Loughborough Lightning closed their JAECOO Next Gen Cup campaign with a hard‑fought 24-10 victory over Leicester Tigers at Loughborough University.
A tense first half at Epinal Way yielded only one scoring action as Ellie Tromans crossed for the hosts in front of a vocal home university crowd.
However, after the break, Lightning came out flying and added three further scores through Grace Clifford, Tamsin Baynes and Aoibhe Kelly to hold off a spirited fight from their East Midlands rivals to register their first win of the 2026/27 campaign.
FIRST HALF
Lightning made an attacking start, with captain Ellie Roberts breaking through the Tigers’ defensive line and finding space out wide. The move continued as the ball was brought back inside, creating an opportunity for Lightning to build pressure in the opposition half.
The breakthrough on the scoreboard arrived in the 12th minute, as Baynes threaded the ball through to Tromans to finish for her second try in as many games.
The African Violet continued to search for opportunities to extend their lead, with Amy Layzell making valuable ground after a line‑out. However, Leicester disrupted the attack with a turnover before clearing their lines.
Layzell then produced an important defensive intervention, bringing down a breakaway from Tigers single‑handedly.
Leicester knocked on the door and looked seemingly like they were in for a score through Halley Derera, but again a wall of African Violet kept the zero on the scoreboard intact, with Alice Bennett and Tromans defending their flanks resolutely.
SECOND HALF
Lightning started the second half with intent, as Carmela Morrall made significant ground with a powerful carry before being tackled just shy of the tryline. The supporting players kept their patience in the resulting close-range phases until Clifford picked up the ball and powered her way over the whitewash.
The hosts remained on the front foot and had a third try approaching the hour mark when Baynes once more wreaked havoc, arriving with force onto a Kelly pass to ride a tackle and reach out with her outstretched fingertips to finish.
Tigers finally got a scoreboard reward for their efforts when Hermione Fowler crossed after good hands from right to left, but it didn’t prompt a comeback for the East Midlands rivals.
Vice‑captain Morrall – by some distance Lightning’s most experienced appearance‑maker – showed her class to launch an attack that resulted in centre partner Molly Luthayi feeding Kelly to race down the left wing and under the posts to dot down, giving Morrall a tap‑in conversion.
Tigers refused to lie down, as Lagi Tuima used all of her power and experience close to the line to cross, but it wouldn’t impact the final result as Lightning ended their Cup run with a derby day win.
Loughborough Lightning’s next match is the opening game of the 2026/27 JAECOO PWR season when Trailfinders Women visit DPD Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens on Friday 20 November (kick-off: 7.30pm). Tickets are available by clicking HERE.
LINE-UPS:
LIGHTNING: 15 Amy Layzell, 14 Alice Bennett, 13 Molly Luthayi, 12 Carmela Morrall – vice captain, 11 Ellie Tromans, 10 Ella Barnes, 9 Ashton Adcock, 1 Amelia Williams, 2 Harli Stanton, 3 Grace Clifford, 4 Kaya Acton, 5 Tamsin Baynes, 6 Sasha Roberts, 7 Sarah Shrestha, 8 Ellie Roberts – captain
Replacements: 16 Tiwaah Adjei Ansere, 17 Churchy Knight, 18 Catherine Wells, 19 Emily Peters, 20 Mary McDonagh, 21 Aoibhe Kelly, 22 Alice Redfern, 23 Abbie Brown
TIGERS: 15 Isobel McGuire Evans, 14 Eve Slater, 13 Jemima McCalman, 12 Lagi Tuima, 11 Halley Derera, 10 Tess Feury ©, 9 Eneka Labeyrie; 1 Coco Lindelauf, 2 Alicia Watkins, 3 Nadine Vincent, 4 Charlotte Seale, 5 Hermione Farmer, 6 Cara Brincat, 7 Morgan Richardson, 8 Lucy Finch.
Replacements: 16 Beth Cregan, 17 Ellie Smith, 18 Clodagh Dunne, 19 Ali Coleman, 20 Summer Reeves, 21 Lucy Weaver, 22 Leah Brough, 23 Grace Deane.
Words by Honor Kendall.