For many players, it can take several appearances for them to find themselves over the tryline or to truly burst onto the club rugby stage. But that was not the case for Trailfinders winger Grace White.
With a try on debut in Premiership Rugby 15s to a scoring yet again on her Club debut for Trailfinders, Grace White has given us a flavour of her lightning speed and great finishing abilities.
The winger is one of many Trailfinders players who study at Brunel and exemplifies the successful partnership between the university and the Club.
Growing up, White was incredibly sporty, engaging with a diverse range of activities. Yet, it was rugby that captured her heart.
This is Grace White’s Trail So Far.
Growing up in rugby country
White grew up in the South West of England, home to plenty of rugby clubs from grassroots all the way to professional level.
She recalled her first memory of rugby.
‘My first memory of rugby would have been in year eight at school. It was the first time they introduced rugby to the girls section of PE. I was playing football at the time and I remember playing my first rugby session then going home and immediately telling my dad I wanted to sign up to the local club.’
The club in question was Winscombe RFC. Winscombe boasted a large girls section – a highly unique trait for a grassroots club over a decade ago.
‘The girls section was already set up. There was a really influential man in my life called Gareth Waterfield, who set up the whole women’s section.
‘We had a really prosperous club that was full of girls. So we were able to field teams week in, week out, which I know a lot of people, sort of ten years ago, a lot of teams would struggle to do that. So I was really fortunate to play in a team that could have fixtures every week. If we couldn’t find a fixture, we had enough girls to play in club fixtures, which was really unique.’
Though the South West region in England has high participation rates in rugby at all levels, White recalled how Winscombe pulled female talent from across the region.
‘I don’t really remember there being that many other clubs around. I think people tended to congregate at Winscombe.
‘People like Jess Cooksey [Trailfinders Women] played there. Ellen Scantlebury [Exeter Chiefs], Lucy Burgess [Harlequins], who are all other players you’ll see in the PWR. It’s quite an advanced club.’
The family connection
Football, tennis, and hockey were all sports that White picked up throughout her sporting career. But the family connection to rugby made the sport stand out for her after her initial taste of the sport at school.
‘I think my ambition to play professional rugby stemmed from my dad. He played for England Colts.
‘Once I joined the local club as well, he signed up to coach on the same day I signed up to play. He coached me from day one of playing rugby away from school all the way through to under 18s and he sort of still actively coaches me now. He’ll watch every game and give me feedback.
‘But he’s had his England Colts cap hanging on the wall in his office since I was little. So I’ve seen that and seen the pictures of him from his career. I find that really inspiring and motivating.
‘I’m a little bit competitive with him. He’s played at Twickenham, I haven’t yet. Hopefully, one day I will.’
Mark White, Grace’s dad, with his England Colts cap
Grassroots to greatness
Since her first memory of picking up a rugby ball in her early adolescent years, White has traversed a journey from grassroots rugby to representing her country at age-grade level and with Great Britain as part of their Rugby Sevens programme.
‘I stayed at Winscombe from thirteen to eighteen. There was a slight overlap with Somerset county trials, going in for the under 18s and then it became the centre of excellence programme. So I was playing in centre of excellence for Bristol Bears whilst still at Winscombe.
‘I transitioned into the senior women’s set-up at Bristol when I was seventeen.
‘I played there for two years, spent a season playing quite a lot and then a season rehabbing quite a lot before coming to West London for both rugby and university, where I hope to stay for quite a while.’
White has represented England at U20s, U21s as well as flying the flag for Great Britain on the World Sevens tour. White made her GB7s debut in March 2025 in Hong Kong.
‘I feel like the shirt presentation and just holding a shirt with the GB badge on was a bit surreal. I was in Hong Kong, so somewhere I never even thought about travelling to. I almost wish I could relive it because I think at the time I was in such an elated fog that I didn’t necessarily appreciate it as much as I could have.’
As a winger, a big part of White’s role is to score tries for club and country. She scored on her Prem debut for Bristol Bears and did the same again when she joined Trailfinders Women.
She reflected on her favourite try that she’s scored in the PWR so far this season.
‘I think the cross-field kick from Meg Jones for me to score in the left corner against Bristol was my favourite so far this season.
‘We had been practising that set piece all week at the club. And I don’t think that many of them worked in training. But the more mistakes, the better.
‘In the match, she sent it across and it was a perfect kick. But it was one of those where you can easily drop it because it’s almost too easy to catch. So I was just trying not to overthink: I just needed to catch the ball and then dot it down. That try being against my old club too was a very good feeling.’
Talent pathways
White is currently studying at Brunel University, partner to the Trailfinders’ set-up. She has featured in the university’s inaugural season in BUCS Super Rugby as well as representing Trailfinders Women in the PWR and PWR Cup.
Being part of the Trailfinders pathway gives White the best of both worlds: rugby and education.
‘I actually took two years out of education thinking about what I wanted to do whilst also being at Bears and rehabbing. So I had a long time to consider what I wanted to do if I wanted to just be restricted to going to the Bristol universities or if I wanted to push the boat out and go somewhere else.
‘I localised my search to universities that were close enough to a premiership club. Then I reached out to some of the head coaches.
‘So I reached out to Trailfinders where Giselle Mather was in charge at the time. I came up and had a look around and absolutely loved it. And then it was just a case of choosing my course, which is physiotherapy. Brunel have a great physiotherapy department.
