Rooted in PWR: Lilli Ives Campion

Young gun Lilli Ives Campion has already achieved more than your average 21-year-old, but she is not letting that limit her dreams on the rugby pitch.

The second row is the joint sixth-highest appearance maker in Loughborough Lightning history with 66 caps to her name, having made her debut as a 17-year-old against Saracens in April 2021.

It was a maiden Premiership Women's Rugby appearance which marked the beginning of a rugby journey that has since seen Ives Campion become the youngest name in John Mitchell's Red Roses squad for the ongoing Rugby World Cup on home soil.

Ives Campion's humble beginnings in the sport began at the age of seven when she first stepped foot on the rugby pitch, before joining Telford Hornets as a teenager.

It was there that she perfected her craft, playing under-18s and trotting on the side, before making the decision to knuckle down and take the sport more seriously.

"I was probably around 15 when I realised I had some talent in the sport," she said.

"I went to Worcester Warriors Centre of Excellence which was really fun. I used to go every Saturday and it was the highlight of my week.

"Before that, I used to have a horse and tried to horse ride and play rugby at the same time, but by the end of it I just sold my horse and just played rugby every weekend.

"I still play rugby to this day obviously and when you play, I don't really think about anything else other than what I'm doing.

"That's what I really like about it."

Ives Campion moved to Loughborough College aged 16 to peruse her rugby dreams, progressing through the pathway at Loughborough, and playing for England at U18 and U20 age grade levels.

The lock has since catapulted to greater heights, getting her first senior cap against France in September 2024, before making her first start in a Red Roses jersey against Italy during the 2025 Guinness Women's Six Nations.

It is a whirlwind past 18 months that Ives Campion still cannot quite get her head around but one that has only helped her grow both on and off the pitch.

"Last year was massive for me personally," she said. "I got capped by the Red Roses in 2024, which was an unbelievable day and then went on tour with them.

"When I came back from tour, I was just thinking that I had done a lot over the 12-month period that I never would have thought or predicted would happen.

"That first cap was super cool. It was in Gloucester at Kingsholm and my whole family was there.

"I remember being so nervous but on the day, I didn't feel that bad and it was actually quite nice.

"All I was thinking was 'I'm here now, I just want to have fun and get on the pitch'."

Despite being so young, Ives Campion is already a mainstay at Loughborough after spending four years at the club and seeing her career flourish.

The 21-year-old has been part of a continuous mid-table battle during her time in the PWR, with Lightning's top results in her time at the club being a fourth-place finish during her maiden season.

But there has been personal growth in bucket loads for the lock, including a series of milestone victories like that of their 22-17 victory over Saracens in January 2025 - a moment that Ives Campion looks back on fondly.

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"This year at Lightning, we have been going through a real growth," she said.

"When we beat Saracens at home, that for us was such a good game because it proved to us that we could do it.

"We had never beaten Saracens before, so it was a pretty big game for us."

The 2025 Rugby World Cup is now the opportunity of a lifetime for the 21-year-old, who is the youngest member of Mitchell's Red Roses World Cup squad.

The last time that the World Cup was in England in 2010, fellow Loughborough player Emily Scarratt held that title, aged just 20.

And with the opportunity to prove herself on the biggest stage of them all, Ives Campion is relishing the opportunity to showcase her meteoric rise in the sport and make history at Allianz Stadium.

"I'm so looking forward to seeing the growth that is going to happen," she said. "It's going to be insane and I'm really excited to witness it.

"Winning a World Cup and Six Nations would be an incredible achievement to do all within one year.

"The belief and the desire are through the roof and that's what makes me want to play. For those girls who lost in that 2021 final, I want to play for them.

"There's just so much desire to go and do that and it's really exciting."