Lilli Ives Campion re-signs for Loughborough Lightning

Head Coach Nathan Smith hopes Loughborough Lightning can help Lilli Ives Campion achieve her international ambitions after the young forward committed to a contract extension.

The 20-year-old has agreed to extend her time with the Club she joined in 2021, making her debut as a teenager against Saracens four seasons ago.

Second row Ives Campion is closing in on 50 appearances for the African Violets and her performances have caught the eyes of international selectors.

Having spent time in the Red Roses camp at the start of the 2023/24 campaign, she was selected by John Mitchell for this week’s training camp ahead of the Guinness Six Nations that start in March.

“Lilli ticks all the recruitment boxes,” said Smith. “She has got high potential and high character, and is a pleasure to have around the training environment.

“I don’t think we have scratched the surface yet with her potential. She is a very diligent lineout forward and set-piece operator.

Ives Campion spent time at the Worcester Warriors Centre of Excellence before moving to Loughborough College in 2020, and making her Lightning debut as a 17-year-old while studying for her A Levels.

Now in her second year of an International Business degree, Ives Campion has committed her long-term future to Lightning having featured in ten matches already this season.

“Just being around the people in the squad has really helped me to improve,” she said. “We have a lot of influential and successful people, and they have taken me under their wing and helped me.

“From being 16 at college to now being in this environment, that is a big growth stage as a person, regardless of if I play rugby or not, so I think the people here have seen me and my journey from when I was very young.

“Every day is a learning day, but that also means there is lots of competition. So that is really developing me, competing against top quality players. They are also really good people to learn off.”