Meg Jones has been included on the King’s New Year Honours list for 2026, recognised with an MBE.

Jones played a key role in England’s Rugby World Cup success on home soil, beating Canada in the final at Allianz Stadium back in September. She scored a brace against Samoa in the pool stages and a crucial try on the way to beating France in the semi-final.

Earlier in the year, the dynamic centre lit up the Red Roses grand slam winning Six Nations campaign with two tries and three try assists.

On a personal note, she was a World Rugby Player of the Year nominee and selected in the World Rugby Dream Team of the Year. Domestically, she was named PWR Player of the Season for a second consecutive year.

On being made an MBE, Jones said:

“I didn’t really know what to expect. You certainly never really think of getting it… I guess you think of just winning the World Cup and then all the other bits that come with it are just extras – and then obviously it’s an amazing honour!

“I feel a massive honour and privilege to receive the award, and hopefully put rugby on the map, which is all part of the aim.

“One of the Red Roses legacies is to inspire the next generation and keep pushing the narrative. If we can keep doing that, then we know we’ll be doing the best thing we possibly can for this sport.”

Red Roses Ellie Kildunne and Sadia Kabeya have also been recognised with MBEs, and Zoe Stratford (née Aldcroft), Marlie Packer and head coach John Mitchell will receive OBEs.

Trailfinders secured a 57-10 bonus-point victory at Trailfinders Sports Club against a struggling Leicester Tigers.

A brace from Vicky Laflin and tries from Kate Zackary, Rosie Inman, Cara Brincat, Brooke Bradley, Cristina Blanco, Isla Norman-Bell and Annabel Meta helped the home side to an emphatic win.

The result means Trailfinders rise to fourth position in the table, with three matches left to play in Round Seven.

It was clear Trailfinders had come to play and wanted to right the wrongs of the last two rounds. They opened the scoring inside 20 seconds! Laflin found an edge on the left wing and beat the last Tigers defender to put Barney Maddison’s side into the lead.

Five minutes later, Trailfinders found themselves in another dangerous position. They set up a rolling maul just metres from the opposition line, which captain Zackary broke from and powered her way over. Rosie Inman added the extras from out wide.

And with not even ten minutes on the clock, Trailfinders had their third. Full-back Gallagher found herself at the end of a breakaway and sprinted in underneath the posts, making it a straightforward conversion for Inman.

After a big defensive effort to keep Leicester out, Trailfinders were back on the front foot, camped inside the opposition’s 22. Fly-half Ella Amory spotted some space out on the left and executed a brilliant cross-field kick to put Laflin away for her second of the afternoon, and secured Trailfinders’ bonus-point.

Cara Brincat was next on the scoresheet, with a try in her first PWR match for Trailfinders. Quick handling from the backline moved the ball out to the wing. A dropped ball was deemed to have gone backwards and Brincat was quickest to react and extend an already commanding lead.

The visitors did pull one back just before the interval. Karolina Kacirkova scored in the corner to get Tigers on the board.

Half-time: Trailfinders Women 31-5 Leicester Tigers

The home side came out for the second period hungry for more after a brilliant first-half display. Cassandra Tuffnail made a trademark break and cruised into the opposition 22. Brooke Bradley then made the most of a Trailfinders penalty, with a quick tap she caught the defence napping and dashed to the line to score.

Replacement hooker Blanco was next to add her name to the list of Trailfinders try scorers. The hosts’ rolling maul proved too strong for the Tigers forward pack, and Blanco crossed to extend the advantage.

Norman-Bell pounced on another quick tap opportunity to score Trailfinders’ eighth of the afternoon. She used some silky footwork to step round the defence and beat the last defender to score. Inman’s conversion brought up the half-century for the hosts.

Just like they did at the end of the first half, Leicester Tigers got themselves on the score sheet in the closing stages, this time through Kristen Bitter.

However, Trailfinders did have the final say. Meta powered her way through multiple defenders and dived over the line as the clock ticked past the 80th minute, which made the final score Trailfinders Women 57-10 Leicester Tigers.

Full- time: Trailfinders Women 57-10 Leicester Tigers

Trailfinders Women:

Tries – Vicky Laflin 1 28, Kate Zackary 6, Niamh Gallagher 9, Cara Brincat 34, Brooke Bradley 44, Cristina Blanco 57, Isla Norman-Bell 75, Annabel Meta 80

Conversions – Rosie Inman 7 10 29 45 76 80

Yellow cards – Cassandra Tuffnail 78

Leicester Tigers:

Tries – Karolina Kacirkova 39, Kristin Bitter 79

Yellow cards – Charlotte Daley 55, Deni Ross 72

Ealing Trailfinders’ unbeaten run in the 25-26 Champ Rugby season is extended to ten matches after a 14-17 victory against Nottingham at The Bay.

Tries from Deago Bailey and Matt Cornish, and a penalty from Dan Jones, secured a win on the road for the West Londoners.

The result leaves them nine points clear at the top of the table, with five Champ Rugby games still to play this weekend.

Trailfinders had an early chance to get some points on the board, after they won a penalty from the first breakdown of the game. Jones stepped up, and the ball rebounded back off the post, a let off for the hosts.

Jones eventually broke the deadlock on the 13-minute mark, after he slotted a penalty from 30 metres out.

Momentum swung in the home side’s favour for the next period of the game. After multiple phases camped inside the Trailfinders 22, Nottingham hit back through Michael Green. He powered through the defence and dived over to score. Gwyn Parks added the extras.

Trailfinders came close to getting one back in the following ten minutes, but they were held up on one occasion and handling let them down on another. The score remained 7-3 in favour of The Archers.

Just before the break, Parks looked to extend Nottingham’s lead from the tee, but his effort drifted just wide. Trailfinders took a quick 22 drop out and looked to get straight back down the other end for one final chance of the half.

Trailfinders worked their way up the field, and on the edge of the hosts’ 22, a delayed pass from Jones put Elliot Chilvers through a gap. Silky hands from the front row forward allowed him to get it away to Bailey, who was able to sprint in underneath the posts and give his side the lead as the clock ticked into red.

Half-time: Nottingham 7-10 Ealing Trailfinders

Nottingham came out firing in the second forty, and scored their second try just after the interval. Scrum-half Will Yarnell spotted some space around the breakdown and leapt for the line, Parks added the extra two.

With a quarter of the match to play, a kick to the corner gave Trailfinders a first opportunity to use their dangerous rolling maul. Two minutes after coming from the bench, Cornish scored a trademark try, breaking from the pack to pop up the other side of the whitewash and dot down.

Trailfinders played the remainder of the match inside Nottingham’s half, but couldn’t make the territory count and extend their three-point lead. With time up and the hosts with possession deep in their 22, they opted to kick the ball out and take the point.

A hard-earned 14-17 Ealing Trailfinders victory in Nottingham leaves them at top spot on 49 points in the Champ Rugby table.

Full-time: Nottingham 14-17 Ealing Trailfinders

Nottingham:

Tries – Michael Green 22, Will Yarnell 43

Conversions – Gwyn Parks 23 44

Ealing Trailfinders:

Tries – Deago Bailey 40, Matt Cornish 61

Conversions – Dan Jones 40, Rory Scannell 62

Penalties – Dan Jones 13