Loughborough Lightning's Meg Davey wants to be the topic of conversation.

The 23-year-old scrum-half has become a talking point of Nathan Smith's squad from the offset this season, crossing the whitewash twice during their 38-29 victory over Harlequins in the Allianz Cup.

Davy has been an integral part of the Lightning set up for seven seasons now but is intent on finally making 2023 her standout year as she chases her first senior international call-up.

And with three starts and a brace already to her name, the Stafford native teased that she is only getting started.

"I want to have a big season and to consistently be starting for Lightning," she said.

"Every single game I want someone to be saying something about me and mentioning that I have done something well. It's just about that consistency and I want to continue that in the coming months.

"Because our training has been so hard, I haven't felt this fit playing in so long and everything feels so much easier.

"I feel really sharp and I obviously love to kick and snipe and the way we have been playing as a team has really allowed me to do that.

"I never get over the whitewash so doing that twice against Quins was a nice feeling."

Davey first stepped onto the rugby pitch as a young girl, following in the footsteps of her older brother Jack.

A fast-paced youngster, the scrum-half initially started out on the wing at Lichfield Rugby Club and has seen an upwards trajectory on the pitch ever since - but is constantly reminded to thank her brother for his inspiration.

"My dad would always drag me along every Sunday and suddenly I wanted a go so he just shoved me in," said Davey, who is currently studying for her PGCE at Loughborough University.

"I went straight into the boy's team, and I was quick so I was put on the wing and stuck there.

"It was just about consistency, I never stopped going on a Sunday and it's now blossomed into what it is today.

"My brother says it's all thanks to him though."

At the same time as her rise in rugby, Davey was also experiencing an impressive stint on the football pitch.

The Lightning player revealed that she had been a burgeoning midfielder for the Aston Villa Academy aged 10 before stepping away to focus on one sport, believing that her time in the beautiful game has also lent a hand to her progression on the rugby pitch.

"I played football to quite a good level when I was younger as well," she said.

"I was actually lucky enough that I was in the Aston Villa Academy when I was about 10 until I had to make the decision to either play football or rugby.

"And I think that's why I can kick pretty well and find space on the rugby pitch.

"I have to thank my football career for that."

Loughborough Lightning finished eighth in the 2022/23 season but have seen a change in fortunes so far in the Allianz Cup, with victory over Harlequins alongside two closely contested games against Saracens and Gloucester-Hartpury.

According to Davey, this change comes down to the injection of new head coach Smith who has implemented a much-needed attitude change within the team.

Crediting Smith as the glue that has stuck a broken team back together again, the scrum-half is confident that this newfound Lightning mentality is here to stay.

"As soon as Nathan walked in, he set the standard," she said.

"Three games in now, you can see that the team morale is so much higher and everyone is really playing for each other.

"I feel like we had lost our way a little bit as a club but Nathan has come right in and been that glue.

"I remember in one of our first meetings, he was like, 'these are the standards I'm going to uphold and you need to uphold them as well'.

"He's always early to everything, setting out the pitch like half an hour before the session and when you see him doing that you think 'we're going to go out 15 minutes early now' and that standard is definitely bleeding into our games."

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