Wasps Women fought to the line with a second half comeback, but it was Lightning’s thunder that stole the show.
Loughborough made their mark in the first half scoring five tries. Their first came 15 minutes in, getting the ball wide to Bo Westcombe Evans to score on the wing. This set off a string of tries, the second from their no. six Sara Svoboda and minutes later a third from Georgie Lingham. Lingham went on to score again, taking the opposition’s total to 24 points with 10 minutes left in the half.
It was Maud Muir who broke the storm, calling for the ball wide to crash through Loughborough’s defense and score to bring Wasps into the game.
With minutes left in the half, Loughborough sent it wide from a lineout in Wasps 22m leaving Helena Rowland to bring it back in and score under the posts. However it was Wasps that had the last say with a stunner from Abby Dow. Spotting the space in behind Lightning’s defense, Dow chipped the ball over the top and chased it down herself to score in the corner.
Determined to stay ahead, it was Lightning who kicked off the second half with their no. 6 Svoboda scoring her second try of the game. Former Wasp, Sadia Kabeya, set Loughborough up, securing a turnover and giving Loughborough a line out from which Courtney Holtkamp scored their final try.
It was Wasps who dominated the final quarter of the game with an injection of fire from the likes of Combebias, Cleall and Balogun. Heather Kerr added to the scoreboard, peeling off a Wasps maul to score after a penalty line out. Cleall scoring her first Premier 15s conversion to add the extras.
A quick tap from Sammy Wong and speedy dash towards the line set Emily Stone up to score the final try of the game diving over in the corner.
A true Wasps spirit to come back fighting in the second half and secure the losing bonus point. Plenty to take through to next week’s run out against chiefs and a big training week ahead in preparation.
With thanks to Wasps
