HANNAH Lumley started playing rugby at the age of 14 and now she is gearing up to represent her county at Twickenham.
On Sunday 16 June, Devon Women will go toe-to-toe with Cumbria at the home of English rugby at 11am, before the men’s team will then take on the North Midlands at 1pm.
Hannah has recently received the great news that she will be in the squad to play for Devon. Three wins in a row with the latest one being over Sussex has got them to this stage and the hooker, who can also play flanker, has played her part along the way.
Hannah gave up swimming as a teen to join Tavistock Rugby Club and quickly showed a real aptitude for the sport. She trialled for the Dartmoor Mat Academy and Tavistock College that were Roslyn Park bound and earned the captaincy only for Covid to rear its ugly head and cause the cancellation of the event.
Missing out on the U15s Devon squad served as a motivating factor for Hannah to work even harder going forward, latter getting her chance to pull on the county shirt. Putting several tries on the board as they went undefeated, this was a first taste of Devon rugby for Hannah to enjoy.
With Tavistock failing to raise a side, Hannah joined Devonport Services next and continue to progress through the county ranks at the same time.
After much consideration, Hannah made an application to the RFU to be considered to play senior women’s rugby at the age of 17. This was a rigorous process to ensure Hannah was fit, well and able and understood the whole request and process. The application was supported by the women’s team at Devonport Services and after weeks of waiting for the decision, Hannah was notified that the application was approved and that she could now play at the women’s level.
Playing against big teams such as the Royal Navy was one of the rewards for this with them even approaching her to trial if she ever joined the Navy in the future.
A chance to play at Twickenham doesn’t come around all that often and to do so against Cumbria, the place where the current Ivybridge star was born, makes it all the more special.
Talking of Ivybridge RFC and that was the latest move in her career, departing Devonport and being welcomed with open arms at her new team. Under the coaching of former professional duo Ben and Georgie Gulliver, she has engaged intense training to get to this point.
Mum Tracey offered “A big thanks to Hannah’s teams and coaches who also push Hannah to reach her full potential!”
She continued, “Rugby is a huge part of Hannah’s life and Hannah continues to train, play and improve to maximise her rugby opportunities.”
Chris Northam at Nordic Installations has kindly sponsored Hannah this season and she is hoping to find sponsorship again for the final at Twickenham, as well as the 2024/25 campaign.