Amid the understandable disappointment of a heavy home loss to Saracens, there was a warming smile on the face of a Loughborough Lightning player who had completed a remarkable personal journey.
A queue of well‑wishers waited patiently to embrace prop Catherine Wells at the final whistle at Goldington Road on Friday night – friends who had supported her through an arduous period that kept her sidelined for a tortuous 824 days.
On June 30, 2024, the former Worcester Warriors player was preparing for the excitement of the U20 Six Nations when she suffered a catalogue of injuries in one unfortunate incident: a fractured tibial plateau, a fully torn meniscus, PCL and LCL, and partially torn ACL and MCL.
“It was a while ago – I’m 22 now! It was the day before we flew out to the Six Nations. It was just an unfortunate tackle,” she reflected after the JAECOO Next Gen Cup 5-66 defeat to defending champions Saracens.
“After about 12 months of being out, I had to go for more surgery. That was a big setback, and hard to take. Towards the end of last season I had a lot of niggles with it, so I had to keep waiting. I managed to get a full pre‑season in ahead of the Cup – there were lots of highs and lows.”
Wells has known hardship before in her fledgling rugby career. She was part of Worcester Warriors Women when they collapsed ahead of the 2023/24 season, leaving her without a club. Lightning swooped to bring her into their squad, and she made her debut as a teenager against Gloucester‑Hartpury in January 2024. She became a mainstay, making eight appearances in the second half of the season before injury struck.
With family and friends cheering from the sidelines, Wells made her long‑awaited ninth outing in front of a healthy crowd at the home of Bedford Blues.
“It was class to be back. A Friday night game – it’s something I’ve waited for, for two‑and‑a‑half years. To finally get there is unreal.
Her appearance was split over two spells as Lightning also blooded debutant Bayley Jurkowski, whose first outing was sandwiched between Wells’ two shifts in the front row.
Her most eye‑catching moment came with a speedy break into the Saracens 22. Recalling the first‑half burst, she laughed: “I thought I was in! But then I got tackled out of nowhere — I should’ve gooseyed!”
Lightning have two Cup games remaining – away at Exeter Chiefs before the home encounter against Leicester Tigers at Loughborough University on Saturday 17 October – tickets are available by clicking HERE.
Focusing on her own targets for the remainder of the block, Wells added: “I just want to get some more minutes. It was so good to come back and start. I just want to keep that up and stay on the pitch.”