Loughborough name 'naturally competitive' coach as Emily Scarratt replacement

Nathan Smith has appointed a BUCS Super Rugby-winning head coach as the successor to Emily Scarratt in his coaching staff.

Matt Campbell has taken the reins as assistant backs and attack coach after Scarratt left the East Midlands for a full-time assistant coach role with John Mitchell’s Red Roses side.

Over the past two years Campbell has led Loughborough University to the Women’s BUCS Super Rugby final, and ended the programme’s 21-year wait for a title in April with victory against Brunel University.

Campbell previously coached the men’s and women’s teams at Edinburgh University before he joined Loughborough in 2024.

In addition to coaching the University, Campbell was Lightning’s Under-23 coach and managed the transition of players from BUCS to the senior Loughborough set-up.

In recent years, Campbell has seen the successful transition of Haineala Lutui, Amelia Williams, Tamsin Baynes, Carmela Morrall and Lucy Calladine to the senior Loughborough squad.

Campbell said: “I’m a naturally competitive person and am always looking to improve. Working in this environment gives me a real opportunity to do that and progress as a coach.

“At Loughborough, the girls are on a similar journey, so I get to go with them on that. There are girls who have started their first senior professional contracts, and to continue that journey with them is really exciting.

“It’s a really exciting opportunity. Given how competitive the league is, there aren’t many jobs like this, so being considered means a lot to me.”

Last season Lightning finished seven points adrift of the JAECOO Premiership Women’s Rugby top four.

With the aim of breaking into the play-off positions, the club have resigned the likes of Helena Rowland, Sadia Kabeya, Daisy Hibbert-Jones, Carmela Morrall, Megan Davey, Mae Sagapolu, Keevy Fitzpatrick and Amelia Williams, and have recruited six Canada internationals [Pamphinette Buisa, Chloe Daniels, Brooke Rempel, Kiki Idowu, Rachel Smith and Florence Symonds].

Campbell said: “Top four will always be a benchmark ambition for us as a club in the JAECOO PWR, and it’s becoming harder to achieve every year, but that challenge is equally exciting for us as a group to go out and target.

“In this new role, I’ll be able to rip into a one-team weekly cycle, and that will give me more opportunity to help develop the players, as well as, from a personal standpoint, take advantage of our partnership with Saints and do more CPD and work to improve myself as a coach

“I’m still relatively new to my coaching career, so having experienced coaches around me to learn and get better from is invaluable. Nathan challenges me every day with the professional environment and as a coach, and over the last two years, that’s made a massive difference.

“And Tails, [Rachel Taylor] is not only a great coach but also a great human and will always go out of her way to help me and be that person to learn from and lean on. And of course, Scaz [Emily Scarratt], there’s a reason they call her the GOAT, she’s an awesome person and a breadth of knowledge that was incredible to work with.”