An end-to-end game saw Trailfinders Women beaten at the death by a last-minute drop-goal against Loughborough Lightning in the final round of the PWR.
Tries from Tyson Beukeboom, Rosie Inman, Kate Zackary, Lisa Thompson and Julia Schell made sure Trailfinders came away with two points in the Round 18 clash.
Trailfinders Women finish seventh in the league following the conclusion of the 2024-25 regular season.
A superb start from Trailfinders gave them an entry into the Lightning 22 inside the opening two minutes. A kick to corner from a Loughborough offside resulted in Beukeboom breaking the deadlock with a maul try.
Lightning struck with their first points of the game just moments later. It was Kathryn Trader’s turn to score off the back of a rolling maul.
Fran Goldthorp burst through the defensive line as she looked for Lightning’s second score. A superb cover tackle from Rosie Inman wasn’t enough, the ball was popped up to Emily Scarratt who dived over.
Fly-half Helena Rowland was on the scoresheet next for the hosts, to extend their lead to 14 points in the opening quarter.
With ten minutes of the first-half remaining, a Trailfinders kick in behind lead to a penalty for the visitors. The quick-tap was taken and ball moved out left where Rosie Inman crashed through the defence and scored.
Not long after, Trailfinders were on the attack once again. Zackary cut back against the direction of play and dived through the gap. The captain leading from the front to bring Trailfinders back into the game.
Trailfinders’ Beukeboom got sent to the sin bin just before the break and Lightning made the most of their extra player. Treder scored her brace off the back of another rolling maul.
Half-time: Loughborough Lightning 26-17 Trailfinders Women
Trailfinders knew they needed a positive start to the second 40 and came out fighting. However, after pressure on the hosts’ line, they couldn’t make it pay. Neither side managed to get on the scoresheet in a scrappy third quarter of the match.
Lili Ives Campion scored the first points of the second half, after she found herself on the end of an offload following a line break.
Thompson hit back moments later as she crashed over the line to keep Trailfinders within touching distance.
With ten minutes on the clock, Cassandra Tuffnail charged into the opposition 22. The Loughborough defence was stretched and Schell crossed the whitewash and converted her own try to make it a two-point game.
The visitors got themselves back on the front foot in the final minutes of the match. A penalty won in front of the posts made it a simple decision for Schell. She pointed to the sticks and slotted it, Trailfinders led for the first time in the match.
It was Loughborough who would have the final say in the contest. A drop-goal from Rowland at the death secured the win for the home side, and it was agony for Trailfinders.
Full-time: Loughborough Lightning 36-34 Trailfinders Women
Loughborough Lightning:
Tries- Kathryn Treder 10 36, Emily Scarratt 13, Helena Rowland 17, Lili Ives Campion 60,
Conversions- Helena Rowland 11 14 37 61
Dop-goals- Helena Rowland 79
Trailfinders Women:
Tries- Tyson Beukeboom 5, Rosie Inman 27, Kate Zackary 31, Lisa Thompson 63, Julia Schell 69
Conversions- Julia Schell 32 64 70,
Yellow Cards-Tyson Beukeboom 35
Trailfinders Women fell to a 45-21 defeat against Loughborough Lightning away at a windy Loughborough University.
Tries for Carys Cox, Vicky Laflin and Sara Seye were not enough to take any points from their trip to the midlands.
This leaves Trailfinders Women 7th in the Allianz PWR table, with two wins from the first half of the season.
Loughborough dominated the first 10 minutes, with Trailfinders finding it difficult to exit from their own 22 into the wind.
As a result, Helen Nelson powered over at the back of a rolling maul for the home side with nine minutes gone in the game.
This score was quickly followed by a second for the Lightning off the back of another driving maul, making it 12-0 in as many minutes.
Trailfinders fired right back, though, and after the ball was worked wide, Abby Dow got on the end of a kick through and unselfishly fed Cox over the try line.
Sadia Kabeya would then add to the early flurry of tries, making the score 19-7 to the Lightning in only 18 minutes.
The frantic points scoring would then take a brief pause until the 31st minute, only for Loughborough to score back-to-back tries through Catherine O’Donnell and Bulou Mataitoga.
Despite the bleak scoreboard showing, Trailfinders continued to toil into the wind. Vicky Laflin steamed through a gap in the Lightning midfield just before halftime and crossed the white wash from 50 m out.
That try made it 33-14 heading into the break, leaving Trailfinders a big job in the second term if they were to get anything from their travels.
In the second half, it looked like they might make that improbable comeback reality.
Sara Seye crashed over the line from short range just 3 minutes into the second half to cut the deficit to two scores.
However, as much as Trailfinders tried, they could not find another breakthrough, with the Lightning going on to score two more tries in the final ten minutes, meaning the final score would read 45-21.
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