One day after Giselle Mather’s shock departure Barney Maddison has been appointed head coach of Trailfinders Women.
Like Ben Ward, the Director who dismissed Mather, Maddison is an inside product, having played for TF and been an assistant coach. His CV includes coaching roles at Sheffield Hallam and Bracknell, scarcely key positions in the rugby firmament.
His new side will trot out to play Sarries at StoneX next weekend. Hoho.
This news confirms my fears that yet another man would be granted the privilege of leading a PWR club; we are left with precisely two women in charge.
What is particularly distasteful about the club statement is the complete absence of reference to his predecessor. Instead we have a veiled reference to wanting to improve on what has already been established last year, Ward, having praised Maddison to the skies, says he is looking to see the club compete at the top end of the PWR.
The speed with which this announcement came (24 hours after the bomb fell) reveals that Ward had planned his action some way back. Whether he had taken all the players into his confidence is another matter. Let’s hope there has been no call for total silence on their part.
How does the PWR board view this news? That’s something else we may never learn.
Mather was appointed in July 2022. Presumably the people in charge at Vallis Way were well aware of her rugby philosophy then. How come their view of her approach has altered so drastically in twenty-five months?
It’s even possible we may discover some answers in the future, but I doubt it.
A reminder: Mather built the team from scratch, leading it to sixth position in its first year, a quite remarkable achievement.
I suspect this story has a few more chapters still to be written.
An unofficial CV
I’ve amused myself by compiling names of international players Mather assembled to play for her two elite women’s clubs, Wasps and Trailfinders Women (that is, 2017-24). Without having recourse to any encyclopaedic source giving every detail of rugby history, I’ve arrived at the following list. I’m very aware it is incomplete (my apologies to players omitted), but it is distinctly long. To these names we may well be able to add others who are close to international honours in the immediate future.
Abby Dow (England)
Abi Burton (England 7s)
Amy Cokayne (England)
Amy Wilson Hardy (England and England 7s)
Bryony Cleall (England)
Caity Mattinson (England and Scotland)
Carys Cox (Wales)
Carys Williams-Morris (England and Wales)
Celia Quansah (England 7s)
Chloe Rollie (Scotland)
Claire Molloy (Ireland)
Ciara Cooney (Ireland)
Claudia Macdonald (England)
Cliodhna Moloney (Ireland)
Cristina Blanco (Spain)
Edel McMahon (Ireland)
Elisa Riffonneau (France)
Ella Amory (Belgium 7s)
Ellie Boatman (England 7s)
Ellie Kildunne (England and England and GB 7s)
Emma Swords (Ireland)
Emma Uren (England 7s)
Emma Taylor (Canada)
Grace Moore (Ireland)
Harriet Millar-Mills (England)
Heather Kerr (England)
Julia Schell (Canada)
Justine Lucas (England)
Kate Zackary (USA)
Katie Mason (England and England 7s)
Kie Tamai (Japan)
Lindelwa Gwala (South Africa)
Lisa Thomson (Scotland and GB 7s))
Liz Crake (England)
Maud Muir (England)
Meg Jones (England and England and GB 7s)
Meya Bizer (USA)
Nolli Waterman (England and England 7s)
Nora Baltruweit (Germany)
Rocky Clark (England)
Rowena Burnfield (England)
Sadia Kabeya (England)
Sam Monaghan (Ireland)
Sara Seye (Italy)
Shannon Ikahihifo (Ireland)
Tyson Beukeboom (Canada)
Try picking a team out of that collection – or perhaps two, to make your task easier.
