Loughborough Lightning can today announce that Katie Trevarthen will step back from playing at the end of the 2022/23 season, but will remain within the Club’s programme as BUCS Women’s Rugby Lead.
The 27-year-old loosehead prop is Lightning’s record appearance-maker, having turned out 77 times for Loughborough in all competitions and scoring five tries in the African Violet jersey.
Trevarthen has also previously represented England Under-20s as well as England Academies, and is both a Level 3-qualified rugby coach and Level 2 referee with a degree in Psychology from Coventry University to boot.
Having coached at Loughborough School’s Foundation for two years between 2020 and 2022, and acted as BUCS Women’s Rugby Lead at Loughborough University since 2021, Trevarthen is now relishing a fresh start coaching Loughborough’s student sides on a full-time basis.
“For me, this feels like more of a transition into coaching rather than a ‘retirement’ from playing,” said Trevarthen. “I don’t necessarily want to put a finality to my playing career, but for now I am stepping back from playing elite-level rugby.
“I’ve been coaching within our pathway system at Loughborough for a while now, and I’m really excited now to commit to that role exclusively. I’m in a place where I felt like I was stretching myself too thin between coaching and playing – and I want to be able to focus all my energy on coaching to maximise what I am giving the team.
“After playing for Lightning for such a long time, and playing rugby since I was seven, of course it is bittersweet to step away – especially when you consider where the Premier 15s started and where the league is now after just six years. The quality of rugby being played, the standard of the competition and the players being produced has just gone up and up.
“It’s really exciting to see the league change so much, but I want to fully commit to my coaching now and this is the right time to do so.”
Katie Trevarthen
“I’ve also been regularly involved as a guest coach for England’s Under-18s and Under-20s sides, and I love the performance development space where you have young rugby players looking to kick on to the next level, with a lot to learn, and I think I can add a lot of value in that space for Loughborough Lightning.”
Within her role as BUCS Women’s Rugby Lead, Trevarthen is head coach of Loughborough University’s women’s first team, who play in the national league, and also oversees the second and third team squads.
Lightning’s Director of Rugby, Rhys Edwards, added: “Katie has done a fantastic job overseeing our BUCS women’s programme over the last couple of years, and we’re delighted to see her continuing in that role full-time.
“On the field, she’s been with Lightning since the start and has given a huge amount to the team as our most-capped player. She’s still playing really well too, but feels this is the right decision for her in the long term.”
Rhys Edwards, Director of Rugby at Loughborough Lightning
“We’ll miss her within the Lightning squad, as her consistency for us has been fantastic and she’s probably a little unlucky to have not had further international recognition with England for being one of the best scrummaging looseheads in the league.
“I see a very bright future for her in coaching; she’s got a level head and understands the game really well, so investing in that full-time will be crucial for our young players’ development.”
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