Thomson rose up through the ranks playing for East of Scotland under-18s, Scotland under-18 and under-20. She was part of a team that won the Brewin Dolphin under-15 Cup in 2012 when she played for Langholm under-15s. She also played for Murrayfield Wanderers under-18s, before joining Melrose Ladies.
She was awarded the Keri Holdsworth Player of the Match when Edinburgh beat St Andrew's in the Varsity Cup in 2015.
She signed her first professional contract in 2017 with the SRU to play in France for French club Lille Metropole Rugby Club Villeneuvois (LMRCV) for the season of 2017–18, alongside fellow Scottish player Chloe Rollie.[3] This provided significant opportunities for their progression in the sport and was the first contract of its kind for Scottish female players.[4]
Following this, she returned to Edinburgh to finish her studies, while playing for DMP Sharks. [5]
International career
Thomson made her international debut against England at Broadwood in the 2016 Six Nations opener. She is a Scottish Rugby-supported player, who was the captain for Scotland Women for the 2018/19 season. When Scotland beat Italy in the Women's Six Nations Championship of 2017, Thomson played a key role, setting up the home side's first try for Chloe Rollie, helping the team fight back from 12-0 down to secure a 14–12 victory.[6]
Thomson was selected to travel to South Africa with Scotland Women in their first ever tour and their first ever matches in the Southern Hemisphere in 2019, where they obtained two victories.
She is vice-captain for the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship. The team lost to England and Italy, before beating Wales 27–20 to claim fifth place in the championship.[7] Scotland captain of the 2021 Women's Six Nations, Rachel Malcolm, said of her teammate, “For me Lisa is probably the most well-rounded rugby player we have in our Scotland team. She leads so well in terms of organising the game and she has a brilliant rugby head and an unbelievable skillset."[8]
She turned pro in 2016, when she was enlisted as a Stage Three player in the BT Sport Scottish Rugby Academy.[9]
A former pupil of Trinity PS and Hawick HS, Lisa Thomson got involved with rugby at 5 years old playing for the Robbie Dyes in Hawick, and then played through primary school with Jedburgh minis. The town of Hawick is known for its community's passion for rugby and she frequently watched matches with her parents while growing up.[12]
She played at Langholm youth sections, then a season for Murrayfield Wanderers U18s.[13] This was followed by two seasons for Melrose Ladies at 17, playing her first senior rugby there. She moved on to play for Edinburgh University, while studying Applied Sports Science there, before interrupting her studies to move to Lille in France for one season. She also spent time playing football for junior clubs but has stated in interviews that she preferred rugby as a contact sport.[14]
She is also a Community coach at Edinburgh Harlequins Youth Section.
Honours
Keri Holdsworth Player of the Match (Edinburgh vs St Andrew's, Varsity Cup, 2015)[15]
Won the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Premier North League (2017, BUCS 7s and BUCS Championship with Edinburgh University)[16]
Semi Final of the Top 8 in 2017 with Lille Metropole Rugby Club Villeneuvois[17]
