There have been times in the past two years particularly where Hunter’s place has been questioned – Saracens’ Poppy Cleall is a No 8 successor-in-waiting already producing at a high-class level. At 35 and in a period of such upheaval, it might have been easier to move on, pursue a burgeoning punditry career or seek challenges elsewhere.īut Hunter, as she has for so long, remained. There were periods of severe doubt, too: while suffering from a neural issue during the autumn of 2020, Hunter was unable to tie her shoelaces and feared for her future in the sport. Hunter has helped England to numerous titles throughout her career (Getty Images) Hunter made her England debut on the outskirts of St Albans, a converted centre bounding out for a cameo appearance in the back row in front of a scattered selection of largely family and friends at Old Albanians Rugby Club. To track Hunter’s story it is necessary to go back to the beginning, her career straddling distinct epochs of the sport as the game slowly evolved from amateur to professional.

It spoke volumes about a character who has come to be a defining figure in the growth of the women’s game. While other players might have stayed at home, or flown down purely for the Saturday celebrations, come the Wednesday before the game, the England skipper was on a 6am flight from Stansted Airport to ensure she was there to support her squad in whatever way she could. Having tried unsuccessfully to convince the medical staff to let her play on pain-killers, Hunter’s attention turned to how best she could help out. The rib injury that troubled her was a significant one, the towel about all she was permitted to lift before the time came to hoist the Six Nations trophy again. An untimely rib injury had ended Hunter’s tournament a week before the trip to the Basque Country – even the slightest of chuckles sent shoots of pain to her chest. It is May 2022, the Red Roses are on the verge of completing a fourth successive unbeaten Women’s Six Nations campaign and their skipper can only watch on with a grimace.

It is an overcast day and Sarah Hunter is clutching only a towel at England’s captain’s run in Bayonne. Sarah Hunter lifts the Women’s Six Nations trophy in 2020 (Getty Images)

Trackhunter app