New signing Francesca Goldthorp makes her second Loughborough Lightning debut against Trailfinders Women this weekend.
Head coach Nathan Smith has selected the 21-year-old at fullback for the Premiership Women’s Rugby Round 2 encounter at Trailfinders Sports Club on Sunday 13 October (kick-off: 12.45pm) – a match that is being televised live on TNT Sports.
The England rugby league international has spent two seasons in Australia’s NRL playing for North Queensland Cowboys.
Goldthorp now restarts her rugby union career which previously saw her earn England U20 honours having scored seven tries in 20 appearances during her first spell with Lightning from 2021 to 2023.
England U20 winger Evelyn Clarke comes into the starting line-up on the right wing for her first PWR start, having played twice the Cup towards the end of last season. Wales U20 international Ellie Tromans makes her Lightning debut on the occasion of her first PWR start in the Lightning midfield.
The new arrivals to the run-out side see two starters from the Round 1 loss to Bristol Bears move to their primary positions as Ellen Scantlebury switches to the left wing from centre and Lia Green moves forward from fullback to fly-half.
Scrum-half Alicia Maude and inside centre Carmela Morrall retain their places while Meg Davey and Cieron Bell are rotated to the bench.
There’s two personal changes and three positional switch in the forwards as Amelia Williams starts at loosehead with Isla Curphey moving across the front row to tightheaad.
Lucy Calladine remains as hooker after scoring twice on the occasion of her first PWR start last weekend – as many as any other forward in the league in Round 1 – and was named in the Team of the Week.
She was also key to Lightning having the best lineout success rate in Round 1 of 86.7 per cent, with two of three tries against Bristol coming from lineouts.
Issy Winter, who scored from the bench on her PWR debut against Bristol, is rewarded with a first league start in the second row alongside Canada international Abby Duguid. Becky Boyd moves from lock to blindside flanker, with Kendall Waudby moving to openside and Daisy Hibbert-Jones captaining the side from number eight.
Smith has gone with a six-two split in favour of the forwards on the bench with Katherine Baverstock, Laura Keates and Tiwaah Adjei-Ansere providing the front row options.
Keevy Fitzpatrick and Ellie Roberts – Lightning’s top tackler with 14 against Bristol – are among the replacements as is Lucy Finch, who is in-line to make her first PWR appearance having captained Loughborough University to a 67-0 victory over Durham in midweek.
Smith said: “We’re really looking forward to taking on Trailfinders on Sunday and putting right some of the wrongs from the Bristol game.
“Fran [Goldthorp] has arrived this week and hit the ground running, so we’re delighted to be able to bring her straight into the starting line-up and we’re excited to see how she goes.”
TRAILFINDERS WOMEN vs LOUGHBOROUGH LIGHTNING
Premiership Women’s Rugby, Round 2
Sunday 13 October, 2024
Kick-off: 12.45pm
15 Francesca Goldthorp
14 Evelyn Clarke - First PWR start
13 Ellie Tromans – Loughborough Lightning debut/First PWR start
12 Carmela Morrall
11 Ellen Scantlebury
10 Lia Green
9 Alicia Maude (vc)
1 Amelia Williams
2 Lucy Calladine
3 Isla Curphey
4 Abby Duguid
5 Issy Winter – First PWR start
6 Becky Boyd
7 Kendall Waudby
8 Daisy Hibbert-Jones (c)
Replacements:
16 Katherine Baverstock
17 Laura Keates
18 Tiwaah Adjei-Ansere
19 Keevy Fitzpatrick
20 Lucy Finch – PWR debut
21 Ellie Roberts
22 Megan Davey
23 Cieron Bell
Next Home Match
