Saracens reclaim PWR crown as 52-14 final win over Trailfinders confirms women's rugby command in London

Saracens reclaimed the Premiership Women’s Rugby title with a dominant final

Saracens convincingly won the title in the Premiership Women’s Rugby final at Twickenham Stoop in London on 28 June 2026, defeating Trailfinders Women 52:14. According to the official PWR report, the London final was effectively decided in the first half, in which Saracens scored 26 unanswered points and turned Trailfinders’ early pressure into their own tactical advantage. It was the end of a season in which Alex Austerberry’s team combined forward-pack power, rapid transition through the outside channels and highly efficient execution of entries into the opponents’ 22 metres. The official match statistics show that Saracens scored eight tries and six conversions, while Trailfinders responded with two tries and two conversions.

The 52:14 result gave Saracens their first domestic title in four years, Premiership Women’s Rugby states in its match report. The club thereby ended a period in which the summit of English women’s club rugby had belonged to Gloucester Hartpury, and the victory also carried strong symbolism after Saracens’ defeat in last season’s closing stage. According to Saracens’ club report, the team won the title as its 17th domestic trophy, returning to the top of a competition that in recent years has become increasingly crowded and more uncertain in terms of results. The final was played in front of 8,099 spectators, PWR reported, which further highlighted the growing visibility of women’s club rugby in England.

Trailfinders’ early misses opened space for a shift in rhythm

Although the final score suggests a one-way match, the opening minutes were not easy for Saracens. According to the official PWR report, Trailfinders Women entered the final bravely, used their opponents’ mistakes and, through Carys Cox and Meg Jones, launched a dangerous counterattack that brought them close to the try line. However, the west London team failed to convert its first breaks into points, which proved decisive for the further course of the contest. Saracens escaped the pressure by winning a penalty in the scrum, and then punished their opponents’ missed chances.

The first try came in the 12th minute, when Julia Omokhuale, later named player of the final according to PWR’s report on Trailfinders’ reaction, finished an attack from close range. Zoe Harrison struck the conversion and Saracens took control of the scoreline. In that period, discipline in contact and efficiency after set pieces were especially important. Saracens’ club report notes that Marlie Packer had previously won a penalty at the ruck, and Harrison’s kick to touch enabled a lineout from which the first score was created. That sequence of events showed the broader picture of the final: Trailfinders had periods of possession and territory, but Saracens took points from the key situations.

After the opening lead came the most important surge of the match. Packer, in her farewell appearance for Saracens after nine years in the red-and-black shirt, scored twice in the first half, PWR states. The first try came after another platform from a set piece, and the second from a similar pressure zone, giving Saracens a 19:0 lead. The fourth try of the first half was scored by Sydney Gregson after Alysha Corrigan’s break and a quick exchange of the ball through the line, increasing the advantage to 26:0. By half-time, the final had already taken a clear direction, although Trailfinders had a numerical advantage late in the half after Gabrielle Senft’s yellow card.

The second half confirmed the breadth of Saracens’ attack

Trailfinders’ hope that, with an extra player, they could immediately reduce the deficit disappeared at the start of the second half. PWR states that Jess Breach broke through the defence as early as the 41st minute and scored Saracens’ fifth try, despite attempts by Meg Jones and Rosie Inman to stop her at the end of the move. Soon afterwards, Alysha Corrigan, one of the key figures in linking the lines, scored in the corner after another move that quickly moved the ball from one side of the pitch to the other. At the start of the second half, Saracens thus showed that their dominance was not limited only to play through the forwards and set pieces, but also extended to width, speed and timing in the outside line.

Trailfinders Women nevertheless found a response. Maya Montiel scored the first try for her team, and Rosie Inman converted, giving the debutant finalist its first points in the final. However, according to PWR’s report, the respite was short because Zoe Harrison soon found space through the defence herself, scored under the posts and converted her own try. That moment further emphasised her role in controlling the match. Harrison directed the game with her kicking, shaped the rhythm and converted most of the kicks after tries, and her contribution gave Saracens stability precisely at the moments when the opponent was trying to extend the contest.

Trailfinders’ second score came after Packer’s yellow card in the 63rd minute. Abi Burton broke through a series of phases along the try line, and Niamh Gallagher struck the conversion. That sequence showed the character of Barney Maddison’s team, but not a realistic possibility of a full comeback. Saracens left the final word to Breach, who scored her second try of the half and sealed the 52:14 result. According to PWR’s official statistics, Saracens gained 691 metres in the match compared with Trailfinders’ 445 metres, had 18 clean breaks compared with 12 and scored all 52 points from 15 entries into the opponents’ 22 metres.

The statistics reveal a difference in execution, not only in possession

Official Premiership Women’s Rugby data show that the final margin was not created by Saracens’ complete territorial dominance. Trailfinders, according to the same source, had 55 percent of territory, while Saracens had 53 percent of possession. But execution was decisive: Saracens scored 52 points from 15 entries into the opponents’ 22 metres, while Trailfinders scored 14 points from ten such entries. That is the difference that explains why the match quickly moved away from its initial uncertainty and into the control of the team that turned its chances into a concrete result.

The numbers further underline the burden on the Trailfinders defence. PWR records that Trailfinders had to make 189 tackles, while Saracens made 143. At the same time, Saracens had 173 carries and 14 passes after contact, while Trailfinders recorded 140 carries and 11 offloads. Although Trailfinders, according to the official statistics, won a greater number of scrums and lineouts, Saracens used the situations in which they could speed up the game more efficiently. Their ability to gain ground from set pieces and then quickly move the ball toward the wings was the main tactical pattern of the final.

