Loughborough Lightning fought their way to a bonus-point victory in the East Midlands Derby against Leicester Tigers, that saw them secure a top-six finish in the Premiership Women’s Rugby final standings.
The league’s bottom club defied their position, scoring three first-half tries that limited Lightning’s lead at the break to a converted score, with Haineala Lutui going over twice along with singles for Sadia Kabeya and Bo Westcombe-Evans.
Lightning added four more tries in the second period, with Daisy Hibbert-Jones accounting for two of them along with Meg Davey and Paige Stathopoulos also crossing – with five Helena Rowland conversions keeping Tigers behind on the scoreboard despite their trio of second-half tries.
FIRST HALF
The opening five minutes of the East Midlands Derby provided plenty of fireworks, as Tigers flew out of the blocks through Jemima McCalman’s break. After a defensive scramble, a penalty was conceded, and from that field position, Nadine Vincent forced her way over.
There was no panic in the visiting ranks, as Helen Nelson punched a penalty deep into enemy territory. The lineout was secured and after Becky Boyd was thwarted close to the line, there was no stopping Lutui from a few metres out. Rowland’s extras cancelled out Kristin Bitter’s earlier conversion.
Kabeya then went into overdrive, firstly navigating her way to the line from a neat lineout, then she proved elusive through the heart of Leicester’s defence, even scooping up from the deck when she was thwarted. Lutui was in close support to pull in Hibbert-Jones’ offload to stretch the lead further.
The bonus point was secured after 28 minutes when Davey expertly looped a pass for Westcombe-Evans to catch and dive over in the left corner – as she pulled level with the league’s top try scorers with 12 for the season.
Morgan Richardson was sin-binned for the hosts, but by the time she returned to the field, their deficit has been cut by 12 points as Emily Henrich and Karolina Kacirkova both landed tries before the half-time whistle sounded.
SECOND HALF
The back-and-forth nature of the first half rolled over into the opening actions of the second, as Hibbert-Jones marked her return with a try as she found an inch of unguarded turf to finish. Tigers hit back immediately with a rolling maul finished off by Micke Gunter.
Lightning’s all-time leading appearance maker Davey then showcased her knowledge of the laws, as she spotted Tigers had let a ball at the back of a ruck creep beyond the goal-line, and the scrum-half was alert to reach out and ground with offside no longer being an issue.
Again, Leicester’s response was a positive one, as Gunter finished off another strong maul.
Emerson Allen saw yellow for a high shot on Rowland and that was the invitation Lightning needed as more attritional work close to the line was rewarded when Hibbert-Jones once more applied the finishing touch. Rowland’s conversion opened a 12-point cushion in the final 15 minutes.
Lightning could not pull away from their defiant opposition as Kacirkova went over for her second after excellent hands in the backs.
The nerves were finally settled in the last few minutes when a rolling maul was finished off by Stathopoulos, who scored her first Lightning try on her final game for the club, bringing up a half-century of points for her team.
Sale Sharks’ defeat at Exeter Chiefs, coupled with Lightning’s five-point haul, mean Nathan Smith’s side leap-frogged them in the final league standings.
HEAD COACH NATHAN SMITH:
“Tigers have been getting better game-on-game and we knew they were going to bring it today. So credit to them. But I am proud of how we responded to that, especially some of our younger players, like Keevy Fitzpatrick, really took the game to them and we deserved the win – even if the scoreline did flatter us a little come the final whistle.”
LINE UPS:
TIGERS: 15 Kristin Bitter, 14 Eve Slater, 13 Emily Henrich, 12 Jemima McCalman, 11 Karolina Kacirkova, 10 Tess Feury ©, 9 Zara Pickwick; 1 Katherine Baverstock, 2 Micke Gunter, 3 Nadine Vincent, 4 Ali Coleman, 5 Emerson Allen, 6 Jordan Russell, 7 Morgan Richardson, 8 Hermione Farmer.
Replacements: 16 Alana Bainbridge, 17 Danielle Allen-Solly, 18 Clodagh Dunne, 19 That Turner, 20 Rowann Sinclair, 21 Eneka Labeyrie, 22 Charlotte Daley, 23 Phoebe Andrews.
LIGHTNING: 15 Helen Nelson, 14 Bulou Mataitoga, 13 Alev Kelter, 12 Carmela Morrall (vc), 11 Bo Westcombe‑Evans, 10 Helena Rowland, 9 Meg Davey; 1 Amelia Williams, 2 Kathryn Treder, 3 Christine Belisle, 4 Keevy Fitzpatrick, 5 Becky Boyd, 6 Daisy Hibbert‑Jones (c), 7 Sadia Kabeya, 8 Haineala Lutui.
Replacements: 16 Paige Stathopoulos, 17 Isla Curphey, 18 Grace Clifford, 19 Kaya Acton, 20 Tahlia Brody, 21 Aiobhe Kelly, 22 Lia Green, 23 Lucia Scott.