Premier 15s club Loughborough Lightning have signed England Sevens stars Abbie Brown and Helena Rowland ahead of the upcoming season.

The pair have signed for the club as they want to earn their spot in the Olympics next summer after the Rugby Football Union recently cut the sevens teams in a bid to save money.

Brown has captained her country, represented Team GB at the 2016 Rio Games and has won a bronze Commonwealth Games medal.

“I’m really looking forward to the new challenge of playing 15s again, especially as the game has moved on a lot from the last time I played," the 24 year-old said.

"The Lightning girls have been super welcoming and I’m excited for the season to start.”

Rowland previously won the Premier 15s with Saracens in the 2017/18 season before going full time with England Sevens in the 2018/19 season.

She added: "I'm really looking forward to getting back out onto the XVs pitch with Loughborough Lightning. This is a great opportunity to learn off new players, whilst being in an environment which will push me and help me to improve.”

Lightning head coach Rhys Edwards said: "Abbie comes to us through difficult circumstances with the Sevens programme, however, her experience captaining the England team on the world stage is really going to add an extra dimension to our leadership on and off the field.

"[While Helena] Her playmaking skills gives us another dimension in terms of the game we want to play, and I’m excited to give her the opportunity to play at outside half with the backline that we have this year, building on our run, pass, kick game.”

Premier 15s clubs have now returned to stage two training but a return to play date has not yet been confirmed.