Lightning are electric in front of Hunter
LOUGHBOROUGH Lightning enjoyed a thrilling start to their Premier 15s campaign with a resounding win over Worcester yesterday.
Watched by new playercoach and England captain Sarah Hunter, eight tries secured victory for the hosts with an Olivia Jones double accompanied by scores from Bethan Zeidler, Natasha Jones, Charlotte Pierce, Ofure Ugiagbe, Lucy Nye and Celia Quansah.
Worcester did manage to score two late tries through captain Lark Davies and Zoe Bennion to lower the deficit.
Loughborough looked electric from the off and Olivia Jones opened the scoring with a neat move and they continued to surge forward with Zeidler doubling their lead.
Worcester looked to get a foothold in the game with Rebecca Herring producing quick-ball, but the visitors were pressured well and forced back with the Lightning pack capitalising.
The hosts third try was made by a knock-on in Worcester’s own 22 and from the resulting scrum No.8 Jones scored her second in quick succession.
Worcester were forced to defend while Loughborough played expansive rugby in attack.
This led to another try, this time fly-half Natasha Jones crashing over from close-range.
Valkyries looked to have got to grips with the game but were undone by some quick defence from Lightning when Mags Lowish turned the ball over and Pierce scored a wonderful solo try from halfway.
Picking up from where they left off at the start of the second half, Loughborough made it six try on the day as Ugiagbe crashed through four defenders to stretch over the whitewash.
Nye took the hosts’ lead to 41-0 but in the final quarter of the match the Valkyries gained a surge of momentum after Loughborough’s Emma Hardy receiving a yellow for an offside offence.
Valkyries standout captain Davies capitalised on slow defending to crash over the try line after Worcester mounted pressure in the 22 and Bennion added a monumental conversion.
However the celebration was short lived when Loughborough gained their eighth try of the match when Quansah raced over with a gaping hole in the Worcester defence.
However the visitors mounted a last ditch attack on the Lightning 22 and were rewarded for their pressure and persistence.
Receiving a second yellow card was Loughborough scrum-half Maxwell for a high tackle which saw Worcester finish with a flourish as Bennion crashed over in the corner to score on the final play.