Trailfinders Women are delighted to announce the signing of international Red Rose Rowena Burnfield to our squad ahead of our entry into the Premier 15s next season.

The second-row has 50 caps for her country, first making her debut back in 2015 and most recently being named in the Six Nations squad for the Championship last year.

Rowena started her rugby at her local club in Andover, before moving over to Richmond aged just 17. She saw the inception of the Premier 15s while at the London club, as they entered into the top division. In her final year at the club she was named captain of the side as they achieved their best ever finish.

In 2019 she moved over to fellow Londoners Wasps, helping them reach the playoffs during the 2020/21 season, before they lost 25-14 to eventual champions Harlequins in the semi-final.

She remained in Acton for three years, before moving to Harlequins mid-way through this season, when Wasps’ financial issues surfaced.

Away from rugby, Rowena is completing her studies on an agricultural degree at Sparsholt College through the University of Portsmouth, and lives and works on her family’s agricultural dairy farm.

On moving to the club, Rowena said: “I’m really looking forward to go and play for a new team with new players and new staff over at Trailfinders.

“It’s a great club and I think there’s a unique chance for us to build our own ethos and culture as a squad and I’m looking forward to the new opportunity as we look to make a statement within the league.”

On the signing, Director of Women’s Rugby Giselle Mather said: “I’m thrilled to have someone of Ro’s quality and experience joining Trailfinders for our first year in the Premier 15s.

“The example Ro sets by always leading from the front on the pitch has earned her 50 caps for her country, but the leadership she has displayed in every environment she has been in and the knowledge she has gained will also be invaluable to the whole squad, as we bond as a group and install our own culture and standards among the team.

“Ro’s incredible work ethic and dedication to still being the best she can be after such an incredible career will be inspirational to our younger athletes. We are delighted to have her on board.”

Rowena is the third international to join the squad for next season, and there will be more being announced in the coming days…

Ealing Trailfinders Women are pleased to reveal their new Strength and Conditioning team, which will work across the Premier15s team and the club’s pathways at Brunel University, Henley College and Cardinal Newman.

Adam Dowsett – Lead Athletic Performance Coach

With over a decade of experience in Strength and Conditioning, including six years at Wasps Women, Adam will be leading the club’s strength and conditioning across the Premier15s team and guiding the club’s pathways at Brunel University, Henley College and Cardinal Newman. He first started in Strength & Conditioning at Brunel University ten years ago, as he worked closely with the university’s sports scholars, some of them Olympic International athletes, across eight different sports. This is where he first discovered his passion for women’s rugby and this later led to a move to Wasps Women. After six years with the Premier15s side, where they consistently qualified for the playoffs, he moved back to Brunel University this year, working with the women’s programme at the Trailfinders Rugby Academy as they gained promotion into the second tier of British University Rugby.

Fiona ‘Fee’ Pocock – Assistant Strength & Conditioning

Fee is a former Red Rose and an experienced S&C coach who has worked with a wide range of athletes in a variety of settings, from youth athletes to most recently leading the Wasps Women Premier15s programme. Known for her physicality and pace, Fee’s ten year playing career included being an integral part of the England World Cup squad in 2010 as well as winning four Six Nations titles. She also won the Premiership with Harlequins Women in 2017, their first year in the Premiership.

Sam Thirlwell – Head of Strength & Conditioning at Henley College

Sam is entering his fifth year working in S&C, and has experience across both rugby and football. He is continuing his role as S&C coach at Henley College, where he has been during the last two years, and over that time he has helped to produce five England U18s internationals and saw the team achieve second place in their first year in the AOC Performance League. Before being at Henley, he gained experience at Harlequins, Leeds Beckett and Southampton FC and has a BSc in Sport and Exercise Science, as well as an MSc in Applied Strength and Conditioning Science.

The announcement of the S&C team comes following on from the news that Giselle Mather will be joined in her coaching group by Brett Wilkinson, Barney Maddison, Oli Bishop, Kim Oliver and Pat Metcalfe-Jones. To read about that announcement, click here.

When speaking about her new coaches and S&C team, Giselle said: “It is hugely exciting to assemble such a vastly experienced coaching team that are all experts in their areas of the game.

“Their commitment to developing our athletes, both as individuals and collectively as a team, is palpable.

“Having full-time coaching staff will allow them to genuinely support the challenges faced by working athletes as they juggle their training hours alongside their careers and this will be a real area of strength of the Ealing Trailfinders programme moving forward. We cannot wait to get started!!”

The Strength & Conditioning team are the first set of support staff to be announced. In the coming weeks, the Analysis, Nutrition, Psychology, Player Development and Pathway teams will all be revealed.

