Belief will be key for Loughborough Lightning, according to long-serving prop Isla Curphey, ahead of taking on Gloucester-Hartpury this weekend.
The African Violets enter Sunday’s Premiership Women’s Rugby Round 15 encounter (kick-off: 12.15pm) – tickets are still available by clicking HERE – with a spring in their step following the 43-33 victory over Harlequins last time out.
In their penultimate home league game of the 2025/26 season, the size of the challenge rachets up another notch for Lightning as the unbeaten defending champions come to Northampton.
“We just need to believe in ourselves a bit more really,” said Curphey, who is set to make her 48th Lightning appearance in the match. “We certainly have the ability and the players to be able to be up there with them.
“I think, maybe, we give them too much respect, maybe sometimes we go into the games perceiving them to be the winning team before we’ve played.
The Cherry and Whites extended their season-long winning run to 12 games last time out as they emerged victorious in the top-of-the-table clash with Saracens.
Included in that streak was the reverse fixture at Kingsholm Stadium a little over six weeks ago, when Lightning produced a spirit performance to secure a try-scoring bonus point in a 45-26 defeat.
Curphey arrived as a replacement in that match and took heart from her side’s display heading into the rematch.
“It was a tough game, the scoreline wasn’t what we wanted,” she said. “But we did take a lot of learnings and work-ons from it. We thought afterwards, if we actually knuckled down and played the way we wanted to play, it could’ve been a better outcome for us. We just need to trust ourselves more and we will get the outcomes we are after, more often.”
Sunday’s game is Lightning’s last at home for two months, as their cinch Stadium campaign concludes in Round 17 against Saracens on Sunday 31 May.
Curphey – if she remains fit and in the matchday squads – is set to bring up a half-century of Lightning games in that Saracens fixture and is hoping the two remaining home games continue to attract supporters to the sidelines.
“The support we get is amazing,” she said. “There is quite a good range of people we get at Lightning games, you get the young ones coming along which is really nice to see, but also the older ones, are getting up there too. You have people who are aspiring to be where you are, and to have people asking for my signature, for me, is wild. I am like ‘are you sure?’.
“To be able to have the big crowd, cheering you on give you motivation, and when it comes to the supporter base; more the merrier, definitely. It is lovely to see them all, they all want to come and have a chat. They are also so happy, it’s lovely to see.
“I’ve had a couple of people ask me to sign their trading card too! There was a girl the other day who had a folder with them all in. It’s really good for the women’s game, it’s certainly growing and it is nice to see.”