World Cup winner Ruby Tui signs for Trailfinders Women
Ruby Tui, a Rugby World Cup winner and Olympic gold medallist, has signed a one-year deal with Trailfinders Women — the Ealing-based club who reached last season's Premiership Women's Rugby final.
The 34-year-old New Zealand international's arrival ends roughly a fortnight of speculation and social-media clues about her club future, during which fans had been piecing together hints about where she would land (RugbyPass).
Tui's rugby résumé is among the most decorated in the women's game. She was a central figure in the New Zealand side that beat England 34-31 in the 2021 Women's Rugby World Cup final — a match widely regarded as one of the greatest in the sport's history. She holds Olympic gold and silver medals from rugby sevens, the seven-a-side, faster-paced variant of the 15-player game, and was named World Rugby's women's sevens player of the year in 2019 (BBC Sport).
Trailfinders head coach Barney Maddison called Tui one of the most respected figures in the women's game, saying her experience, energy and leadership would be an enormous asset to the squad (BBC Sport). The club, who play at Trailfinders Sports Club in west London, were beaten finalists in last season's JAECOO Premiership Women's Rugby competition — the top flight of English women's club rugby.
Tui herself described the Premiership Women's Rugby competition as the biggest and best in the world and said the Trailfinders squad had been welcoming (BBC Sport). Speaking earlier this year, in an interview with BBC Scrum V on 8 May 2026, she said she thought the future looked "really good" (BBC Scrum V).
For Trailfinders, bringing in a player of Tui's pedigree is a clear statement of intent. Having fallen at the final hurdle last time out, they have added a forward — Tui plays in the back row — who has performed on the sport's biggest stages and knows what it takes to win them. The new Premiership Women's Rugby season will show how quickly she settles into the English club game and whether her presence can help Trailfinders go one step further.
For the league itself, the arrival of another marquee southern-hemisphere name adds to a growing list of international talent drawn to English women's rugby — a trend that has lifted the competition's profile and intensity season on season.
