USA international Rachel Ehrecke is ‘loving life’ back in Premiership Women’s Rugby as she continues to make her mark with Loughborough Lightning.
The versatile forward who returned to English club rugby following the Rugby World Cup has quickly re-established herself within the squad, making eight appearances so far this season.
“It’s my first season back in PWR and I’ve been loving it with Loughborough, they’re a really great group of girls and the coaches are awesome,” said Ehrecke.
The 30-year-old joined Lightning from Denver Onyx for the 2025/26 season after her involvement in the World Cup where she gained more experience playing in England.
“For me, post World Cup I wanted to continue pushing myself in my rugby career,” she added. “So I decided to come back to the PWR and wanted to show how much an impact I could have here.
“I think the transition of playing here in England, and then coming here and playing the league definitely helped, the World Cup was an experience like no other though.
“Earning that starting jersey every week is something that I set out for myself, and overall, we want to be a top four team and we want to prove to this league that we deserve to be there.”
Lightning now host Bristol Bears at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens this weekend in Round 12 of the PWR – tickets are available by clicking HERE – where Ehrecke believes she and her teammates are ready to meet Bristol’s physical challenge.
“Last time at Bristol Bears it was a really tough game against them, they definitely brought out a good side, and we know that we’ll have to be really physical going into the game,” added Ehrecke.
“I think everyone in this squad is really hungry and we have the belief in each other and the belief in our potential.
Ehrecke previously experienced English club rugby during a spell with Darlington Mowden Park. Plenty has changed during spell one and two on these shores.
“The game in just the past two years has grown so much,“ Ehrecke explained. “I think you can see some of the set pieces getting stronger, you can tell that line outs are getting more competitive.
“As a forward myself, I’m seeing people are being a lot more detailed in the lineouts and having to defend or having to analyse it even more in order to get what you want out of it.”