The giveaway redness around Carmela Morrall’s eyes from tears shed spoke volumes about the emotion felt on the field at the final whistle of Loughborough Lightning’s last game of the 2025/26 season.
An energy‑sapping East Midlands Derby had gone the way of the visitors at Mattioli Woods Welford Road, as Leicester Tigers refused to fade away but ultimately succumbed to a 36-50 defeat.
For many players who took to the field, it would be their final appearance in an African Violet shirt. A refreshed new look will emerge when the squad assembles for the challenge of the 2026/27 season — and 21‑year‑old Morrall will be one of its cornerstones.
But in the here and now, in the concluding round of the Premiership Women’s Rugby season, the focus was on signing off on the right note — a winning one — and creating one last on‑field memory.
“The last few games were fuelled by wanting to leave the season on a good note for the people who are leaving,” said Morrall. “We are losing some valuable members of the squad and people we have all grown to love, which is always difficult. We wanted to send them off in the right way, and that was our motivation coming into these last few games.
“It was a tough game. I think we showed how much it meant to us to send off people who are leaving the club in a good way.
Winless Tigers sensed an upset and fully took the battle to Lightning, registering their highest points tally of the season and securing a third bonus point of the campaign.
“Whenever we play Tigers, it’s a big game for them,” explained Morrall. “They love the local derby, so they always have a little bit more fire about them when they play us. Credit to them — they have clearly been working hard and putting in a lot of effort to get better, and they really showed that.”
Remarkably, Morrall started all 20 of Lightning’s league and cup games from inside centre, taking her to 61 appearances for the club. Across the 2025/26 season, she moved to ten England U21 caps and was also part of the senior Red Roses squad during the Guinness Women’s Six Nations.
“This league has come on so much in the last few years, and it is not easy to stick in a team,” she reflected. “The amount of talent coming through, and the amount of talent in the country, makes it harder to get that shirt on week in, week out — and to do enough to stay in it. It has really helped me push on and develop myself this season.”