Katie Trevarthen makes her 100th appearance for Allianz Premiership Women's Rugby side Loughborough Lightning

Stamford rugby player Katie Trevarthen has recorded a memorable milestone after becoming Loughborough Lightning's first centurion.

The loosehead prop became the first member of Lightning's 100 club when she featured against Harlequins in round 16 of the 2023/24 Allianz Premiership Women's Rugby campaign.

Her former Loughborough team-mate Sarah Hunter returned to the club to present Trevarthen with a commemorative jersey before making a speech alongside head coach, Nathan Smith, ahead of the landmark occasion which left the 28-year-old humbled.

Trevarthen - who has also previously represented England Under-20s as well as England Academies - said: "I am so grateful for everybody making it so special in the lead-up.

"I didn’t realise it would be made as big a deal as it was. Everybody made it really special and made me feel really appreciated by the club. It was so cool.

"I was expecting a social media post, that sort of thing, but I didn’t expect my phone to be popping off in the way it is. It has been a bit mental."

Part of the furniture in the East Midlands since Allianz Premiership Women's Rugby's inaugural season in 2017, Trevarthen also works full-time as BUCS Women's Rugby Lead at Loughborough University.

She guided the team to the final of the top tier of women’s university rugby, BUCS Women's National League, this season after starting her rugby journey in Stamford.

Trevarthen's commemorative jersey will take pride of place alongside another special shirt presented to her when she was forced to leave Stamford Rugby Club at the end of her Under-12s season because of a lack of girls playing numbers.

She explained: "It was mixed rugby, but I was the only girl on the team and I was gutted when I left that summer to not play with the boys anymore because of rules.

"It was such a lovely team and we won a lot. I absolutely loved it and the boys, I am sure with help from their parents, framed me a shirt with lots of pictures of us all playing together around it.

"I have got some very happy memories of starting my rugby there.

"Probably because of the nature of where girls rugby was at the time, all of junior rugby up to seniors, I had a different club every year.

"My parents did a lot of driving for me to play rugby in my teenage years and Stamford was very much where my proper love for rugby developed."

Stamford now have a successful women's team in their own ranks which completed a trophy treble last season.

They were crowned Midlands 2 (North) champions and lifted the inaugural Lincolnshire County Cup before winning the Notts, Lincs and Derbys competition.

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