Ealing Trailfinders are thrilled to announce that Giselle Mather has joined the club as Director of Women’s Rugby.

Giselle joins from Premier 15s side Wasps Women, where she has been Director of Rugby on two separate occasions. Her first spell from 2001 to 2004, was hugely successful as she won back-to-back Premiership titles in 2003 and 2004. In 2016, she returned to the club and helped guide them through the transition of the league from the Women’s Premiership to the Premier 15s, before going on to achieve playoff finishes in three out of five seasons.

In between her time at Wasps, she joined London Irish and spent a decade with the Exiles working with their Elite Player Development Groups. Seven of those 10 years were spent heading up the club’s AASE programme (Advanced Apprenticeship and Sporting Excellence), at a time when Alex Corbisiero, Joe Cokanasiga, Jonathan Joseph, Tom Homer and Marcus and Anthony Watson were making their way through the club’s junior ranks.

Giselle also broke through the glass ceiling as she became the first woman to earn her level 4 coaching badge and the first woman to lead a men’s side on a 62-game unbeaten run which included three promotions and two Twickenham Cup Final victories while she was in charge at Teddington RFC.

Giselle’s playing career is arguably even more impressive than her coaching one. She was one of the first Red Roses, with cap number 35 and won the World Cup in 1994 and the 5 Nations Grand Slam in 1995 and 1996.

On discussing her move to the club, Giselle said, “It’s great to be joining Ealing Trailfinders as Director of Women’s Rugby. The women’s game at the moment is in a fantastic space and the club’s commitment to it is immense and so the opportunity to lead this programme is really exciting.

“The partnerships and pathways that the club already has with Brunel University, Henley College and Places of Development (POD) feeder clubs are so important for women’s rugby moving forward and Ealing are already way ahead of the game on that one.”

Simon Sinclair, Chief Operating Officer of Trailfinders Rugby Academy and Women’s Programme, said, “It’s hugely exciting to be bringing someone of Giselle’s calibre and experience to our club. She has achieved so much within the game both as a player and a coach and ever since I first met her, her energy and enthusiasm for what we are trying to build and our ambition to play in the Premier 15s was noticeable.”

Ben Ward, Ealing Trailfinders Managing Director said, “We’re a club that is always looking to bring good individuals into our environment and there is no one better than Giselle. We have aspirations to be in the Premier 15s and we want to create unique, strong pathways to develop young English talent. From my conversations with Giselle, she shares our aspirations to make every area of the club the very best and I’m looking forward to working with her.”

 

For media requests please contact Tom Soulsby: alex.reed@etprm.com

Ealing Trailfinders have added Old Reigatian RFC to their list of partner clubs to help develop a pathway for their girls programme.

The girls programme at the club is already thriving, with their U15s being crowned National Champions, while the U18s had three players selected in the England U18 Touch team that will play in the European Championships next month. There are over 100 players and 26 volunteer coaches who are split into four different age groups that train on a Wednesday and Sunday. Given the current success of their girls programme, the club are looking to create a senior women’s team in the near future.

The partnership will not only help develop a pathway for their players, but also will be used to help improve other areas of the club, such as:

• Investment into floodlights which will ensure quality pitch space will be able to be used by all the girls age groups at various different times on a Wednesday night.
• Further development of the coaches to help give them the tools and techniques to up-skill their players. The club have recognised there is a lack of female coaches and so there will be input from guest coaches on a regular basis and the visit of a female coach at leat twice a season.
• Bespoke S&C advice on on-pitch conditioning for female players will be provided to enhance performance and help prevent injuries.
• There will be a supply of post protectors for the club’s training pitch which will also promote the partnership.

Chairman of Old Reigatian RFC, David Forsyth said, “The size and enthusiasm of our girls section is a huge testament to the hard work of all our coaches and volunteers.

“This partnership is a massive opportunity for the club and for the girls themselves and we’re delighted to be involved and associated with Ealing Trailfinders.”

Old Reigatian girls player, Renae Baker said, “This is a really great opportunity to have a pathway into the elite women’s game and I’m really excited about what it will mean for us players and especially the younger girls at the club.”

Simon Sinclair, Chief Operating Officer of Ealing Trailfinders Academy and Women’s Programme, said, “Old Reigatian are a proud club that already have a very strong girls section across several age groups. We’re delighted that the club have become a partner of our Place of Development (POD) as we look to support local girls and give them a pathway for further development.”

Old Reigatian RFC join Farnham RUFC in being one of our POD partner clubs as we look to support and develop the girls game. Further partnership will be announced in the near future.

Trailfinders were delighted to sponsor its first ever Women’s 7s Team who ran out unbeaten winners at last Saturday’s Summer Social at Richmond.

Ealing Director of Rugby Ben Ward and Women’s Performance Manager Lou Meadows recognised a gap in the pathway for aspiring England 7s players who are called into training camps but then don’t get the chance to compete as a team. Trailfinders approached England 7s to offer a great opportunity for these players to play together as a squad in a competitive tournament. Amy Turner (England U20s) led the coaching team and communicated with James Rodwell (Head of England 7s) throughout the competition. Trailfinders also called upon former England and Olympic 7s player Alice Richardson-Watmore to provide tactical coaching.

Late call-ups to the England squad and the Super 7s Series required Lou Meadows to select players from the Ealing Trailfinders U20s programme, including Sophie Malton of Henley College: “Having watched Sophie in training and at recent tournaments, I knew she would be ready to step up to this level. With younger players it is really important to consider their mental and emotional ability to cope with senior rugby and I discussed this carefully with Kim Oliver, her coach at Henley, who also spoke with her parents. We agreed that this would be a fantastic opportunity for Sophie if she wanted to be involved and I’m so glad she did because she was fantastic. Her energy, determination to learn fast and her can-do attitude was a great example of the exciting talent we have coming through our women’s pathway.”

The Trailfinders Team (who featured a number of Premiership players who form part of the wider England 7s squad) showed their class and talent by winning all three pool matches against Thamesians, Belsize and Tropic 7s. They then proved too strong for the Wild Dogs in the semi-final, before seeing off a skilful Jesters squad to secure the Summer Social title.

Simon Sinclair, COO of the Women’s Programme, commented: “This was a fantastic chance for us to start showcasing our vision and strategy for the women’s game. With our exciting plans and financial investment into growing the girls and women’s game this was a perfect start for us. We are really pleased for Lou and the team and we are very excited to share more news in the coming weeks.”