England defence coach Sarah Hunter says the Red Roses have “worked harder than ever before” as they gear up for Friday’s “years in the making” Women’s Rugby World Cup opener against the USA in Sunderland.
Former England captain Hunter also hailed the growth of women’s rugby as she prepares to experience a World Cup in a “different capacity.”
The 39-year-old retired from rugby in 2023, finishing her career as England’s most capped player with 141 appearances. She now works under John Mitchell in charge of defence.
Hunter featured in the 2010 World Cup and, with the competition returning to English soil this year, she expressed her delight at the growth of the game as England prepare for the tournament opener at the Stadium of Light on Friday.
“I’m super excited just to see them go out. They’re all ready and like I said, it’s been three years in the making since our first camp in Chester,” Hunter said following Thursday’s captain’s run.
“This pre-season they’ve worked harder than they’ve ever worked before.
“To see how they’ve grown as a squad and a collective, it’s really exciting for them to be coming now to a home World Cup, first game Friday night.
As Women’s Rugby World Cup lands in England in 2025, can home advantage propel the Red Roses to glory?
“I think a lot of people ask, do I want to be out there and no, I had my time.
“I’m really happy and content with what’s been. I’m now just super proud and privileged that I still get to be on this journey from a different capacity.
“If I can help and support them in one per cent a little bit to contribute to what they can do out there, then that makes me really excited by what’s next in my journey.
“Just seeing how the game’s grown, I’ve been lucky enough to play in a home World Cup in 2010 and to see it now, to know that these girls are going to be playing on a bigger stage, it’s exactly where the game should be and it’s great to see that growth.”
Red Roses defence coach Sarah Hunter spoke to media following Thursday’s captain’s run at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light
As the top-ranked team in the world, the Red Roses enter the World Cup as favourites.
For Friday’s opener, England head coach John Mitchell named an unchanged side from their 40-6 warm-up victory over France, with skipper Zoe Aldcroft leading the squad.
The 32 players tasked with delivering Women’s Rugby World Cup glory for England
Veteran Emily Scarratt, who has 118 caps for England, is named as a replacement and is set to make her fifth World Cup appearance.
In 2023, the 35-year-old suffered a neck injury but has since returned to the sport and scrum-half Natasha Hunt was full of praise for her team-mate.
“She’s just incredible. The way she conducts herself is incredible,” Hunt said.
“Not a lot of people have spoken about it, but for her to have the injury that she had with her neck and be out for 14 months – something like that – and nobody really knew about it.
“To see her come back, I think she’s running around playing some of the best rugby that I’ve seen in a long time. She seems herself again which is amazing to see.
England’s Emily Scarratt will compete at her fifth World Cup for the Red Roses
“She’s just brilliant for everyone in the squad. Whether it’s for the old girls and she still gives all of us advice, or the youngsters as a calming influence and always knows the right thing to say and the right thing to do in the moment.
“She’s someone we all look up to. I’m very fortunate I’ve managed to live my career with her alongside me.”
Maher: We want America to fall in love with rugby during this World Cup
Ilona Maher’s mission at this Women’s Rugby World Cup is about more than just winning games. Heading into the United States’ tournament opener, the world’s most followed rugby player on social media wants to get more eyeballs on the sport as it ramps up attempts to crack the market in America.
“Not many people know there’s a Women’s Rugby World Cup going on, so we try to get as many people as we can to spread that knowledge,” Maher said.
“We want the fans in America to see us play here because we’ve got a World Cup there in eight years and we need to start building for that.”
Ilona Maher, rugby’s most followed player on social media, is intent on making the USA fall in love with rugby
Rugby authorities see America as a vital new market for the sport. The United States will stage the men’s Rugby World Cup in 2031 and the women’s tournament in 2033.
The presence of Maher is key to attracting attention on rugby in the USA, given she has 5.2m followers on Instagram and 3.6m on TikTok.
“This is a time where women’s rugby is in a state where it could grow massively,” she said, “and I do believe this team is at the forefront with how we present ourselves and people’s perception of us.”
England Red Roses side to face USA in World Cup opener
Red Roses: 15 Ellie Kildunne, 14 Abby Dow, 13 Megan Jones, 12 Tatyana Heard, 11 Jess Breach, 10 Zoe Harrison, 9 Natasha Hunt; 1 Hannah Botterman, 2 Amy Cokayne, 3 Maud Muir, 4 Morwenna Talling, 5 Abbie Ward, 6 Zoe Aldcroft, 7 Sadia Kabeya, 8 Alex Matthews.
Replacements: 16 Lark Atkin-Davies, 17 Kelsey Clifford, 18 Sarah Bern, 19 Rosie Galligan, 20 Maddie Feaunati, 21 Lucy Packer, 22 Emily Scarratt, 23 Emma Sing.
Mitchell: Favourites tag is irrelevant
Mitchell insists the tag of being Women’s Rugby World Cup favourites is “irrelevant”.
When asked what challenges that title presents, Mitchell replied: “It doesn’t really matter. We start the tournament equal like everyone else.
“Being favourites is irrelevant to us. It might be relevant to your section of the world. We’ve just got to be where our feet are and earn the right each week.”
Head coach John Mitchell is looking to guide the Red Roses to their first World Cup triumph since 2014
England are currently on a 27-game winning run and Mitchell believes that while his side are likely to be “hunted” by teams during the tournament, they are ready to embrace that.
“It’s really important to basically focus on ourselves,” he said.
“We understand their threats – it’s not that we don’t look at their threats – but ultimately at the end of the day it’s really important to focus on what we do and how we improve our margins, make sure that we perform above our standards.
“I’m sure if we take care of that, then that will take care of the threats.
“Every team will rise 10 or 15 per cent in this tournament because they’re playing against England, that’s just what we expect.
“From that point of view, we realise we’re hunted but we also look forward to that as well.”
The redesigned Women’s Rugby World Cup trophy awaits its next champion – but who will claim it in 2025?
Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 schedule
Pool stage
Pool A
August 22: England vs United States – Sunderland, 7.30pm
August 23: Australia vs Samoa – Salford, 12pm
August 30: England vs Samoa – Northampton, 5pm
August 30: United States vs Australia – York, 7.30pm
September 6: United States vs Samoa – York, 1.30pm
September 6: England vs Australia – Brighton, 5pm
Pool B
August 23: Scotland vs Wales – Salford, 2.45pm
August 23: Canada vs Fiji – York, 5.30pm
August 30: Canada vs Wales – Salford, 12pm
August 30: Scotland vs Fiji – Salford, 2.45pm
September 6: Canada vs Scotland – Exeter, 12pm
September 6: Wales vs Fiji – Exeter, 2.45pm
Pool C
August 24: Ireland vs Japan – Northampton, 12pm
August 24: New Zealand vs Spain – York, 5.30pm
August 31: Ireland vs Spain – Northampton, 12pm
August 31: New Zealand vs Japan – Exeter, 2pm
September 7: Japan vs Spain – York, 12pm
September 7: New Zealand vs Ireland – Brighton, 2.45pm
Pool D
August 23: France vs Italy – Exeter, 8.15pm
August 24: South Africa vs Brazil – Northampton, 2.45pm
August 31: Italy vs South Africa – York, 3.30pm
August 31: France vs Brazil – Exeter, 4.45pm
September 7: Italy vs Brazil – Northampton, 2pm
September 7: France vs South Africa – Northampton, 4.45pm
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