Abby Dow wow’s Twickenham and the Ealing Girl’s Youth Squad

On Saturday 21st April a group of almost 50 players and their parents from the growing Ealing Trailfinders Girls Youth section had their first social rugby outing together. For most of the girls (and some parents) it was their first ever visit to Twickenham Stadium (along with 48,000 others). After a meet up at the Cabbage Patch and some interesting fancy dress entertainment beforehand the group then trudged south west a tad to watch the mighty Red Roses take on Ireland in the Women’s 6 Nations – and what a treat the Ealing Girls were in for both on and off the pitch!

With two of the Trailfinders Women’s players out on the pitch (Abby Dow with the England side and Shannon Ikahihifo with Ireland) it was an inspiring occasion for all spectators to witness such a high quality and fast paced display by the Red Roses. England oozed class from start to finish and ran away with a comfortable 88-10 victory over what is a very good Ireland, with Ealing’s Abby Dow bagging an hat-trick of amazing tries.

The inspiration for the young Ealing Girls Youth players watching didn’t finish at the 80 minute mark either – as they all stayed on to soak up the post-match Twickenham atmosphere. Much to the girls squeals of excitement they were joined near the corner flag by both Abby and Shannon who came over together to thank, chat with and take pics with their younger Ealing club mates. In chatting with Abby Dow one of the Ealing Girls Youth players, Isabella Macaulay-Coutts, proudly recalls (and tells anyone else that will listen) how she too has scored a try at Twickenham – when she played on the hallowed turf in a Minis Festival for Ealing Under 9s!

The Ealing Bobble Hats and bright orange hoodies really stand out amongst 48,000 spectators too. A big thank you to James Connolly for organising the outing to HQ for the girls and to Trailfinders Women’s Manager, Jojo Loxton for passing on the message that an excited group of Ealing Girls were attending – it really made for an inspiring occasion for the developing girls section.

Thank you Abby and Shannon.