1
Hunter set to break Test record as England name quarter-final team
Sarah Hunter will become the most capped England player when she captains her country in Sunday’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Australia. Hunter, 37, is set to make her 138th appearance for the Red Roses in Auckland, surpassing the previous record held by Rochelle Clark, while Sarah Bern will win her 50th cap.
ADVERTISEMENT
Tatyana Heard retains her place in the starting XV at inside centre after being awarded the player of the match award in the victory over South Africa last weekend with Zoe Harrison at fly-half and vice-captain Emily Scarratt at outside centre. Helena Rowland (full back), Lydia Thompson (right wing) and Abby Dow (left wing) form the back three.
Vickii Cornborough (loosehead prop), Amy Cokayne (hooker) and Sarah Bern (tighthead prop) make up the front row while Zoe Aldcroft and Abbie Ward are the lock pairing. Alex Matthews and Marlie Packer are at blindside and openside flanker respectively. Lark Davies is among the finishers after recovering from an ankle injury alongside Hannah Botterman, Maud Muir, Rosie Galligan, Poppy Cleall, Lucy Packer, Holly Aitchison and Ellie Kildunne.
No player in the men’s or women’s game has played for England more than Hunter, and coach Simon Middleton paid tribute to the number eight. Middleton said: “Sunday is a special day for two Red Roses. I’d like to give a special mention to Sarah Hunter, who becomes the most-capped England player of all time across the men’s and women’s game.
“To earn 138 caps for your country is a remarkable achievement and deserves to be celebrated. The way she conducts herself in everything she does both on and off the field is admirable. Her people skills, ability to lead and communicate with people from all walks of life makes her stand out. She takes pride in everything she does and does it to the best of her ability.
“As a sports person the one thing you hope you can do when you look back is to be able to say to yourself, ‘I couldn’t have given more, I’ve been the best I could be’. Sarah is one of the very few who will be able to unequivocally do that. She is a unique person and captain.”
On 25-year-old prop Bern, Middleton added: “Sarah Bern also reaches 50 caps, which is remarkable for someone so young. Sarah broke onto the scene at a young age and has become an integral part of our group from both a playing and leadership perspective. We are delighted for her.”
ADVERTISEMENT
England (vs Australia, Sunday)
15. Helena Rowland (Loughborough Lightning, 20 caps)
14. Lydia Thompson (University of Worcester Warriors, 56 caps)
13. Emily Scarratt (VC; Loughborough Lightning, 105 caps)
12. Tatyana Heard (Gloucester-Hartpury, 6 caps)
11. Abby Dow (Wasps, 27 caps)
10. Zoe Harrison (Saracens, 43 caps)
9. Leanne Infante (Saracens, 55 caps)
1. Vickii Cornborough (Harlequins, 72 caps)
2. Amy Cokayne (Harlequins, 67 caps)
3. Sarah Bern (Bristol Bears, 49 caps)
4. Zoe Aldcroft (Gloucester-Hartpury, 35 caps)
5. Abbie Ward (Bristol Bears, 58 caps)
6. Alex Matthews (Gloucester-Hartpury, 53 caps)
7. Marlie Packer (Saracens, 86 caps)
8. Sarah Hunter (Captain – Loughborough Lightning, 137 caps)
Replacements:
16. Lark Davies (Bristol Bears, 41 caps)
17. Hannah Botterman (Saracens, 33 caps)
18. Maud Muir (Gloucester-Hartpury, 14 caps)
19. Rosie Galligan (Harlequins, 8 caps)
20. Poppy Cleall (Saracens, 60 caps)
21. Lucy Packer (Harlequins, 7 caps)
22. Holly Aitchison (Saracens, 12 caps)
23. Ellie Kildunne (Harlequins, 28 caps)
Comments on RugbyPass
And the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
2 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
23 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
2 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
21 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
1 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
13 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
21 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
13 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
23 Go to commentsVern challenging this Blues side might be the edge they need to fulfill their potential. Convincing results from strong D and strong carries are hard to argue against.
1 Go to commentsLove seems to add a strong back field defense with speed to close the gap and tackle to his ability to attack, kick and pass (an accurate long pass). This sets him an edge over some of the other names - JRK in particular. Has to be said that Jordan and Stevenson have also been exposed defensively while Love has yet to face test match intensity. Spoilt for choice.
1 Go to commentsHe’s strung together a few strong seasons, I’d like to see him in the ABs and build some depth along with Reiko and ALB. Levi Aumua hasn’t taken the step we hoped to see but time yet.
2 Go to commentsWhere has our good friend Pecos gone!? Similar place to the Crusaders D, the abyss.
4 Go to commentsNice piece Nick. I haven’t seen much of the brumbies this year so will keep my powder dry on charlie, but clearly has the speed and footwork to be damaging in space. Similar to Samu, I’d worry about the size of our pack if the likes of Mcreight and Cale were in the b/row together. Maybe Cale could play a similar finisher role like Samu did for Rennie’s wallabies. Has Cale leapfrogged wilson in your eyes? He obviously has the lineout, but harry probably better (although not great) in the physical stuff and also has great hands in the loose. You’d have to say mcreight and valetini are shoe-ins at 7/8, so the question becomes who matches best with them at 6 and on the bench. I don’t know if he has a high enough ceiling, but id love to see wright given a shot based on how much bad luck he has had with injuries. He may also fit that no-nonsense graft/work rate irish approach…? If schmidt wants size and a 4/6 tweener then I’d probably pick Uru. On the bench I’d have no idea, Wilson if you want to give valetini a rest, and maybe hanigan/wright/uru as 6 replacements.
21 Go to commentsWho the heck is Billy Fulton?
13 Go to commentsCale has all the potential no doubt. So has Harry Wilson except for his dumb arse coach over the last few years who told him just to run at brick walls all the time. Valentini would be devastating at 6. As he was until some idiot thought oh yeah, move our best player to another position. Not mentioning any flightless or thank you names of course. I very much dislike claiming one player is the saviour, because injuries are so prevalent in the game these days as the players are bigger and faster, so the discussion should be who are at least the best two players in one position. For me it’s Harry Wilson and Cale at 8 at the moment with Valentini or Hooper from the Brumbies at 6. Great options. Seru Uru should be in the reserves too. A game changer.
21 Go to commentsScott Barrett is a card waiting to happen, Cane has been out with injury as well as playing in Japan, I think they’ll go with in-Japan-but-still-the-man Savea. Samisoni Taukeaho will be Captain after 2027, so he might get some Captain minutes against an Italy or Japan.
13 Go to comments