It been quite a season for NIAMH GALLAGHER, with the former Enfield Tiger collecting a runner up medal, as part of the Trailfinders side beaten 52-14 by a fired-up Saracens outfit in the Professional Women’s Rugby final at the Stoop last Sunday (June 28).

Introduced off the bench on 50 minutes as a replacement for Rosie Inman, the utility back made her mark by rifling over her team’s second conversion, which also coincided with Trailfinders’ best spell of the game.

After successfully weathering early Trailfinders’ pressure in the first ten minutes, Saracens turned the game on its head by dominating the rest of the half after forging a 26-0 half-time lead.

There was no let-up after the break, with Sarries’ underscoring their dominance by adding a further four tries to the ledger, with Trailfinders, in the form of consolation scores, manufacturing a couple of tries of their own by way of reply.

It’s been a bonanza season for Niamh, who celebrated her first full senior caps earlier in the year following the wins against Wales and Scotland in the Women’s Six Nations Championship.

Her call up to Emerald Isle ranks was also a reflection of her impressive domestic form in the Women’s Premiership, as in addition to scoring four tries for Trailfinders, she excelled from the tee after landing 24 conversions, for a total haul of 68 points.

Niamh was also shortlisted for the PWR Breakthrough Player of the Season award, which went the way of Haineala Lutui (Loughborough Lightning).

It’s also been quite a season for Trailfinders, too, for as relative newcomers to a league that they only joined in 2023, they did very well to make the play-offs, having finished fourth in the end of season rankings.

This set up them with a semi-final play-off against one of the powerhouses of the women’s game, Gloucester-Hartpury, the past winners of three titles, with the west Londoners upsetting the formbook by claiming an epic 29-26 upset win.
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