Carmela Morrall shared her enjoyment of leading Loughborough Lightning after initially being unexpectedly thrust into the role before ultimately captaining the side in three of their four PWR: The Cup games.
The 20-year-old was promoted from vice-captain and into the main role a month ago when Daisy Hibbert-Jones withdrew due to illness ahead of the Sale Sharks opener. The latter briefly returned to lead Lightning against Leicester Tigers before being struck by injury, paving the way for Morrall to takeover for both the Saracens contest and the weekend’s 36-29 loss to Bristol Bears.
“I really enjoyed the experience of captaining the side!” Morrall said.
“It was a bit different having been sort of thrown into that position, but Daisy was a great help and a shoulder to lean on.
“I’ll be honest about the fact that I struggled with a few things to begin with, having not been used to the role, but even though Daisy was injured, she was still there for me and helped me by giving me different ideas on how to do things.
“I think it’s also given me a different perspective on the game coming into a leadership role like that.”
Carmela Morrall
“I think a lot of the time you think everything is on your shoulders, but I realised that I had a good group of leaders around me to help me out, in the likes of Meg Davey and Lucy Calladine.”
On Saturday, Loughborough’s starting XV, with an average age of just 21, fell just short at Shaftesbury Park as Bristol claimed a victory despite a valiant effort from the Lightning side, with the defeat marking the end of their Cup run.
“In terms of the overall result, we were disappointed, but I’m proud of the girls and how we’ve bounced back from a couple of tough losses in the Cup,” Morrall explained.
“I think the growth of the squad in this period has been incredible, and the way the girls have developed and grown throughout some tough games against experienced sides has been brilliant.
“I’m so impressed and proud of the efforts in every game and our ability to bounce back. We say it all the time with Loughborough, but it really is such a good place to be for the pathway and opportunities as a young player.
“We’ve had nine debuts across the five Cup games, which is incredible, and I don’t think a lot of teams can say that they’ve done the same thing.
“It’s been a big opportunity for a lot of the young girls, and you’ve got the likes of Tamsin Baynes and Ashton Adcock who have played their first games of senior women’s rugby, which is amazing to see.”
“It’s been a good opportunity for us to prepare for the PWR season and some of the younger girls to prepare for the BUCS Super Rugby season, which is an important thing for the club and the pathway as well.”
Carmella Morrall
As the Rugby World Cup nears its final stages, Lightning’s 15 World Cup stars will begin to return home to the club, and Nathan Smith’s side will look to build on the foundations laid during the PWR: The Cup block, as they look ahead to the beginning of a brand new PWR Season.
“We’re just over a month away from the start of the league and transitioning from this Cup period into that, I think for us it will be about helping those international players reintegrate back in as quickly as possible,” the centre added.
“It will be about making sure that the connection is really tight so that when we go into that first game at The Stoop [Lightning's first game in the PWR will be against Harlequins on Friday 24 October], we’re as tight a group as we have been through this Cup period, and I think that will be down to us girls who have been in the set-up all through pre-season driving that connection.”
1️⃣6️⃣ Bonus point in the bag! 👜
— Loughborough Lightning Rugby ⚡️ (@LightningRugby) August 31, 2025
Green puts in a neat grubber into the ingoal area where Morrall is on hand to dot down. Green converts.
🐯 0-24 ⚡ pic.twitter.com/Z3nEj8OxBF
On a personal note, for Morrall, after featuring in every game across the Cup period for Lightning, she now nears 50 appearances for the club; a mightily impressive milestone for the age-grade international.
On the impending milestone, she added: “To achieve that would be so special, it's flown by really quickly.
“I didn’t realise I was on that many appearances already, but I’m in such a cool position where I’ve got a lot of experience in my position, and they’ve been able to help me through the tough games, but it’s incredible to think I’m almost at 50 at such an early stage.”
Loughborough Lightning’s Rugby World Cup stars will be returning to club action for the 2025/26 Premiership Women’s Rugby season, and you can watch them in action at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens with a Lightning Season Ticket priced* from just £65 (adult) and £30 juniors by clicking HERE!
*Season Ticket prices are subject to a booking fee of £2.50 per Season Ticket, plus £10 admin fee for Direct Debit.
