Trailfinders Women
| 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 | |
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.
History
[edit]Amateur side
[edit]In 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
[edit]In 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
[edit]The 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
[edit]The 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.