‘Since then, it’s been about bridging the gap between Brunel and Trailfinders. The club have been really supportive of that. I’ve had the best of both worlds since being here.’
Learning and growing
Whilst White is still in the early stages of her rugby career, her positive mindset has been shaped by some of the challenges she has faced as a player so far.
‘Naturally you always think of injury. That’s always been difficult when you can’t play the sport you love. Everyone will tell you that it’s the worst side of it when you’re watching everyone play and train and you’re stuck in the gym doing, I don’t know, resisted ankle movements or whatever it might be.
‘I think sometimes when you just feel like you’re in a bit of a slump, that can be really hard to overcome. That might come after a couple tough games or a couple narrow losses where you feel like as a team you should have won, that can be mentally really frustrating. Especially when you’ve got big goals.
‘It can be really tough to feel like you’re not always performing to your best as a squad or to what your potential might be. That’s also really challenging. And also, as a winger, sometimes you’re freezing cold and you don’t get the ball. That makes you question things at the time.’
White also mentioned how overcoming many of these challenges is about taking accountability, reflecting on the past and using that to move forward in a positive way.
‘I think it’s a case of reviewing, being accountable, and asking yourself “what could I have done better? What did I do wrong that I can improve on?”
‘I think you’ve got to be really honest with yourself: look at yourself first before you start to look at the team. Because I can only really control what I do. And then as a collective, what do we want to chase for the upcoming week?
‘A lot of these things are about how you flip the script from feeling rubbish into let’s prove a point.
‘If I drop the ball on the pitch, I don’t dwell on the mistake. I try to think about how I can redeem it, how I can wash away the error. You can’t dwell on stuff that’s gone behind you.’
Highlights to date
Though White surely has plenty more memories to make in her rugby career, she recalled some of her career highlights to date.
‘Getting my first Prem cap when I was at Bristol Bears was definitely a career highlight. Getting a try on debut as well just affirmed that I was in the right place, that I was meant to be playing in the league.
‘Achieving my first cap for GB7s was also surreal. Playing 7s has helped me feel comfortable on the edge with 15s. I had to defend twenty metres in 7s so when I have to defend ten metres in union, it doesn’t feel as much of a challenge.
‘Playing 7s helped me with my confidence and taught me that I can rely on my individual skillset.’
Future ambitions
Grace White has proven herself to be an exciting prospect in the women’s game. Her ambitions at club and country go far beyond what the young winger has already achieved.
‘I think I’ve recently started thinking about my 50 caps because that feels like a really big deal and something I’d be really proud to get to.
‘I’m with England under 21s at the minute as well. We’ve got a huge goal as a squad to beat France because it’s been a long time coming.
‘I have dreams of being a senior Red Rose, but that’s a big step.
‘I’m just taking things as they come and working on what I can do to become a better player everyday.’
Grace creates
Whilst rugby and studying occupies most of Grace’s time, outside of training and academia, she likes to create. Clay is her material of choice for the most part and Grace’s creations have varied from an egg crate to general crockery.
‘When I have breaks in rugby or university, I love getting out the modelling clay and painting.’
Some of Grace’s creations
‘I enjoy reading. Mostly fantasy books and series like Fourth Wing, Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses.
‘I’m a firm lover of spikeball, as most of us are. When I’m away from the club with longer breaks in rugby, I like to go home and play tennis with my parents.’
Words of advice
It was a decade ago since White took her first punt at rugby. She reflected on what she would say to her younger self if she had the chance.
‘Pressure doesn’t breed performance for me. I’m someone that’s always been like “I need to perform at my best” and most of it’s perceived pressure.
‘Often it’s just expectations that I have for myself. When I was thirteen and going into rugby, I would say just relax and enjoy it. You’re young, you’re learning, and just embrace being with your teammates rather than treating every game as something that I must prove to myself that I’m good enough.
‘Watching Vicky Laflin play inspires me. She’ll work off her wings and pick up lines in opportunist ways. It works well in her favour because she’s just having fun and reading the game.
‘Watching her play really inspires me to try and apply that attitude more to my game, to be free on the pitch and try new things.’
Vicky Laflin (left), Grace White (right)
What it means to be a Trailfinder
For Grace, rugby is the mainstay in her life. It’s the thing that is central to her. She put into words what it means to be a Trailfinder.
‘It’s sort of become my life. We train so often; my friends are based at the club. The club is where I feel comfortable.
‘I just don’t think there’s somewhere I feel more content than when I’m here: training and working hard with a group around me that are doing the same.
‘Rugby gives so much back that it is really my lifeline and it’s a huge part of my personality. I know all athletes are more than just rugby players, but I like to commit a lot of myself to a sport that gives a lot back to me.
‘I have a lot of hobbies and nothing gives back in the same way that rugby does. Why wouldn’t I commit all my passion, time and effort into it. It’s my long-term future and rugby is a big part of who I am.’
Our Trail So Far pieces celebrate our players’ ‘Rugby Roots’ and mark our initiative of the same name. In our women’s fixture against Loughborough Lightning (29/03) and the men’s clash with Nottingham (04/04), players will pay homage to the teams where it all began for them, by wearing the club/school socks from their first sides. Supporters can join us for the celebrations at either game by purchasing tickets now.
