Returning Loughborough Lightning star Emily Scarratt is looking forward to playing her part in showcasing Allianz Premiership Women’s Rugby during its SuperPWR weekend.
Lightning’s clash with Sale Sharks on Sunday 3 March (kick-off: 3pm) at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens is the final of four matches being played this weekend that are being televised or live streamed.
The match will present Scarratt, who made her long-awaited return to action against Bristol Bears in Round 12, with the first opportunity to play at home since January 2023.
“All the games are being shown on TV or streamed and all at the big stadiums, it is a pretty cool opportunity for us all to get out there, showcase what we’re up to on a Men’s Six Nations fallow weekend as well,” said the 108-times capped Red Roses international.
“Hopefully we will get more eyes on us and what we’re doing. There’s some big match-ups across the league in terms of teams who really want points against one another. So I am pretty excited to get out there.”
Emily Scarratt
Allianz PWR leaders Gloucester-Hartpury tackle Exeter Chiefs on Saturday at Kingsholm (kick-off: 3.05pm, live on TNT Sports) and is followed by Trailfinders Women against Bristol Bears (kick-off: 5pm, live on PWR YouTube and TikTok Sports).
Sunday’s action kicks off at 1pm with Saracens versus Leicester Tigers at StoneX Stadium (live on PWR YouTube and TikTok Sports) before Lightning go in search of a league win of the season at the Gardens against Sale Sharks with TNT Sports covering the match live.
“We love playing at the Gardens,” said Scarratt. “The Northampton Saints supporters are really starting to adopt us and are our supporters as well now, which is awesome. You see lots of familiar faces that have really adopted us which is exactly what we want. We are trying to continue take people with us when we come from Loughborough, but also grab a hold of the Northampton fans too, who have been brilliant.
“The pitch is unreal. Just to go out there and play on a carpet like that most weekends is very cool. Obviously, the changing rooms, the stadium, the infastructure around that, all those little things you perhaps take for granted when you have been there a little while, we fully appreciate it.
“We recently used their HPC [High Performance Centre]. It is very cool to be able to go down there and be able to use the facilities and matchdays even more so.”
4️⃣7️⃣ Emily Scarratt’s return to the pitch is complete for this evening, it’s good to have you back, Scaz.
— Loughborough Lightning Rugby ⚡️ (@LightningRugby) February 23, 2024
📸 Pinnacle Photo Agency pic.twitter.com/WSVKRsx0hg
Sunday’s opponents Sale Sharks are without a victory since November and have also recently been hit with a points deduction that leaves them bottom of the table.
But Scarratt knows that form and league placings will count for little when the two sides go head to head at the Gardens.
“We have got to be right on it,” added Scarratt. “They've had a tough post-Christmas period with the points deduction and playing Gloucester twice in two weeks isn’t what anybody really wants to be doing.
“They will be right up for this game, as we are. The last game we had against them was tough. We came out on the right side of that but it wasn’t an easy game by any stretch. We are still disappointed from the Tigers result, we beat them first time around and went down second time, so we know that most teams are capable of beating every other team in this league at the moment.”
Tickets for Loughborough Lightning versus Sale Sharks on Sunday 3 March (kick-off: 3pm) are available by clicking HERE, priced from £7.50* per adults and £3 for children.
*All tickets are subject to a £1.50 booking fee.
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