Loughborough Lightning head to Exeter Chiefs this weekend in Round 12 of the Allianz Premier 15s – with Director of Rugby Rhys Edwards making just two changes to his side for the trip to Sandy Park.
Completing the second of a pair of home side comebacks against Sale Sharks in last weekend’s Double Header, Lightning followed a Northampton Saints victory over Sale’s male counterparts with a 17-10 win of their own at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens to take their third win of the season.
The result was largely thanks to a brace of Bryony Field tries and it’s the Loughborough hooker who forms one of two changes to the starting XV as she shifts into the No. 2 shirt for this weekend’s clash, with Morwenna Talling also returning to Lightning’s engine room.
Field and Talling come into an otherwise unchanged forward pack, with Katie Trevarthen and Christine Belisle packing down at prop for the second week running while Scotland’s Emma Wassell joins Talling in the second row.
Lightning and Scotland captain Rachel Malcolm leads the side from the back row alongside two Red Roses internationals Sadia Kabeya and Sarah Hunter for the fourth consecutive week.
Megan Davey and Helen Nelson continue to steer Loughborough’s ship from the half-back berths, while Emma Hardy and Bulou Mataitoga also carry on in Lightning’s centres.
And last weekend’s try-scorer Carys Williams-Morris joins Fran Goldthorp and Chloe Rollie once again in the back three.
EXETER CHIEFS vs LOUGHBOROUGH LIGHTNING
Allianz Premier 15s
Saturday 25 February, 2023
Kick-off: 3pm
15 Chloe Rollie
14 Fran Goldthorp
13 Bulou Mataitoga
12 Emma Hardy
11 Carys Williams-Morris
10 Helen Nelson
9 Megan Davey
1 Katie Trevarthen
2 Bryony Field
3 Christine Belisle
4 Emma Wassell
5 Morwenna Talling
6 Rachel Malcolm (c)
7 Sadia Kabeya
8 Sarah Hunter
Replacements:
16 Gillian Bourke
17 Detysha Harper
18 Grace Clifford
19 Cath O’Donnell
20 Daisy Hibbert-Jones
21 Lucy Weaver
22 Carmela Morrall
23 Georgina Tasker
Next Home Match
