Lander sets her sights on Exeter Chiefs

Exeter Chiefs Women will welcome Lizzie Lander to squad as she makes the move from Bath Rugby Ladies.

Signed as a lock, Lander can also play at blindside flanker and No 8, Lander will bring her confident ball carrying ability and tireless tackling prowess to the squad.

The former British Army officer, who trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst graduate, has been studying at the University of Bath while playing for the city’s Championship South 1 team.

She will swap the hoops of Bath for the black of Chiefs as she heads down the M5 to try her hand at rugby in the JAECOO PWR.

The 27-year-old said: “I'm super excited about coming to Chiefs this season. After playing in Championship South 1, I'm looking forward to challenging myself further with a great bunch of people and enjoy the experience of it all.”

At 1.78m tall, she will be a welcome addition to both the second and back rows, especially with a military mentality that means she is happy to go to dark places for the jersey.

Assistant coach Oli Bishop said: “We saw Lizzie playing against our University of Exeter Championship side and her physicality stood out. Her playing age is still very young, having only taken up the game a couple of years ago, but she has huge potential.

“She already trained with the Chiefs group during the Six Nations last season so she should fit in really well. A good pre-season and a decent run of games in the Cup will give the coaching team a real insight into Lizzie’s ceiling and how we can develop her.”