Fancy Bermudez re-signs with Loughborough Lightning after 12-try debut season

Fancy Bermudez has re-signed with Loughborough Lightning for the 2026/27 Premiership Women’s Rugby season, the club confirmed, after the Canada wing scored 12 tries in 12 appearances during her debut campaign with the East Midlands side.

The 24-year-old cited the club’s environment as the primary driver behind her decision to stay. “My main reason for re-signing was the culture and this environment,” Bermudez said. “It has been so refreshing for me; I’ve only been on a select few teams that have given me a sense of family. It’s an environment that has really helped me grow as a player without the stress of getting something wrong or making a mistake.”

Bermudez balanced her club commitments last season with appearances for Canada Women’s Sevens, competing in the HSBC SVNS Series and World Championship competitions. She also highlighted the club’s integration with the BUCS university programme as a distinctive part of Loughborough’s appeal. “There’s a really good chunk of talent coming through Loughborough,” she added. “I’ve heard from multiple people that our team culture really shines through — you can tell from the outside looking in, and that’s something super special.”

Bermudez will be one of six Canadians in the Lightning squad next season. Head coach Nathan Smith, who served as an assistant with Canada’s national team during the Pacific Four Series, has also recruited Pamphinette Buisa, Chloe Daniels, Brooke Rempel, Kiki Idowu and Rachel Smith for the coming campaign.

Smith was effusive about what Bermudez brings to the side. “She can be a devastating ball-carrier and grafts in defence too — two qualities that are key in PWR,” he said. “I am pleased she has re-signed, as I think there’s still so much more to come from her game and her impact on the side.”

Bermudez joins a growing list of returning players that includes Helena Rowland, Sadia Kabeya, Daisy Hibbert-Jones, Carmela Morrall, Megan Davey, Mae Sagapolu, Keevy Fitzpatrick and Amelia Williams. Loughborough finished sixth in the PWR table last season.