A new chapter in the proud history of Ealing Trailfinders has been confirmed with the RFU announcing that the club has been successful in its application to join the Allianz Premier 15s

This exciting announcement means Ealing Trailfinders will have an elite women’s first-team squad competing in the Premier 15s from season 2023/24. The newly formed Ealing Trailfinders Women will join an eight team league featuring Bristol Bears Women, Exeter Chiefs Women, Gloucester-Hartpury Women, Harlequins Women, Leicester Tigers Women, Loughborough Lightning/Northampton Saints and Saracens Women. To read the full RFU announcement click here.

Ealing Trailfinders Women will be based at Trailfinders Sports Club, with world class facilities, coaches and support staff, with home fixtures taking place on the main stadium pitch, with a current capacity of 5,000.

Director of Women’s Rugby Giselle Mather, who joined the club in July, spoke of the significance of announcement and the impact it will have on the growth of women’s rugby.

“This is a very special day for everyone involved with Ealing Trailfinders. It’s one of those moments that will be highlighted in our history for years to come. We are incredibly proud to have been successful and delighted to have the opportunity to bring elite female athletes, coaches and support staff to Ealing Trailfinders. The programme will not only benefit the 45 players selected in our Premier 15s squad, but will have a hugely positive impact on the growth and development of women’s rugby at all levels.”

Simon Sinclair, Chief Operating Officer of Ealing Trailfinders Academy and Women’s Programme, added his excitement and spoke of the benefit to the club’s already successful player pathways.

“This has been a huge effort and an enormous achievement from everyone involved at the club. Over the last few years we have invested heavily in building sustainable development pathways from the bottom up. We have partnered with several PODs (Places of Development), clubs and schools with thriving girl’s and women’s programmes, and created pathways for their talent to progress to elite rugby. We have set up a Women’s Academy at Brunel University and Henley College, alongside a comprehensive women’s programme at Cardinal Newman, with top class coaches, medical, fitness and support staff, to help players develop their rugby, while giving them the opportunity to study and prepare for their future. Having a clear and extensive pathway from school and club rugby to Premier 15s at Ealing Trailfinders will provide players with enormous opportunities.”

Ben Ward, Managing Director of Ealing Trailfinders Professional Rugby Management, spoke of the importance of the announcement and achieving the club’s 2022/23 objectives.

“This is a landmark moment in our club history and one that we’re extremely proud of. This season our objectives have been clear. Promotion to the Men’s Premiership, BUCS Super Rugby for our Men’s Academy at Brunel University and a full-time Women’s Premier 15s squad. To achieve one of these objectives just before Christmas, and be on track with the other two, is a huge testament to the investment and hard work of everyone involved in this process. I would like to thank the entire team at Ealing Trailfinders for their hard work during the application, with a huge thanks to the considerable investment and long-term support of club owner Sir Mike Gooley.”

Ealing Trailfinders Club Captain Steven Shingler added his thoughts and spoke of the exciting opportunity to work alongside elite female athletes.

“It’s absolutely brilliant to have a Premier 15s team here at Ealing Trailfinders. It highlights how far the club has come and will create an incredible playing atmosphere. Having the opportunity to train alongside female rugby players in a highly driven and elite environment will be a massive benefit to us all. We’re extremely excited by this news and we can’t wait to welcome the women’s squad to Ealing Trailfinders and support their progress and success over the coming years.”

Ealing Trailfinders will now commence the process of recruiting an exciting squad of players, coaches and staff for the upcoming 2023/24 Premier 15s season. More information will be circulated in due course.

Make sure to follow Ealing Trailfinders Women on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

For media interviews contact Tom Soulsby via: alex.reed@etprm.com or 07821 709 120.

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.”