WOMEN'S GAME IN FOCUS
LOUGHBOROUGH LIGHTNING BACK-ROW
Sarah Rendell takes a weekly look at some important women players
THIS WEEK…
Loughborough Lightning are in fourth place in the Premier 15s, six points clear of fifth place Exeter Chiefs. To stay there and bag a semifinal spot, they have to win their last few fixtures.
Their next match is against defending champions Saracens, who beat them 29-24 earlier this season, and Lightning's back-row Becky Noon says they need to remain focused for 80 minutes to come away with a victory.
“We need to stick with our game plan and stay patient,” the 25- year-old said. “We know that Sarries are a really strong team but we just need to stay in the fight right until the end.
“We've seen throughout this season at halftime teams can be well in the lead and coming into the second half they [don't] come away with the win.
“It's literally all about having patience, not stressing too much about how the game is going and just staying focused all the way until the end. That really makes the difference.”
Both teams have important players away on Women's Six Nations duty. Lightning will be mssing eleven players – including the inspirational Emily Scarratt – and Saracens 12 including the Cleall twins Poppy and Bryony.
Noon added: “We are obviously missing some players so there are going to be changes.
Maybe some combinations we've not necessarily had for that many games.
“But the prep will be exactly the same. We will still make sure we're working hard and focusing in training to make sure on the day we are ready to put in a top performance.”
If Lightning manage to secure the semi-final spot the chances are the match will be shown on TV. The league is in the process of agreeing a broadcast deal for the semi-finals and final and Noon has said it's about time it's shown.
“I think that would just be absolutely amazing and to be honest it's well deserved. We're playing in the highest level for women's rugby [in England] and I don't see why it shouldn't be televised,” she said.
“I think we will get a really good following with it as well. Times are changing which is excellent to see but it's a slow process. There's definitely a positive step forward in getting the women's game more publicity.”
