Becky Boyd believes the battle for a place in the Premiership Women’s Rugby top four is still firmly on as Loughborough Lightning prepare for their longest away trip of the season to Exeter Chiefs this weekend.
While Lightning had their second bye week of the 2025/26 campaign last weekend, this Sunday’s opponents strengthened their play-off hopes by securing three match points following their thrilling draw with Harlequins.
The result leaves Lightning eight points off the top-four pace, but with a game in hand and a golden chance to take points off a side above them in the table at Sandy Park in their Round 11 encounter.
“It is really tough this season, especially the middle of the table which is really tight,” said Boyd. “But we have been playing the way we want to, so that’s good, and we’ve had some good results.
“There’s not a [definite] top four yet in the slightest, which is exciting. Obviously, Gloucester-Hartpury and Saracens are quite dominant at the moment, but I think the top four is still very much up for grabs for the end of the season.
Boyd, 21, has raced to 21 Lightning appearances and has been a key performer for Head Coach Nathan Smith this term, featuring in seven of Lightning’s eight league games.
“I am playing a lot more consistently this year which was one of my goals,” added Boyd. “It is a very competitive environment, but I feel like the longer I have been in the pathway, the more game time I have been seeing which is exciting. As a team, I think we have been doing quite well.
“The area of my game I want to improve on the most moving forward is my attack, I want that to become a bit more noticeable on pitch and become a bit more of a threat.”
Boyd, who previously was capped at England U20 level, was called up into the Scotland squad ahead of last season’s Six Nations, where she earned her first senior international caps.
While she didn’t add to her tally of three Scotland outings during the Rugby World Cup having made the squad, she is in a strong position to play a key role during the 2026 Six Nations having been included in Sione Fukafuka’s first squad as Scotland’s new Head Coach last month.
Lightning have six games in seven weeks to push for a place in the PWR top four, but also for individuals to strengthen their cases for Six Nations selection (which runs from 11 April to 17 May) and the Pacific Four Series (which sees USA, Australia, New Zealand and Canada battle it out over a similar time period).
“A lot of girls who are playing in PWR will be up for slots in the Six Nations, even just building up the audience for the Six Nations, that will grow from girls coming down to PWR games,” explained Boyd. “It is very competitive, you have a lot of girls who play in the Six Nations playing in the PWR. You play with them each week, you play against them each week, and then it’s a similar thing when you get into the Six Nations.”
The next opportunity to see Boyd in action at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens is the PWR clash with Bristol Bears on Sunday 22 February – tickets are available by clicking HERE