‘I am getting over this line’ – Curphey recalls epic first Lightning try

“I sent a video snippet of my try to my family group chat to prove and give a bit of evidence in there that I had actually scored a try, because it had taken such a long time to get!”

Without concrete evidence, Isla Curphey’s family back on the Isle of Man were a little sceptical of the news they were receiving. The Loughborough Lightning prop had clocked up 35 appearances over nearly four years, without getting that first score in an African Violet shirt.

Then it finally came on a windy afternoon in Lichfield last weekend. And it was no close-range burrow to the whitewash or a flop a rolling maul. Far from it. 

Lightning had built a 40-point lead against Leicester Tigers when Lucy Calladine timed a perfect pass to free her front row colleague. All that was left was 55 metres of a grass to canter through and avoid a clutch of desperately retreating defenders. 

On went the afterburners, then a sachet of the hips and devilish change of direction drew delirious cheers from those on the sidelines. Into the 22, there was no stopping the Isla Express. The doughnut after her appearances column was no more.

“I got the pop off and I thought, right that’s it, I am getting over this line for once and I got there in the end!” she said. “It was a long 50-metre sprint. I was very concerned that I was going to get chased down by one of those speedy backs. 

The evidence was conclusive. The Curphey clan’s doubt was now replaced by delight for their rugby playing star whose talents saw her leave the tiny island in the Irish Sea to pursue her dreams at Loughborough University in 2021.

Their joy, however, is set in the context of recent adversity. Curphey’s increasingly impactful performances in Premiership Women’s Rugby saw her force her way into Lightning’s starting line-up during the 2024/25 season. The 25-year-old’s ability to play on both sides of the scrum also put her on the radar of international selectors. Due to her place of birth, all of the home nations can stake a claim for her services, with Scotland being the most interested party. 

All this momentum was well-timed in a campaign that would be followed by a Six Nations campaign – and a Rugby World Cup. Curphey had every chance of bolting into contention, only for injury to detail those dreams at their embryonic stage. 11 days before Christmas 2024, Curphey suffered a syndesmosis ankle injury against Harlequins that required surgery. Her season was over.

“It was tough being on the sidelines and watching all the girls,” said Curphey, who juggles her playing commitments with her work as a quantity surveyor for Balfour Beatty. “Fortunately, the silver lining to the cloud was a short season, which meant I didn’t miss out on quite so many games. 

“Rehab kept me busy, getting me ready to return for preseason and I really wanted to come back all guns blazing, ready to go. And I achieved that which I was glad about. 

“Having a job kept my mind busy as well from me being not quite as active as I would’ve liked to have been. I also managed to get home for a period and spend some time with my friends and family back in the Isle of Man which definitely helped me mentally.

“They were all really supportive, coming over and helping me to start with when I first went for my operation, it was really nice to have my family there supporting me, all the way along.”

Having started on her comeback match against Sale Sharks in the PWR: The Cup opening round loss, and then making a big impact as a replacement last time out against Tigers, Curphey is now preparing for Lightning’s sternest test yet when Saracens visit Loughborough University on Saturday 6 September (kick-off: 2pm) in Round 3 – tickets are available by clicking HERE.

Even at just 25 years of age, Curphey is likely to be one of the oldest in the Lightning squad that is coping without 14 internationals who are participating in the World Cup.

But she is confident that Lightning can build on their 12-69 win over Tigers and continue to make more positive steps during the Cup period.

“I am looking forward to the weekend ahead,” she said. “Saracens is a big game and is always a really tough contest, but it is an exciting one for us to show what we have been working on and how we have been growing over preseason. 

“We really need to trust our process and how we want to play and hopefully that should give us the positive result and show us that our hard work has paid off over this preseason period.”

Loughborough Lightning 2025/26 Season Tickets (which included the home cup match versus Saracens) are still available HERE, priced* from just £65 (adult) and £30 juniors.

*Season Ticket prices are subject to a booking fee of £2.50 per Season Ticket, plus £10 admin fee for Direct Debit.