 2024.