PWR: Leicester Tigers 19-40 Trailfinders - Cassandra Tuffnail stars as Londoners stun hosts

Sunday, 22 February 2026 at 17:16

byMegan Carthew

By Megan Carthew

Leicester Tigers were defeated once again, this time by Trailfinders. However, notable improvement could be seen from the Midlands side, with Leicester taking the lead at one stage in the first half and scoring their first points of 2026 after heavy defeats of 81–0 to Saracens and 36–0 to Exeter Chiefs.

Final Score: Leicester Tigers 19–40 Trailfinders

A cagey opening five minutes saw possession flip back and forth between the two sides, with neither able to hold onto the ball for more than a few phases.

Despite some decent defending from the hosts in the early stages, Trailfinders found a way through. Cassandra Tuffnail opened the scoring for the afternoon, with Niamh Gallagher adding the extras.

Leicester responded quickly. Jemima McCalman made a great run through the middle to score the Tigers’ first points of 2026, and a successful conversion from Tess Feury brought the sides level at seven apiece.

Leicester then took the lead for the first time through a driving maul, with hooker Micke Gunter powering over the line.

Trailfinders regained momentum in attack, keeping the ball tight among the forwards, and were rewarded when Cassandra Tuffnail crossed for her second try of the game to level the scores. Niamh Gallagher converted to hand the lead back to the visitors.

Trailfinders finished the half strongly, with Gallagher adding a further seven points to the tally with a well-taken solo try and conversion, extending the visitors’ lead to nine points.

Half-Time Score: Leicester Tigers 12–21 Trailfinders

Leicester came out quickly after the break, but Trailfinders defended well. It wasn’t long before the visitors were back on the attack and stretching their lead further, as Emma Wassell secured their fourth try of the match to push the advantage to 14 points with 55 minutes played.

Leicester attempted to respond and made positive inroads, but Trailfinders held firm. The visitors were briefly reduced to 14 players when Grace White was shown a yellow card for a high tackle, giving Tigers a potential opening.

However, despite being a player down, Trailfinders continued to press. Replacement forward Annabel Meta powered over to score their fifth try, extending the lead to 23 points.

In the closing stages, Trailfinders launched wave after wave of attack, which eventually paid off as Jess Cooksey crossed the line. Leicester had the final say, though, reducing the deficit to 21 points with a well-taken try from Georgie Langham in the final minute of the game.

Leicester Tigers: 12

Tries: McCalman (10’) Gunter (28’) Lingham (80’)

Conversions: Feury (11’ 80’)

Starting XV: 1 Ellie Smith, 2 Micke Gunter, 3 Nadine Vincent, 4 Deni Ross, 5 Emerson Allen, 6 Hermione Farmer, 7 Morgan Richardson, 8 Tiana Gordon, 9 Eneka Labeyrie, 10 Tess Feury (c), 11 Carolina Kacirkova, 12 Jemima McCalman, 13 Emily Henrich, 14 Eve Slater, 15 Amelie Anstead

Replacements: 16 Alicia Watkins, 17 Jordan Russell, 18 Clodagh Dunne, 19 Leah Heath, 20 Georgie Lingham, 21 Jenny Maxwell, 22 Kristin Bitter, 23 Abileigh Priestnall

Trailfinders: 21

Tries: Tuffnail (8’ 33’) Gallagher (39’) Wassell (55’) Meta (71’) Cooksey (79’)

Conversions: Gallagher (9’ 34’ 40’ 55’)

Yellow Cards: White (61’)

Starting XV: 1 Alivia Leatherman, 2 Niamh Swailes, 3 Cassandra Tuffnail, 4 Emma Wassell, 5 Shya Pinnock, 6 Emma Taylor, 7 Sally Williams, 8 Abi Burton (c), 9 Isla Norman-Bell, 10 Ella Amory, 11 Rosie Inman, 12 Jess Cooksey, 13 Emma Uren, 14 Grace White, 15 Niamh Gallagher

Replacements: 16 Hayley Jones, 17 Annabel Meta, 18 Maya Montiel, 19 Cara Brincat, 20 Haidee Head, 21 Brooke Bradley, 22 Vicky Laflin, 23 Ellie Boatman