Ruby TUI has signed for Trailfinders Women after two weeks of social media clues about whether her rugby career was still going. The move gives the JAECOO Premiership Women’s Rugby runners-up a Rugby World Cup 2021 winner and a former Black Ferns Sevens standout. For a club that finished second last season, that is not cosmetic.
Two weeks of clues
Across the past two weeks, Tui had been teasing her future on social media, and the trail ended with a move that settles the speculation around where she would play next. In June, she returned to 15-a-side rugby for the first time in almost a year when the Barbarians faced Wales at Allianz Stadium.
That appearance already hinted she had not stepped away from the game, even if the layoff had been long enough to make any club decision feel open-ended. The signing answers that pause with a clear destination and puts Trailfinders Women into the conversation as a side willing to build around a player with a title-winning record.
Trailfinders Women and Barney Maddison
Barney Maddison called Tui one of the most respected figures in the women’s game and said her experience of winning at the very highest level, plus the energy and leadership she brings off the pitch, will be an enormous asset as the squad pushes on from last season. He added that Trailfinders Women were thrilled to welcome her to the club.
Trailfinders Women’s position gives the signing extra weight. They were beaten 52-14 by Saracens in the PWR final at the Twickenham Stoop last season, so adding Tui is a statement about the level they want to reach next.
Portia Woodman-Wickliffe and Meg Jones
Tui said Portia Woodman-Wickliffe and Meg Jones helped persuade her not to hang up her boots. She said: “My friends Portia Woodman-Wickliffe and Meg Jones helped me, [they] really had a massive input on making the decision.”
She also said: “They probably don’t know that, but I wanted to reference them in the videos on purpose because I think Portia is the greatest rugby player that has ever played the game and Meg is currently the best player in the world so two people to listen to.” That is the sharpest clue to how she handled the decision: public hints first, then a club move that turns the talk into a roster change.
The one detail still hanging over the deal is the contract length. Tui’s signing solves the immediate future, but not the scale of the commitment, and that is the number readers will watch for next.
