England rugby star Sarah Hunter reflects on ‘crazy’ journey to earn her record 138th cap
Sarah Hunter’s England debut in 2007 came at Old Albanian Rugby Club. Only a few hundred people were in the ground.
At the time, the country’s female players did not play under the jurisdiction of the Rugby Football Union and were not even allowed to wear shirts with the traditional red rose on their chest. Professionalism was a pipeline dream.
The contrast with the men – the World Cup finalists of that year – could not have been greater.
Sarah Hunter becomes the most capable English rugby player of all time on Sunday
“We didn’t have the rose and had what we used to joke a tulip or a rosebud that hadn’t fully blossomed,” Hunter said. “We weren’t allowed to come out and show what women’s rugby was about.” Both Hunter and English women’s rugby have certainly blossomed since then.
On Sunday, Hunter becomes the most capable player in England’s rugby history when she leads her country in a World Cup quarter-final with Australia.
The clash at Auckland’s Waitakere Stadium will be Hunter’s 138th Test appearance. She has come a long way since her bow in Hertfordshire. The same goes for the sport she practices. “I only wanted one cap,” said Hunter, the leader of one of England’s most successful teams.
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