Ealing Trailfinders are delighted to announce the signing of three more players who will join our Premier15s squad ahead of our inaugural season in the league, who have all come through our rugby pathways.

Jo Bucknall joins the squad having been part of the Trailfinders Rugby Academy at Brunel University, while Annabel Meta and Lauren Knowler have both come through the system at Henley College, who are one of our partner schools.

Jo Bucknall

Jo is an exciting and abrasive young prop who was a crucial part of the team that saw Brunel Women secure promotion to BUCS Women’s Premier South this year, just one below the BUCS Women’s National League, after a playoff victory over the University of Cambridge. Alongside representing Brunel, Jo has also been playing for Richmond in the Women’s Championship South.

When speaking about joining the Premier15s squad, Jo said: “This is such an exciting new chapter and a real privilege getting to play alongside some of the champions of the women’s game!

“Being at the Trailfinders Academy during my Master’s at Brunel University this previous season, along with all of my previous clubs, has helped me prepare for a level-up to the Premier15s where the competition is fierce and I can’t wait to learn and grow with the team next season.”

Brunel Women’s Head Coach Steve Wagstaff said: “It’s great for Jo, who has worked tirelessly throughout the season, and has excelled at BUCS and Championship level.

“Her contribution to the programme and the support she gives her peers is testament to her personality and we hope she is the first of many to come through the Brunel pathway to secure a contract with the Premier15s side.”

Annabel Meta

Annabel is powerful and dynamic number 8 who can also cover the rest of the back row. She has been part of the pathway at one of Ealing Trailfinders’ partner schools, Henley College and she represented England U18s this season in the U18s Six Nations.

On joining the Trailfinders Premier15s squad, Annabel said: “I am delighted to say that I will be a part of Ealing Trailfinders next season.

“I’m looking forward to using the excellent experience I have gained through the Rugby Programme at Henley College and I’m excited for what is to come this year at the club.

Head of Women’s Rugby at Henley College Kim Oliver said: “Annabel is a powerful athlete with huge amounts of potential.

“She has worked incredibly hard on her fundamental skills and her strength and conditioning ever since she joined the programme here and I’m super excited to continue to support her through her Premier 15s journey.”

Lauren Knowler

Lauren is a versatile centre with an exceptional distribution game. She first started playing rugby in Hong Kong at the age of seven, before moving to the UK and joining Henley in 2021. She also represented England U18s this season and both her and Annabel were an important part of Henley College Women finishing second in their debut season in the AOC performance league.

On making the move up to Ealing Trailfinders Women, Lauren said: “I’m really looking forward to joining the Premier15s squad and continuing my journey through the pathway.

“Ever since I joined Henley College my rugby has really improved. The coaches have pushed me every session to make me a better player and they are the reason I’ve made it where I am now.

“I’m excited to see what we can do as a team this season and I’m really grateful to have been given this opportunity and I’m going to make sure I grab it with both hands!”

Head of Women’s Rugby at Henley College Kim Oliver said: “Lauren is a very talented young player with a fantastic distributing game and she makes huge hits, punching above her weight!

“It has been a real pleasure to work with Lauren over the last two years, watching and encouraging her to push herself hard and keep working on the fundamental skills. She has grown as a player and as a leader and I’m really excited to continue working with her as she finds her place within the Premier15s side.”

When speaking about all three of these signings, Ealing Trailfinders Director of Women’s Rugby Giselle Mather said: “To have three outstanding young players sign for the club who have come through our rugby pathways from both Henley College and Brunel University is a sign of things to come.

“Both programmes, along with Cardinal Newman school, give opportunity for young athletes to train and develop as rugby players alongside their academic studies.

“It is our stated intention that several future Trailfinders will have travelled the dual pathway as Jo, Annabel and Lauren have done, developing them as both people and players.

“I’m really excited about all three of these signings, Jo a versatile forward who leads from the front while Annabel is a ferocious ball carrier with a genuine passion for the game. Lauren is a beautiful distributor of the ball with bags of potential in all areas of back play and I can’t wait to see them grow in our environment and realise the potential we see in them.”

Jo, Annabel and Lauren join England Red Roses Abby Dow and Liz Crake as we continue unveiling our Women’s squad to enter the Premier15s next season.

After last week’s exciting news that Red Rose Abby Dow will be joining the club next year, now you have the chance to win a shirt signed by her.

Once we release our women’s kit ahead of the 2023/24 season, one lucky supporter will get their hands on a new shirt which will be signed by the England International!

All you have to do is enter is:

A) Follow us on Twitter or Instagram
B) Like the entry post on Twitter or Instagram
C) Fill in the entry form, which you can do by clicking here.