Most sagas last longer than three years, but the last three years for Trailfinders Women have seen a host of adventures, shocks and about-turns.
I’ll keep you waiting for the Big One..
They were one of two clubs allowed into the PWR league two years ago, along with Leicester Tigers.
One oddity was that they replaced Wasps, a club sited just a mile or two away in west London. Then, more oddly, the Wasps head coach, Giselle Mather, was chosen to start fashioning a new TF side out of nothing. She scouted the world, including the 2021 (2022) World Cup, to help build a side that could hold its head high.
The next shock: after a year in charge Mather was kicked out, a disagreement with the director of rugby being cited as the cause. It was never explained; of course not. Since Mather had most of the credentials needed to be appointed Simon Middleton’s successor as Head Coach of the Red Roses, this seemed a suicidal call by the people who wield the authority.
Barney Maddison was appointed in her place. Last season he built on Mather’s groundwork , seeing the team finish seventh out of nine, but giving top teams a real fight.
The latest chapter
On 16 June Trailfinders suddenly posted the names of no fewer than sixteen players who were leaving the club. Given the number of players PWR clubs need these days, that figure was not all that surprising. But the names were.
Above all, Abby Dow, the most feared and admired winger in world rugby at present. She speaks of a “difference of philosophy” from the past that forces her to end her contract at Vallis Way.
This announcement has an almost identical ring to it as Mather’s two years ago. Dow had played in Mather’s Wasps team until the club folded. She moved temporarily to Quins, but switched soon enough to Ealing; we can only assume, in order to renew her connection with her coach.
Some of the other leavers are less of a surprise: for example Tyson Beukeboom, the senior member of the Canada squad, may well be setting a final appearance at a World Cup as her swansong. But Liz Crake, another Red Rose and ex-Wasps forward, is also quitting.
Ben Ward, the Ealing boss, was responsible for Mather’s departure and has appeared unwilling to avoid the damage done to the club by Dow’s statement.
Ealing Trailfinders is very much self-controlled, coaches always seeming to come from within the circle of former players. Maddison is one, Ward another. The men’s team has been all-conquering in the Championship (aka Div. 2), but has consistently failed to meet the Premiership’s ground requirements.
During the close season the women’s squad has been enriched by a number of outstanding signings. Led by Meg Jones (also ex-Wasps), they include Claire Gallagher, the Canada fly-half, and Francesca McGhie, the Scotland winger. They won’t be short of talent, but they will be short of the star quality they should have looked after better.
We won’t hold our breath waiting for a woman to be appointed head coach of a PWR club. Men seem to know better.
Next question: where will we next see Dow? Wearing a while shirt only?
