Loughborough Lightning’s defensive resolve and belief in attack were highlighted as pillars of their 24-10 victory over Leicester Tigers by coach Matt Campbell.
Ellie Tromans’ try was all that separated the sides at the break at Loughborough University, as both teams threw the kitchen sink at an opportunity to claim a first JAECOO Next Gen Cup victory of the season on Saturday afternoon.
Lightning pulled clear in the second half courtesy of scores from Grace Clifford, Tamsin Baynes and Aoibhe Kelly – but two tries from Tigers kept the contest on a knife-edge through to the closing passages of play.
“The desire from the group and the hunger when we were on our own try line to actually not give up and get the ball back was really impressive,” said Campbell. “There were four really pleasing defensive sets in the first half that we did really well in. I am really proud of it.
“From our point of view, we left quite a few scores out there in the first half, and it was mainly through 50:50 offloads. There is a really good opportunity for us to grow from that.
“Tigers made us work really hard for the win. Historically, results haven’t gone their way, so it is great to see they are building as well.”
Lightning, like Tigers, entered Saturday’s game in search of their first win of the pool stages at the final opportunity. Across the losses to Sale, Saracens and Exeter Chiefs, Lightning blooded 11 debutants – experience that will bode well for the start of the JAECOO PWR season, which gets underway in a month’s time when Trailfinders Women visit DPD Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens on Friday 20 November (kick-off: 7.30pm) – tickets are available by clicking HERE.
Reflecting on the Cup block, Campbell added: “The main messaging from me has been around the opportunities that we are creating. We are not taking them all the time, but from our point of view, they are such a young group.
“If you take the Saracens game, for example, we are getting into really good positions but not pulling the trigger or making small mistakes. We are just focusing on saying ‘you are really good rugby players, you just need to start believing it’ and putting it into practice.”
Campbell steered Loughborough University to their first BUCS Super Rugby Milk Championship title in 21 years earlier this year, and in the opening months of this season has seen many of that squad take leading roles in a Lightning shirt.
“It has been great to see Sarah [Shrestha] come back from a really serious knee injury. She was amazing in BUCS last year, and to see her step back into this Lightning space and perform how she has has been awesome,” explained Campbell. “Ellie [Roberts] has led amazingly well as captain, and Sasha, her sister, has really stepped up as well. She was with Lightning last pre-season and potentially looked a little bit out of her depth at times, then had a really successful season in BUCS.
"Her performances towards the end of last season really showed her potential, and she has ripped in this year and really taken her opportunities. She looks like a really good player.”
During the off-season, Lightning saw hooker options Elis Martin and Kendall Waudby leave the club, while Kathryn Treder and Kiki Odowu are away on WXV Global Series duty, and Lucy Calladine continues her rehabilitation from major knee surgery. That created an opportunity for BUCS hooker Harli Stanton to wear the No.2 shirt for all four Cup games.
“Harli has stepped up unbelievably well,” praised Campbell. “Again, last year she quietly went under the radar. She went about her business with BUCS – we had one of the best line-outs in the league last year, and she was right at the heart of that, ending up as the top try-scorer in BUCS. To see her step up into Lightning and really kick on has been great. She has only played four games for us, and for her to be putting in the kind of performances she is now, as a 19-year-old, is pretty exciting.”