Loughborough Lightning have signed star hooker Gill Bourke from fellow Premier 15s club Harlequins.

The Ireland international has 50 caps for her country and has also featured in two World Cups.

Bourke will study a degree in data science at Loughborough University alongside performing on the pitch for Lightning.

She said: “The girls have been so welcoming already, there’s a great feel and culture here and the buzz at training is class. I can’t wait to get stuck in and play with this really talented group of players.

“Being able to combine studying an MSc with a top class rugby programme has fallen into place perfectly for me and I’m so grateful to Loughborough for the opportunity to be able do both and be part of such great set up.”

Lightning’s Director of Rugby Rhys Edwards says Bourke will bring ‘quality and experience’ to the side.

He said: "We have some incredibly talented youngsters who have aspirations to be full internationals, and to be able to achieve this they need to be supported on and off the field and be surrounded by good people and players. We have some of the best players in the world who can nurture and support these players.

“I see Gill with her quality and experience adding incredible value to the programme by increasing the competition for players, but also supporting our pathway at the same time. The fact that we can also support Gill’s academic ambitions as well for her career reinforces what we are trying to achieve as a programme.”