Match Report: Loughborough Lightning 36-34 Trailfinders Women

Helena Rowland’s last-minute dropgoal settled a rollercoaster Friday night encounter as Loughborough Lightning signed off their 2024/25 season with a thrilling 36-34 victory.

It seemed Lightning original Rachel Malcolm’s final outing in African Violet would end in a comfortable win as a bonus point was secured by half-time with Kathryn Treder crossing twice, either side of scores from Helena Rowland and Emily Scarratt.

Lilli Ives Campion’s effort on the hour mark opened a 16-point lead, but Trailfinders would not go away, landing 17 unanswered points to move ahead late on.

But in front of buoyant cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens crowd, and thousands watching on via Lightning’s first YouTube livestream, Rowland produced a sweetly-struck dropgoal to secure Nathan Smith’s side a sixth place Premiership Women’s Rugby finish.

FIRST HALF

Trailfinders arrived in Northampton tied on 34 points with their hosts and looking to back-up their Round 3 runaway success in October’s reverse fixture at Trailfinders Sports Club.

They started on track to achieve that when Tyson Beukeboom drove over from a rolling maul five minutes in.

The African Violets found their groove after the early set back though to score three tries in seven breathtaking minutes of attacking brilliance.

Rowland’s crossfield kick to Bulou Mataitoga, on the occasion of her 50th appearance, got the hosts into the 22. Having gained a penalty advantage from that phase, Lightning kicked to touch and had a lineout five metres out. In similar fashion to Trailfinders just minutes earlier, the home side’s maul powered over the line, with Treder emerging from beneath a pile of bodies with the ball in her grasp. Rowland added the extras from the touchline to nudge her side ahead.

A veteran and aspiring Red Rose combined to strike next. 116-capper Scarratt put Fran Goldthorp through a gap to gallop to within metres of the line, where she popped for the supporting Scarratt to gather and finish.

The Carlsberg Stand was bouncing when Carmela Morrall burst through a gap and showed great composure to feed Rowland to run in Lightning’s third. Her conversion hit the uprights, but the hosts were 14 points ahead.

That advantage shrunk to just two points when Rosie Inman and Trailfinders captain Kate Zackary went over, but Lightning struck the last score of the half when Beukeboom was sin-binned and from the resulting kick to the corner, Treder completed a rolling maul for her 19th try in 27 Lightning appearances. Rowland’s extras established a 26-17 half-time lead.

SECOND HALF

A scoreless third quarter ensued as Lightning were held up over the line and Hallie Taufoou, in her final game for the Club, produced a trademark lineout steal five metres from her own line. 

The second-half deadlock was broken on the hour mark when a sublime step from Rowland sent her through behind enemy lines where Ives Campion was in close support to use every inch of her frame to reach over and ground.

Joyous celebration was replaced with nervous tension as Lisa Thomson bundled over for Trailfinders and Julia Schell converted – then added a converted try of her own and a central penalty to put the visitors ahead by the slenderest of margins.

Lightning had six minutes left to right the wrong and make sure Malcolm and Taufoou signed off with a win.

When Anne Young and Kendall Waudby were both held up over the line, hopes were beginning to fade. But Lightning stuck at it and where the battering ram approach was falling just short, Rowland opted for a different approach as she sent a 15-metre dropgoal from a close-range ruck sailing through the posts.

Lightning’s fifth win in their final seven games – including landmark successes over Saracens and Bristol Bears – ensured they finished sixth in the table, as they now break up for the Women’s Six Nations. 

LINE-UPS:

Lightning: 15 Goldthorp, 14 Mataitoga, 13 Scarratt, 12 Morrall, 11 Kelter, 10 Rowland, 9 Davey; 1 Young, 2 Treder, 3 Belisle, 4 Duguid, 5 Ives Campion, 6 Malcolm (cc), 7 Taufoou, 8 Hibbert-Jones (cc) 
Replacements: 16 Waudby, 17 Williams, 18 Keates, 19 Boyd, 20 Lutui, 21 Brebner-Holden, 22 Scantlebury, 23 Clarke.

Trailfinders: 15 Inman, 14 Musgrove, 13 Cooksey, 12 Thomson, 11 White, 10 Julia Schell, 9 Mattinson; 1 Leatherman, 2 Stathopoulos, 3 Wood, 4 Beukeboom, 5 Pinnock, 6 Burnfield, 7 Moore, 8 Zackary (c).
Replacements: 16 Evans, 17 Tamai, 18 Tuffnail,19 Ikahihifo, 20 Seye, 21 Amory, 22 Gallagher, 23 Laflin.