THIS WEEK... LYDIA THOMPSON WORCESTER WINGER

Winger Lydia Thompson has played her senior rugby exclusively for Worcester Warriors and when she joined the club in 2010 she was star struck.

At the time England players Kat Merchant and Danielle Waterman were a part of the side and she idolised them. She says it’s surreal that players coming through at Worcester now look at her as she did her role models.

“I didn’t think that day would come, it has suddenly snuck up on me to be honest,” the 29-year-old said. “I still admire Kat and Danielle and to think maybe I have the opportunity to help inspire [is amazing].

“I just remember how kind they were and I really hope I can do that for young players coming through.

“I was 18 and going into my first Premiership season. It was definitely an eye opening experience so I hope I can encourage and help the players coming through like they helped me.”

Thompson, who is a full-time player, will hope to inspire Worcester to disrupt the dominance that Saracens and Harlequins have in the league as the two London clubs reached the final last season for the third time.

Worcester will play Quins in their second fixture and Thompson says: “Obviously we won’t have much footage, we will only have one game from this season but we know their key players. They have re-signed a lot of their core team who are world class.

“So it’s going to be a really challenging fixture but last season we did well with the youth we’ve got. I’m excited to see how our new signings bring their energy and give us that opportunity to challenge Harlequins.”

Over the past few weeks talk of a women’s Lions team has entered discussions with Thompson, who plays for England, featuring in many people’s dream teams.

She would welcome a Lions tour.

“It would be a real opportunity to play more fixtures in a season. Whenever I’ve spoken to players who have been a part of the Barbarians teams they’ve loved playing alongside other internationals and learning from them, sharing ideas.

“It’s a really nice opportunity to have that moment to step back and say ‘oh could we try something different’. That’s what I have really enjoyed at Worcester. “We have had some great players, we have got some really exciting players starting with us. I have been loving chatting to them about how they have come through their international pathways and if we had a Lions tour it would give us a real opportunity to continue that.”