Zackary leaves Trailfinders after PWR Final defeat but keeps club future open

Kate Zackary has left Ealing Trailfinders Women after captaining the club to their first Premiership Women’s Rugby Final, only to be beaten 52-14 by Saracens at the Twickenham Stoop. The USA flanker, 36, declined to confirm her next club when asked, offering only: “Who knows? Follow me on Instagram.”

Zackary joined Trailfinders at the start of their inaugural PWR season in 2023/24, having previously played for Exeter Chiefs, and leaves the club having helped transform them from seventh-place finishers into runners-up. Despite the heavy final defeat, she expressed confidence in the squad’s trajectory.

“It is a team who’s diverse,” she said. “It’s a team who’s exciting, and it’s a team who’s going to continue to grow and become one of the best, because now we’ve got a target on our backs. We’re no longer building and growing from seventh place, we’re walking away in second place, which is an amazing place to be.”

Before any decision on her club future, Zackary has international commitments on her mind. She is heading to South Africa with the USA Women’s Eagles for back-to-back Tests against the Springbok Women at Ellis Park and Loftus Versfeld, with her 50th cap the immediate prize.

Black Ferns prop Georgia Ponsonby paid tribute to the outgoing captain’s influence on the group. “She’s an amazing leader,” Ponsonby said. “She speaks with her words, but even more with her actions. Kate’s going to be a big loss, but what she’s achieved in the three years that she’s been here is huge.”

Zackary was part of an all-international back row in the final alongside England’s Abi Burton and Haidee Head, with Scotland captain Rachel Malcolm also featuring from the bench after returning from injury. Canada’s Maya Montiel opened Trailfinders’ scoring before Burton also crossed, but Saracens had already built an insurmountable lead, going four tries up by half-time and adding a fifth through Jess Breach immediately after the interval.

Saracens, drawing on the experience of five previous finals, claimed their first title since 2022. England Player of the Year Zoe Harrison and PWR Player of the Year Olivia Apps controlled proceedings behind the scrum, while World Rugby Women’s Player of the Year Sophie de Goede and Marlie Packer — playing her final match for the club — led a dominant pack performance. The result completed a clean sweep of three wins over Trailfinders for Saracens in the 2024/25 season.