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Top four hopefuls Loughborough confirm midseason arrival of Layzell
By Joe Harvey
Loughborough Lightning have announced the midseason arrival of Amy Layzell from Premiership Women’s Rugby rivals Harlequins.
A former England Under-20 international, 24-year-old Layzell provides Nathan Smith’s team with a versatile backline player and will contribute to their top four ambitions.
Lightning went into the winter break fifth in the PWR table and in hot contention for a place in the semi-finals at the end of the 16-match regular season.
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Layzell has been a PWR regular since her teenage years. While balancing her studies at Durham University she spent three seasons with DMP Sharks before joining Wasps and then Bristol Bears. For the past two and a half seasons Layzell has played her club rugby for Harlequins.
Layzell said: “I moved to Loughborough Lightning because I wanted a new challenge in a fresh environment.
“I’ve loved watching how Loughborough play, and I’m really excited by how much they’ve progressed this season and the huge potential they have going forward.
“Hearing about the quality of the environment and the people within the squad really confirmed that Loughborough was the right place for me.
“I want to contribute to the team in any way I can and help drive us into the top four, where I believe this group really belongs.”
On top of her age grade honours, Layzell has represented Ireland in rugby sevens at the Rugby Europe 7s Championship Series in 2025.
She was also coached by new Loughborough teammate Abbie Brown playing at the Dubai invitational tournament last November.
Nathan Smith, Lightning head coach, said: “I’m happy to welcome Amy to Lightning. She provides us with positional versatility, which is always a great asset for me to have as a head coach.
“Amy also comes to us with experiences she has gained from playing in other environments than our own.
“She’s played with quite a few members of the squad through her age-grade international squad involvements as well as playing sevens and they all have spoken highly of her as a player, and as a person.”
