Loughborough Lightning: England's Cath O'Donnell, Helena Rowland and Sadia Kabeya agree new Loughborough deals
- Published
Cath O'Donnell made her England debut during the 2018 Six Nations
England trio Cath O'Donnell, Helena Rowland and Sadia Kabeya have signed extensions to their contracts at Loughborough Lightning.
Multiple Grand-Slam winning lock O'Donnell, 26, has made 47 appearances for Lightning since joining in 2017.
Full-back Rowland, 23, has missed most of this season with an leg injury she suffered at the World Cup in November.
Flanker Kabeya joined Loughborough from Wasps in 2021 and made her England debut that year against Canada.
Loughborough director of rugby Rhys Edwards said the club were thrilled to agree new deals with "three key players" who have 60 international caps between them.
"Cath is a classic example of someone who just goes about their business really, really well," Edwards said., external
"She's extremely powerful and makes a huge difference for us on the pitch. We're really pleased that having been here for six years now, she sees that we can support her towards the next World Cup with England and hopefully beyond."
Helena Rowland has also played for England Sevens side and was part of the Great Britain squad at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021
Edwards said Rowland, who won the the Premier 15s title with Saracens in 2018, was "one of the best players in the world".
"She's got X-factor and it's pretty evident that we've missed her while she has been injured this season."
Kabeya, 21, is another member of the last year's Red Rose World Cup squad and won the Six Nations Grand Slam this season.
"Sadia is one of the most influential players in the women's game at the moment, in terms of her performances throughout the Six Nations, but the potential she's also still got to improve is also massive.," Edwards said.
The club have not revealed the length of the players' new contracts.