RugbyPass stated in its post-match analysis that Saracens achieved a record number of points in a PWR final and the largest winning margin in the competition’s final. Such an assessment fits the impression of a match in which the score was built not only through physical superiority, but also through better attacking structure. In the first half, Saracens punished every Trailfinders inaccuracy, and in the second they showed they could accelerate the game even when the opponent had more space or a numerical advantage. In finals, where details often decide matters, that combination of discipline and explosiveness produced a 38-point difference.

Packer’s farewell and Austerberry’s return to the top

One of the central stories of the final was Marlie Packer. According to PWR and The Guardian’s match preview report, this was her farewell to Saracens before moving to Harlequins. Packer marked the final with two tries in the first half, a yellow card in the second and an important role in the energy of a team that sought physical dominance from the start. Her performance was not only statistically important; it served as an emotional frame for Saracens, who, after last year’s defeat to Gloucester Hartpury, wanted to end the season with a clear message about returning to the top.

Coach Alex Austerberry said after the final, according to PWR, that Saracens had started raising the standard in women’s rugby again. In doing so, he acknowledged that Gloucester Hartpury had set the bar with their titles, but added that the new champions must now accept the pressure that comes with the trophy. In PWR’s text, Austerberry emphasises that there is now a target on the champions’ backs, which is the typical reality after a dominant final. An important part of his message also related to the learning process after last season’s defeat: the team that learns the most lessons fastest, the coach said, most often comes to the title.

For Saracens, this was also their first title in the current PWR era, alongside a return to the level of success from the Premier 15s period. The club’s official profile on the PWR website describes Saracens as one of the most decorated and most competitive teams in the league, with a strong international squad and a long history of fighting for the biggest titles. In the 2025/26 season, Saracens, according to PWR data, finished the regular season in second place behind Gloucester Hartpury, with a record of 14 wins and two defeats. In the playoffs they then defeated Exeter Chiefs 40:38 in a dramatic semi-final, before playing the most complete match of the closing stage in the final.

Trailfinders ended a historic season with a painful defeat

For Trailfinders Women, the final ended in disappointment, but also in confirmation of the greatest season in the club’s history. PWR states that the team appeared in the final for the first time after eliminating Gloucester Hartpury, the three-time consecutive champions, in the semi-final. The Guardian described that result as one of the biggest surprises in PWR history, and additional context is provided by the fact that Trailfinders finished the regular season in fourth place. In its preview of the final, the same newspaper noted that no team that finished the season fourth had previously won the PWR title.

Coach Barney Maddison did not want his team, after the match, to experience its final appearance as sufficient in itself. According to PWR, Maddison said that Trailfinders did not want to be seen as a side satisfied simply with reaching the final, but as a team that must draw fuel for next season from defeat. His analysis was clear: reaching the final brings pride, but defeat must leave discomfort that can be turned into energy for a new attempt. That is especially important for a club that, in a short period, has risen from outsider status to a team capable of beating the defending champions.

Captain Kate Zackary also ended her period with Trailfinders, PWR states. In her reflection after the final, she pointed out that in the first half the team talked too much about what Saracens were doing well instead of staying focused on its own game. That message describes well the difference between the first and second halves. Trailfinders were freer after the break, scored two tries and showed more cohesion, but by then they were already chasing too large a deficit. Their season therefore ends with two parallel feelings: a historic step forward and a clear awareness of how much more is needed to win a trophy.

A final that shows the broadening competition in women’s club rugby

The wider significance of the final lies not only in Saracens’ title, but also in the dynamics of the entire season. Gloucester Hartpury, the three-time consecutive champion, lost the semi-final to Trailfinders, while Saracens reached the final after a dramatic victory over Exeter. After the semi-finals, The Guardian judged that this year’s closing matches were among the most evenly contested in the league’s recent period, which points to increasingly deep competition in English women’s club rugby. Although the final ended with a large margin, the route to it showed that the circle of clubs capable of attacking the closing stage is widening.

The stage itself also carried additional symbolism. According to The Guardian’s preview, the final was returned to Twickenham Stoop for the first time in a decade, a stadium in London that in 2016 was connected with an important television breakthrough for women’s club rugby in the United Kingdom. The role of referee was taken by Holly Wood, about whom The Guardian stated that she refereed the final 86 days after giving birth, which PWR chair Genevieve Shore described before the match as an inspiring return. Such details give the final additional context beyond the result itself, in a season in which there is increasingly frequent talk about the growth of professionalism, visibility and standards in the competition.

Saracens enter the new season as the team that opponents will target in particular, while Trailfinders enter it as a finalist that received confirmation it belongs at the top. According to PWR’s official data, Saracens showed attacking efficiency and squad depth in the final, while Trailfinders confirmed that even after a difficult first half they can find a response and maintain their playing identity. For that reason, the 2025/26 closing stage left a double message: the title went convincingly to Saracens, but the league as a whole looks more open than in the period of one club’s complete dominance. It is precisely that combination of a great champion’s return and the rise of new challengers that will shape discussions ahead of the next PWR season.

Sources:
- Premiership Women’s Rugby – official report of the Saracens - Trailfinders Women final and chronology of key tries (link)
- Premiership Women’s Rugby – official match centre, result and statistics of the final at Twickenham Stoop (link)
- Premiership Women’s Rugby – Alex Austerberry’s statement after winning the title and context of Saracens’ return to the top (link)
- Premiership Women’s Rugby – reactions from Barney Maddison and Trailfinders Women after the final (link)
- Saracens – club match report and additional details on the course of the final (link)
- The Guardian – semi-final context, Trailfinders’ surprise against Gloucester Hartpury and Saracens’ route to the final (link)
- The Guardian – final preview, wider context of Trailfinders, Saracens, Marlie Packer and referee Holly Wood (link)
- RugbyPass – post-final analysis and information on the record score in the PWR closing stage (link)