By MARK STEVENS
The smiles said it all, after 13 painstaking months on the sidelines, the pure joy of returning to competitive action was evident for England star Emily Scarratt.
A 48-minute cameo for Loughborough Lightning against Bristol last week was a sufficient starting point for the 34-year-old, who had finally worked her way back from neck surgery in early 2023.
“I had a bulging neck disc which was compromising my cord, which is obviously pretty dangerous,” said Scarratt. “It was stable where it was, but it wasn’t regressing or recovering by itself.
“Even if I didn’t come back to rugby...