Match Report: Sale Sharks Women 7-50 Loughborough Lightning

Krissy Scurfield scored half of Loughborough Lightning’s eight tries as they signed off the calendar year with an emphatic victory over Sale Sharks.

The Canadian Olympic silver medallist bagged two tries in each half as Lightning took a 19-7 lead at the break with Kathryn Treder also crossing, and Iona Antwis striking for Sale.

Nathan Smith’s visitors piled on 31 unanswered points to complete the bonus-point success after the break as Scurfield double her try tally to four, Treder landed her second in addition to efforts from Alev Kelter and Christine Belisle to end 2024 in clinical fashion.

FIRST HALF

An unchanged Lightning side flew out of the blocks in the opening minutes with American star Kelter making a galloping break from inside her own half into the 22 and soon afterwards, Daisy Hibbert-Jones was held up over the line. With their second chance from penalty advantage, Helen Nelson drove a kick to the corner and a patient maul was guided to the line by hooker Treder to apply the finishing touch.

A second try followed for Lightning after 26 minutes and it came from the combination of a moment of opportunism, blistering pace and a poacher’s finish – all coming from the same player.

Scurfield tapped a penalty inside her own half and wove her way upfield, finding Bulou Mataitoga and Sadia Kabeya in close support. After some patient play in the left corner, Scurfield saw her moment to pounce and reach over.

Scarratt added a superb conversion, then soon afterwards an assist on the halfway line following a turnover of possession to set Scurfield free at break-neck speed for her second, and Lightning’s third try. 

Sale got themselves back in the contest before half-time when Antwis burrowed her way over after Hallie Taufoou had seen yellow for a no-arms tackle. 

SECOND HALF

Sale flew out the blocks with that momentum-building score and should’ve built on that when Sofia Stefan went gliding through, only for Francesca Goldthorp to reach out a despairing hand and tap an ankle to force a fumble over the line.

That near miss was compounded when, powered by an increasingly dominant scrum, Lightning worked their way into the Sale half and Kelter arrived on a barnstorming line to fend hard and finish emphatically for her fourth try in five games. 

Scarratt’s third successful conversion extended the lead that grew further when another powerful maul was finished off by Treder, for her second try of the encounter.

It was to be the first of four tries in the final quarter as Scurfield completed her hat-trick with a phenomenal finish, latching onto Lilli Ives Campion’s offload and terrorising the defence, releasing the ball in the tackle before scooping back up and finishing with aplomb.

The penultimate try came from Belisle as the Scotland international prop spotted an unguarded ruck to stomp her way over.

But the final word went fittingly to Scurfield as another scintillating run saw her burn through a hole and under the posts for Kelter to convert and bring up a half-century of points. 

Lightning now take a fortnight break from action before tackling Saracens at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens on Sunday 5 January (kick-off: 5.30pm) as part of a double header with partner club Northampton Saints, who take on Bath (kick-off: 3pm).

LINE-UPS

SALE SHARKS: 15. Izzy McGuire-Evans*, 14. Sophie Hopkins*, 13. Ellen Ramsbottom, 12. Leah Brough*, 11. Evie Tonkin, 10. Lizzie Duffy, 9. Jess Taylor-Roberts, 1. Amber Schonert, 2. Marion Ridgway, 3. Detysha Harper, 4. Iona Antwis, 5. Polly Bowman, 6. Morwenna Talling , 7. Jo Brown 8. Jasmine Hazell. 
Replacements: 16.Amelia Hyndman*, 17.Jessica Panayiotou*, 18. Alice Iwanejko, 19.Nina Moore, 20. Lucie Sams*, 21.Willow Bell, 22. Minori Yamamoto, 23.Nikita Prothero.

LIGHTNING: 15. Francesca Goldthorp, 14. Bulou Mataitoga, 13. Emily Scarratt, 12. Alev Kelter, 11. Krissy Scurfield, 10. Helen Nelson (cc), 9. Megan Davey; 1. Anne Young, 2. Kathryn Treder, 3. Laura Keates, 4. Abby Duguid, 5. Lilli Ives Campion, 6. Hallie Taufoou, 7. Sadia Kabeya, 8. Daisy Hibbert-Jones (cc)
Replacements: 16. Elis Martin, 17. Amelia Williams, 18. Christine Belisle, 19. Becky Boyd, 20. Kendall Waudby, 21. Leia Brebner-Holden, 22. Carmela Morrall, 23. Lia Green