‘Not sure I’ll ever fully heal’: Natasha Hunt seeks Rugby World Cup redemption

‘Who knows if I would be sitting here going for the next one if I had reached that Rugby World Cup,” says the Red Roses scrum-half Natasha “Mo” Hunt on her bid to be part of England’s squad to compete in a home World Cup in 2025 after the heartbreak of missing out in 2022.

Hunt is a central player to John Mitchell’s squad with less than a year to go until the tournament kicks off on 22 August. England have only two competitions until the big event: the WXV 1 this month and the Women’s Six Nations. The Red Roses face two of their biggest rivals to start the countdown with friendlies against France being played on Saturday and New Zealand the following week.

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All the preparations are a foundation from which to try to win the trophy that has eluded them since 2014. England have reached the final in both World Cups since then but lost on each occasion to New Zealand . Hunt says there has been an extra bite to pre-season because of her awareness of next year’s World Cup. The prospect of playing in the home event is a driving motivation, but Hunt is not getting too far ahead of herself.

“I think the excitement around the squad, of the fact that we can do something pretty massive next summer if we get everything right and if we attack it, is really, really cool,” Hunt says. “England rugby are taking the games to many different stadiums and obviously the final game at Twickenham will be pretty epic, hoping to get that as a sellout for the first time for a women’s game. There’s a lot of cool stuff happening in the women’s game at the minute, things I never thought would happen in my lifetime of playing.

“The thought of being involved in that is definitely a driving force but there is so much to get through before that and I am never going to anticipate or expect anything until you see your name on that team sheet. That is definitely a good lesson learned.”

Hunt’s exclusion from the last World Cup is something she “wouldn’t wish on anyone” but says it has made her a more “well-rounded person” as she now fully understands the trauma non-selection can bring.

“I think when you have setbacks or disappointments like that, I don’t think it ever fully goes,” the 35-year-old says. “I don’t think I will ever fully heal. But it’s a massive driver for me now and I think it has made me a better player … you can always turn something that is quite low and quite a negative into a positive with the right mindset. Hopefully that is what I have been able to do and I’ve got to keep pushing on and see where we can go.”

Hunt has fought her way back into the England team and has been involved in every match since Mitchell took over as head coach at the beginning of the year. She starts against France his Saturday in a game that is being staged at Kingsholm, a home stadium for Hunt who plays for Gloucester-Hartpury and was born in Gloucester.

“It is a really special place,” Hunt says. “I love the fans, they are so passionate about rugby and Gloucester. To be able to pull on the white shirt and run out there [is amazing], especially in front of my niece and nephew. One is three and one is nearly three so they kind of understand it. So to be able to do it in front of them as well, how much they love rugby and they have been brought up in that environment, is so incredibly special.”