How Meg Jones inspired Trailfinders to semi-final success against Gloucester Hartpury

Meg Jones wryly smiled when asked by TNT Sports’ Sarra Elgan who she wanted to play in the Premiership Women’s Rugby Final.

“Sarries,” she laughed.

England’s stand-in captain was freshly removed from inspiring Trailfinders Women’s 29-26 semi-final victory over Gloucester Hartpury. The 29-year-old was a try-scorer in the fixture and even provided the final touch for Emma Uren’s try. She was even influential in Isla Norman-Bell’s second effort of the game.

It was the first knockout game of rugby that Trailfinders have ever played. They take a place in the PWR final at the Twickenham Stoop in a fortnight’s time as just the second team to claim an away win in a PWR semi-final.

Barney Maddison’s team had a 17-point lead at the break thanks to those efforts from Jones, Uren and Norman-Bell, along with Maya Montiel’s 13th minute score that lessened the impact of Tatyana Heard’s opening score for the hosts.

Alongside TNT Sports pundits Ruby Tui and Katy Daley-McLean, the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 winner revealed that she used her big game experience to temper her teammates ahead of the winner-takes-all clash.

“I probably took a bit of my experience, in terms of big games, because we look at that team and a lot of us haven’t been in play-offs and high pressure situations,” Jones said.

“My job that week was to really just lower the tone and be like; there’s no pressure. The occasion is already big, let it be the occasion. That Shed is going to be giving you all sorts, so just take it in, calm voices, trust the process, we have just got to deliver on the day. We did that.”

On the flip side of Trailfinders semi-final victory are Gloucester Hartpury. Before the Guinness Women’s Six Nations break the West Country club looked set to claim a fourth PWR title in as many years.

In the three weeks since the English top flight returned Dan Murphy’s team have lost three matches. A win streak that extended all the way back to November 2024 was up in smoke.

It had also been announced that England internationals Zoe Stratford and Tatyana Heard were making their exit. And that El Perry, Rachel Lund and Bianca Blackburn would retire at the season’s end.

At full-time at the re-christened Queensholm Stadium, the club’s Head of Rugby bemoaned a poor first half as the primary reason for their final four exit.

“The first 40 minutes wasn’t the best representation of what we wanted to do,” Murphy said. “Our game management, especially our exit, didn’t function as well.

“Fair play to Trailfinders, they came with a game plan and executed it really well in that first half, getting their big game players into the game; Carys Cox, Meg Jones.

“We couldn’t deal with it in that first half. Second half we came out firing. We had a decision to make. It was our choice whether we wanted to turn up or not and we did, but we left ourselves a bit too much to do.”