Player interview: "I just want to keep improving myself and get more minutes under my belt.”

Lola Whitley began her second season with Exeter Chiefs with a starting spot against Leicester Tigers Women yesterday. A sprinter and a high jumper as a youngster, the 22-year-old has used her athleticism as a springboard into the back-five after starting her rugby career on the wing.

Born in Camberwell in south-east London, the Whitley family moved to Colchester in Essex when she was little. It was at secondary school that Whitley began to take an interest in athletics.

She said: “I used to like running. I used to compete for my age-grade quite highly. I remember also coming 11th in the country at high jump at under 13s.

“Then one of my friends said her brother’s rugby club was trying to start a girls’ team. I went along and was hitting every side of the breakdown possible, but I also scored 10 tries, which was crazy. I just think the adrenaline and the excitement I got from the sport meant I was locked in.”

Whitley’s passion for the game saw her travel 40 minutes each way to play for Sudbury RFC before one of her team-mates mentioned Hartpury College. After visiting the educational facility near Gloucester, Whitley knew it was the place for her despite being five hours from home at 16 years old.

“They have alpacas walking around! I was like, wow, when you've grown up in Essex, you don't see that very often! But more than that, I was excited to live with the girls you play with and have that independence.”

Whitley studied for a diploma in sports science coupled with practical sessions in rugby while boarding through the Covid era.

“It was quite daunting, but I made some amazing friends. One of them was Niamh Orchard, who used to play here and is the reason I'm here. We didn't play much rugby in the first year because of Covid.”

When rugby did get started again, the Whitley started off on the wing using the speed that had served her so well as an athlete, but it was some familiar faces who decided the wing was not the place for her.

Red Roses scrum-half Natasha ‘Mo’ Hunt and recent Chiefs recruit Harry Wilson had other ideas for her.

“Harry was our forwards coach at the time. Both he and Mo said, ‘You're not a winger, you're a forward.” He said pick a position in the forwards and I picked the second row. I didn't know what it entailed; I was still learning rugby at the time, but it's probably the best decision we collectively made together. It went from zero to 100 with opportunities.”

“Within that year, I got to play up for BUCS. They pulled me from college into BUCS a year early. I then pushed on to England U20s England and Gloucester Hartpury all in one season.”

Hartpury University went on to win the university league that season with Whitley rubbing shoulders with the likes of Sophie Bridger, Emma Sing and Mia Venner. Whitley bypassed the ACE college league by being propelled straight into BUCS. She stayed another three years with the BUCS team while studying for a degree in sports business management and finance. A serious injury in her last year initiated a desire for a change in direction.

“I was out for 11 months, so that definitely shaped me as a person. I think coming back from that made me realise that I needed a change. I was so grateful for my time at Hartpury but I felt like I needed a change.”

This instigated the nerve-wracking process of reaching out to coaches after being in the same environment for five years. Chiefs’ former No 8 Orchard encouraged Whitley to contact ex-Exeter head coach Steve Salvin.

“I think it was good in the way it pushed me to be brave and confident. I couldn't just rely on the people that I felt comfortable with. I feel so comfortable around the whole team now. It's such a good environment to be in.”

Whitley made her debut in last year’s PWR Cup and her league debut against Loughborough Lightning. She also took part in the heart-breaking semi-final at the end of last season and played in several Champs games for the University of Exeter to sharpen her skills. She is hoping to push on this season.

“I just want to keep improving myself and get more minutes under my belt.”

Similar, to Chiefs Women’s cup captain, Emily Robinson, Whitley’s versatility and willingness to swap between the second and back row will make her a valuable player. She took a turn at No 8 in the Champs which gave her the opportunity to use her speed from the back of the scrum.

“That's my selling point. The power in my legs and my speed. I'm up there with some of the wingers in our team for speed and I think that's pretty unique. I'm quite proud to have that as a part of my game.”

Off the field, Whitely loves a good coffee and exploring Devon and. She is also happy to talk about the hair loss that has affected her for more than half her life. Women’s rugby is no stranger to alopecia. Olivia Apps from Canada and Saracens is also a sufferer and England’s Heather Fisher was the first to make the headlines back in the 2010s.

Whitley said: “I have alopecia areata. I was about 10 or 11 and me and my friend made a joke about the fact I was pulling my hair too tight for athletics because I had a tiny patch. I did not even mention it to my parents and then I washed my hair and I felt something cold. I ran downstairs and I had maybe a patch the size of 50p coin initially.”

Alopecia areata does not leave its suffers completely bald or without eyebrows or eyelashes but there is still significant hair loss. Whitley would have injections into her scalp to boost hair growth. A year ago, the hair loss reached its peak with Whitley left with just 43 per cent of her hair but a new treatment has reversed the trend.

“I started a drug that’s on trial. It's an immune suppressant, which is a really scary thing to start because you have to consider all the other complications and there was only a 30 per cent of chance of it working. But I was their best patient; I had the most success. I still go through seasons of it, but I gained 100% of my hair back, which is unheard of.

“Only then did I realise how much alopecia affected my mental health and lifestyle. I think I was kind of a closed book because of it. I associate being a female rugby player with having your hair done. It's a massive part of the changing room, getting braids and stuff. That's something I couldn't be a part of for a very long time. I can finally do a little braid. It was a real milestone for me.”

This interview was published in Chiefs’ free digital programme. Click here to read more, including the Fast XV quiz with Sofia Bekir Fuente.