Match Report: Bristol Bears 36 – 29 Loughborough Lightning

Loughborough Lightning signed off their PWR: The Cup with a vastly improved performance in an enthralling back-and-forth contest with Bristol Bears that could so easily have gone either way.

Tries from Grace Clifford and Amelia Williams, plus a pair of successful Lia Green conversions, were countered by three Bristol scores as the hosts led by three at the break. 

Kendall Waudby and Lucy Calladine took the visitors’ try tally to four and Green kicked five more points from the tee but ultimately it was the hosts who triumphed courtesy of three second-half tries.

FIRST HALF

Head coach Nathan Smith named a Lightning starting XV with an average age of just 21 as they looked to right the wrong of a heavy home loss to Saracens last time out. 

Early optimism was hit by the concession of a penalty from the kick-off which Bristol punted to the corner and Heidi Pashaei-Tarighoun drove over for the game’s opening points.

Lightning grew into the game, with Clifford being held up over the line on her first Lightning start in nearly 100 weeks. 

She was to have a second chance on 27 minutes when Green broke through centre field and forced Bristol onto the back foot. Meg Davey quickly tapped a penalty and went close before Clifford muscled over to pull the scores level, with Green’s conversion nudging her side ahead. 

The synthetic surface at Shaftesbury Park was hit by contrasting weather conditions as pre-match hail made way for glorious sunshine, and the final four minutes of the half proved to be equally unpredictable as the conditions as a flurry of scores arrived.

Bears built some momentum as Ella Lovibond broke through a tackle to canter down the left wing to finish before Simi Pam went route one from a rolling maul, with Jenny Hesketh adding one of the conversions.

But with the last play of the first half, Lightning boldly tapped two central penalties and got their reward when loosehead prop Williams located an unguarded square inch of turf under the cross bar to score, with Green’s tap-in conversion reducing the half-time deficit to three points.

SECOND HALF 

Isla Curphey arrived onto the field at the break in place of Clifford and continued the good work at scrum time as the Lightning pack laid the foundations to move ahead on the scoreboard. Captain Carmela Morrall went close with a drifting run to go within five metres, and after a few team mates made attempts to cross the whitewash, Waudby wasn’t to be denied and Green completed a hat-trick of conversions. 

Bristol reclaimed their lead approaching the hour mark when Lightning were stripped in possession and didn’t recover as Savannah Picton-Powell pinned her ears back to finish for an unconverted try to nudge one point ahead.

The response was almost immediate as a smart lineout move saw Ellie Roberts and Waudby combine for Lucy Calladine to finish, only for the hooker to be ruled held up. From the goalline drop-out, Bristol transgressed and Green made no mistake from a central penalty from the tee.

Lightning’s lead didn’t last long as Bristol struck once more down the right wing, as Reneeqa Bonner went over and made the conversion easier for Hesketh, to establish a five-point advantage with 17 minutes to play.

Pulses were set racing when 18-year-old Tamsin Baynes, who made her Lightning debut in the opening round of this season’s PWR: The Cup, intercepted and cantered upfield, only for Bristol to scramble well and turn the ball over under their own posts. 

That near miss was compounded when Bonner ruthlessly completed her brace with another pacey burst from 22 metres out, with Hesketh adding the conversion.

To their immense credit, and with two more debutants on the pitch in the form of Churchy Knight and Keeva Corry, Lightning went hunting for one final score and got it when vice-captain Calladine completed an 80-minute shift with successful drive for the line. 

Post-match, head coach Smith said: “I am really happy wit the performance and the behaviours we showed. We were sloppy against Saracens. Our effort and intent wasn’t where it needed to be but it was today and we have put a display in that we should be very proud of.”

LINE-UPS:

BEARS: 15 Hesketh, 14 Bonner, 13 Picton-Powell, 12 Murray, 11 Lovibond, 10 Skuse, 9 Singleton; 1 Pam, 2 Pashaei-Tarigoun, 3 Phillips, 4 Beet, 5 Burns (c), 6 Short, 7 Herring, 8 Hopkins.
Replacements: 16 Jah, 17 Orrin, 18 Hawkins, 19 Van Der Straaten, 20 Rogers, 21 Ryall, 22 Evans, 23 Coles.

LIGHTNING: 15 Scott, 14 Bell, 13 Tromans, 12 Morral (c)l, 11 Scantlebury, 10 Green; 9 Davey; 1 Williams, 2 Calladine, 3 Clifford, 4 Baynes, 5 Fitzpatrick, 6 Waudby, 7 E Roberts, 8 Lutui.
Replacements: 16 Knight, 17 Adjei-Ansere, 18 Curphey, 19 Finch, 20 Corry, 21 Maude, 22 Luthayi, 23 Clarke.

Loughborough Lightning 2025/26 Season Tickets 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.