The Richmond-Ealing Trailfinders U14 girls' team, a cluster squad of 27 players from Richmond RFC and Ealing Trailfinders, is making a strong impression in their first season together. Comprising mainly Year 8 and some Year 9 players, they have quickly developed into a competitive side.

January 2025 marked the beginning of the Surrey Cup, a round-robin tournament split into two tiers. Richmond-Ealing Trailfinders (RFC-ET) compete in Tier Two, facing five other Surrey teams between January and April. Their Cup campaign has started on a high note.

Their first fixture was postponed due to bad weather, leading to consecutive weekends of Cup matches. In Round One, they travelled to face Wimbledon U14s. Richmond-Trailfinders took an early lead and, despite a determined Wimbledon comeback, the visitors managed to hold on for a dramatic 25-24 victory.

Round Two saw them face Sutton & Epsom / Old Rutlishians (Suts & Ruts) at home in harsh weather conditions. The visitors struck first, putting Richmond-Trailfinders on the back foot. Player of the Match, Cameron, responded with an equalizing try after sustained pressure.

The second half saw Suts & Ruts regain the lead, but Richmond-Trailfinders fought back. A well-timed try by Catherine levelled the score at 10-10 with five minutes left. In a nail-biting finish, Richmond-Trailfinders launched a final attack. Luisa passed to Charlotte, who sprinted from the halfway line, dodging defenders to score a last-minute try, securing a 15-10 victory.

With two wins from two, Richmond-Ealing Trailfinders U14s are top of the table and have made an impressive start to their Surrey Cup campaign. Exciting times lie ahead for this determined young squad!

The coaching squad said… ‘The girls really dug in for each other until the very last minute, in genuinely terrible conditions and were rewarded with a hard earned victory - a real team performance and delighted to see them celebrating together as a squad’

Winning try scorer combination Luisa and Charlotte told us “I think the team really came together and we all fought hard, it was an amazing feeling to win that match! I loved it!” said Louisa. “We defended hard and took our chances. The opportunity to score the winning try was incredible, and a result of all the hard work by the whole team. We fought so hard, it was amazing” said Charlotte.

Get Involved
Richmond-Ealing Trailfinders train on Wednesday evenings at Ealing Trailfinders, Thursday evenings at Richmond Athletic Ground, and train or play on Sunday mornings.

The team spirit these girls have is fantastic, any girls out there who are interested in trying rugby, please get in touch!

For more information or to join this exciting cluster, please contact Jon Besser at Jonathan_besser@yahoo.com