In their second year of Premiership Women’s Rugby, and with a first-time head coach at the helm, we’re finally getting a glimpse of the team Trailfinders Women have been building. Round 15 of the PWR saw a few upsets with Trailfinders taking the scalp of play-off fighting Bristol Bears by a point- one of the biggest talking points this season.
Further back than this, their last three results saw a resounding win over Leicester Tigers and narrow losses to top four side Harlequins Women and reigning champions Gloucester-Hartpury. It has to be said that Trailfinders’ seventh place in the table belies their many steps forward on the field. We sat down with Barney Maddison to discuss taking up the reins at the club, building for the future and being underdgos.
It’s fair to say that Maddison went into summer with no expectations of taking on his current role. “I was on the coaching team for Trailfinders Women all last year”, he tells us, referring to his role as forward coach under previous Director of Rugby Giselle Mather.
‘This Energy Never Stops’ – Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025
‘This Energy Never Stops’ – Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025
“So I was playing for the men, alongside coaching the women’s team. I was six weeks into pre-season when the opportunity came about. I’m 35 years old [and] it felt like a good time. I was sat in the changing rooms during pre-season, with a 17 year old sat next to me… it was probably the right time.”
That transition from being part of the team to leading it, seemed like a natural one and probably moreso with Maddison having been a key player in the men’s side over a number of years. A lock in the classic mould, he was always a player who could be relied upon to do all the fundamentals well, a quality that saw him leave Ealing for a period to head a little to the south west to Sunbury and play for London Irish, before returning to Vallis Way and once again, establishing himself as one of the first names on the team sheet.
Even so, when the opportunity arose, it came as a bit of a shock. “I’ve always wanted to go into coaching, and I knew the players well from being here all last year, but it happened quickly. Having worked with the girls before, it felt easier in that sense though.
“Being the head coach comes with added considerations and one of those is looking ahead and planning for the future of the team. “I’m working on recruitment for next year. Ben Ward (DoR across all teams at Trailfinders) is helping me out, but I’m responsible for the recruitment for Trailfinders Women.”
That means trying to build a team to meet their new head coach’s philosophy. Mather’s teams have always leaned toward free-flowing attacking rugby, but what does Maddison’s vision look like?
“You want to have balance. You can have the best backline in the world, but if you haven’t got any ball from a solid forward pack it’s pointless. Is our balance where it needs to be? Probably not. It’s something we’ll continue to look at, making sure we’ve got a really solid set piece, solid pack and solid backline next year and moving forward.”
Part of the recruitment process for any team is ensuring a pipeline of future talent. The success of Gloucester-Hartpury has been built on the Hartpury College pipeline, while Loughborough and Exeter have also benefitted hugely from university rugby. When Trailfinders won their bid to join the PWR, a key factor was the local links they had built with Henley College and Brunel University.
“Our partnership with Brunel is massive!” Maddison tells us. “We have a group of girls who come in and train with us most weeks as part of our transition pathway. If we can build a part of our squad from homegrown talent, it would be huge for us, with EQP (English Qualified Player) rules and the like. We’re trying to provide the best rugby programme in the country, that’s our goal. We’re moving in the right direction.”
They’re also leveraging their geographic position, with Championship sides like Richmond and London Irish Emeralds close by. “Ross Doneghan at Richmond is someone I speak to on a regular basis. If our girls aren’t getting the game time they need, they can go there and get some games in.
“You can train and train, but players need that game time so it’s really important to us, as is the team at Brunel. If all goes to plan they (Brunel University) will go up into the top league next season – Super BUCS, which will be a massive selling point for them and us, and great for player development.”
As most involved in the world of coaching will know, winning the support of your players is not just achieved with results on the pitch, as Maddison explains.
“We’re player-lead in terms of our culture. I want the players to have ownership of what they’re doing because, at the end of the day, they’re the ones taking to the field and playing the games. We want to give as much responsibility to the squad as possible. For me it’s not about being coaches and players, I’m very big on us all being part of the same team, with our own roles but working to the same goal.
“Part of balancing that culture is understanding that players who achieve high honours aren’t always available, and Trailfinders Women have a number of GB Sevens players in their squad, which means they are often without the likes of Ellie Boatman, Emma Uren and others.
“Whenever they’re here in this environment they add a lot to it. Obviously, the more we can have access to them the better for us, but they have a pretty packed out schedule on the sevens circuit.
“Obviously, I’ve got a relationship with Giselle (Mather) and we speak often, every couple of weeks, and I’m trying to build to a point where if we really need those players we have access to them.”
While Trailfinders are well shy of fixing a playoff place this season, their remaining regular season matches should provide some entertaining rugby with matches against Saracens, Loughborough Lightning, and Leicester Tigers.
Given their recent form they will be trouble for any team and with the work they are doing off the field they are continuing to move forward and be an outfit who warrant keeping a close eye on.
