Match Report: Loughborough Lightning 22-40 Harlequins Women

Loughborough Lightning fought their way back into an engaging contest with Harlequins to trail by just four points with ten minutes remaining, only to be hit by two late hammer-blows to take just a point in defeat.

Daisy Hibbert-Jones and Alev Kelter traded tries with Connie Powell and Jade Konkel in the first half, with the visitors to cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens edging the opening 40 courtesy of landing one successful conversion.

Sadia Kabeya and Kathryn Treder tries, countered by Silvia Turani and Emma Swords efforts saw the contest finely poised at 22-26 – only for Harlequins to pull away with Konkel grabbing her second and Danelle Lochner wrapping up the away win in stoppage time.

It was a cruel end to the contest for Lightning in their final home match of 2024, with their final fixture of the calendar year coming on the road at Sale Sharks next weekend.

FIRST HALF:

Twice Lightning grained early access to the opposition’s 22 without making it stick. It was a case of third time lucky when Helen Nelson pumped a huge penalty to touch and from that platform, Lightning knocked on the door before Hibbert-Jones smashed it down with a powerful close-range finish.

The response was swift, and via a similar method as the visitors kicked deep and then mauled over from five metres out, with Powell applying the finishing touch.

Pressure was relieved from a period of strong Quins play when Kabeya pounced for a trademark breakdown turnover, and with that momentum, Lightning capitalised at the other end of the pitch.

Meg Davey, on the day she became the club’s all-time leading appearance maker with 102, pulled the ball from a maul and fed Kelter arriving on an unstoppable angle to dive over for her third try in four games. 

The seesaw nature of the half continued as Harlequins struck back, with newly crowned World Player of the Year Ellie Kildunne cantering through before being hunted down by Krissy Scurfield. Davey did well to stop Connie Powell too, eventually the dam burst when Konkel forced the ball over the whitewash. Lagi Tuima landed the only successful conversion of the first 40 minutes to give Quins the lead.

It was an advantage that should’ve been extended late on in the first period, only for three Lightning defenders to combine and expertly stop Alex Callender from grounding, a decision confirmed by the TMO. 

SECOND HALF:

Seven minutes after the restart Lightning did ground the ball when Franceca Goldthorp finished off a slick attacking move in the right corner, only for a forward pass in the build-up to see play brought back to near halfway.

Those frustrations were compounded when, shortly afterwards, Harlequins had their third try of the contest when Turani peeled off another strong maul to finish. Tuima’s extras stretched the lead to nine.

Fuelled by the frustrations of a big swing in momentum, and cheered on by a vocal crowd in the Carlsberg Stand, the African Violets did not allow their heads to drop and stayed in the fight.

Emily Scarratt rolled back the clock with some sublime breaks in the second half, one of which nearly put Bulou Mataitoga over in the right corner. After some patient attacking play from a quickly-tapped penalty, flanker Kabeya scored her first club try since March with a clinical finish from a few metres out.

Sadly it wasn’t a score that was backed up and instead, it was away replacement Swords who struck a killer blow, wriggling free from contact to go over under the posts as Tuima opened an 11-point lead with 16 minutes remaining.

Nathan Smith’s side again showed their resilience from a setback and forced Sarah Bonar to collapse a maul that was inching over the line, resulting in a yellow card. At the second attempt, there was no stopping hooker Treder landing her 13th try in 20 games to secure a bonus point.

With Nelson landing a great conversion, suddenly there was only four points in it and just like in the reverse fixture at The Stoop in November, the game was on a knife edge with a ten minutes remaining.

Unfortunately for the hosts, it was the Londoners that finished strongly once more as Konkel landed her second and then Danelle Lochner added another late on, with Tuima adding two more conversions to secure a seventh straight win for Quins.

Lightning return to the Gardens on Sunday 5 January 2025 when they take on Saracens (kick-off: 5.30pm) as part of the Double Header with Northampton Saints, who take on Bath Rugby (kick-off: 3pm) – match tickets are available from £24 adults / £8 child by clicking HERE.

LINE-UPS:

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

Harlequins: 15.⁠ Kildunne, 14 Wilcock,⁠ 13 Peña, Tuima, Neumann, Powell, Aucken; Turani, Powell, Hanlon, Fleming, Leaney, Wythe, Callender, Konkel (c).
Replacements: 16 Phillips,,17 Spurrier, 18 Delgado, 19 Lochner, 20 Bonar, Swords, 22 Parry, 23 Meuller.