Women's Six Nations 2023: Retiring Sarah Hunter hailed 'England's greatest player, men's or women's'

1 year ago 40

As Sarah Hunter near the Kingston Park transportation with a tearful smile, an epoch of English rugby ended.

It was 1 that began erstwhile she archetypal picked up a shot to effort retired rugby league aged nine.

The North Shields-born fig 8 fell successful emotion with it, but was forced to power codes due to the fact that of a deficiency of different girls playing astatine her age.

Hunter past fell into the athletics successful which she would go an England legend.

At 1 time, she sold programmes astatine Kingston Park to ticker her beloved Newcastle Falcons play.

On Saturday, the 37-year-old was beforehand and centre connected those programmes and the astir predominant recipient of the location crowd's adoring screams successful the 58-7 triumph implicit Scotland successful the Women's Six Nations.

Having made her 141st appearance, Hunter finished arsenic England's most-capped subordinate - antheral oregon pistillate - and the most-capped women's planetary successful the world.

The travel took her from amateur to professional, via 1 World Cup triumph and 10 Six Nations titles.

The titles matter, but it is her portion successful the exponential maturation of women's rugby that makes Hunter peculiarly proud.

"We privation to triumph tournaments but athletics is much than that, particularly with wherever women's athletics is now," she said.

"It's astir the bequest we privation to permission and how, arsenic individuals, we tin thrust that to animate that adjacent generation.

"We've conscionable scratched the aboveground of the women's game. I'll manus the baton connected to this radical of Red Roses, past they'll person a work to determination the crippled forward."

England caput manager Simon Middleton described Hunter arsenic "the look of the Red Roses for the past 10 years".

"Because she's been specified an unthinkable person and diplomat for the game, we shouldn't hide what an unbelievable subordinate she's been," helium added.

"She ne'er trains oregon plays poorly. She gives everything she's got to each league and everything she does.

"She is England's top player, without a shadiness of a doubt. Men's, women's, I can't spot however anyone tin accidental determination has been a amended player."

For the astir part, Hunter has done it each with a grin connected her look and kindness for anyone she encounters.

That kindness was repaid successful Newcastle. Hunter was capable to decorativeness her vocation successful her location metropolis - the stands packed with household members and nine-year-old niece Isabella escorting her onto the pitch.

There were tears earlier the match, past erstwhile she near the field, and during the galore post-match interviews that followed.

Not conscionable from Hunter, but each those successful the crippled that person grown to emotion and respect her.

There were ear-piercing screams erstwhile she took to the tract and a lasting ovation erstwhile she left.

As ever, Hunter remained her authentic, thoughtful self.

There was a laughter shared with Loughborough team-mate Rachel Malcolm aft the Scotland skipper enactment successful a peculiarly dense tackle connected her England counterpart.

There was a reassuring manus connected the enarthrosis of scrum-half Lucy Packer - 14 years her inferior and making her archetypal foray into a crippled that looks truthful antithetic to erstwhile Hunter started.

Her archetypal cap, besides won against Scotland, came successful beforehand of a fewer 100 people, mostly household and friends, she said.

Fittingly, this past 1 was astatine a sold-out Kingston Park arsenic England - nonrecreational for 4 years present - showed conscionable however acold concern tin instrumentality you arsenic they battered newly-contracted Scotland successful hunt of a 5th successive Women's Six Nations title.

When she did permission the field, Hunter refused to beryllium successful the spotlight alone.

Hugging Marlie Packer, who volition present instrumentality connected the captaincy, Hunter showed her appreciation for the assemblage arsenic mum Janet watched connected successful tears.

"I wanted to marque definite I thanked radical for coming," she said of the infinitesimal connected BBC Two.

"I conscionable wanted to vessel it, savour the infinitesimal you'll ne'er get again. This assemblage was insane tonight. It was conscionable to amusement that I've seen them and I recognise them."

Looking astir the ground, it seemed determination were capable tears to capable the River Tyne - and Middleton admitted 1 oregon 2 escaped his eyes too.

"Anyone who has been successful present contiguous is rather privileged to person been astatine 1 of the iconic moments successful sport," helium said of Hunter's transportation exit.

Team-mate and chap World Cup-winner Emily Scarratt said the crowd's effect "will enactment with maine for a precise agelong time".

"I'm feeling emotional," Scarratt added connected BBC Two.

"She played truthful good too. She got a turnover earlier she came disconnected and carried the shot well. It is an astonishing mode to spell retired inactive being that bully astatine your craft. She is an implicit nonrecreational however she goes astir her work."

Although Hunter missed retired connected a 2nd World Cup triumph with England aft narrowly losing the last to New Zealand successful November, the effect against Scotland meant she finished astatine the apical of her game.

She returned to the transportation aft the last whistle and was presented with roses, earlier being hoisted onto the shoulders of beforehand enactment players Sarah Bern and Amy Cokayne and carried crossed the field.

Reflecting connected her record-breaking career, Hunter joked she "just wanted to get a 2nd cap" and not beryllium "a one-cap wonder".

"To decorativeness connected your terms, not galore radical get to bash it and I've done it the champion mode I could person imagined," Hunter added.

"I've played successful a superb crippled with a superb squad successful my location metropolis wherever it each began. It is the cleanable ending to the vocation that I've had."