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England captain Sarah Hunter to miss Women's Six Nations Grand Slam decider due to hamstring injury

England captain Sarah Hunter - England captain Sarah Hunter to miss Women's Six Nations Grand Slam decider due to hamstring injury - GETTY IMAGES
England captain Sarah Hunter - England captain Sarah Hunter to miss Women's Six Nations Grand Slam decider due to hamstring injury - GETTY IMAGES

England captain Sarah Hunter has been ruled out of Sunday's Grand Slam decider against Italy with a hamstring injury. Emily Scarratt, last year's World Player of the Year, will lead the Red Roses instead in their first competitive fixture in over seven months.

England, who were crowned Six Nations winners after France drew with Scotland on Sunday will also be without Gloucester-Hartpury lock Zoe Aldcroft, who earlier this month was named Rugby Players' Association Telegraph Women's Sport England player of the year.

Middleton described Hunter’s omission from the England squad as “more precautionary” after she tweaked her hamstring playing for Loughborough Lightning in their 12-5 win over Bristol in the Premier15s last weekend.

It is hoped she will return for the first match of England’s two-Test Series against France on November 14. The 2014 World Cup winner, however, received some good news on Tuesday when Marcus Rashford thanked her on Twitter for supporting his campaign to end child poverty.

Saracens full-back Sarah McKenna, prop Hannah Botterman, and back-row Vicky Fleetwood, and the Harlequins duo of scrum-half Leanne Riley and back Emily Scott, are also sidelined through injury, all having been influential in the Red Roses’ Six Nations campaign.

England stalwarts Saracens flanker Marlie Packer and Harlequins lock Abbie Ward are both set for their first international appearances in just nearly a year following lengthy injury lay-offs. Head coach Simon Middleton has drafted in Loughborough Lightning forwards Detysha Harper and Morwenna Talling after senior breakthroughs earlier this year.

“We have brought in 18-year old Morwenna Talling. She has been absolutely sensational, she came onto the scene with Loughborough last year and I couldn’t get her into the squad quick enough” Middleton told Telegraph Sport.

“We’re really looking forward to our final Six Nations game against Italy where we’re targeting the Grand Slam.

England squad for autumn fixtures
England squad for autumn fixtures

“We’ve had a number of short camps in recent weeks, which have given us an opportunity to work with lots of players who are doing well in the Allianz Premier15s like Morwenna.

“She came in as 17 year-old in the squad last year, we had to manage certain aspects of that as she was only 17 but she is a high intensity, physical player who has great game awareness and a great skill-set.”

Following the scrapping of the England women’s and men’s sevens programmes by the Rugby Football Union in the summer, Ellie Kildunne and Alex Matthews return to the XVs set up, while another sevens squad member Helena Rowland could earn her first cap.

“Ellie is a pretty sensational player. Helena Rowland has been really impressive in the camps since she came back from the sevens programmes,” Middleton said. “Alex Matthews we know is a world-class back row, she has two XVs World Cups behind her.

“We have always been very conscious of transitioning players between XVs and sevens. With the atrittional nature of XVs where players have gone from playing short high-speed games to 80-minute slogs and the repeated contact, you have to recondition the players. Fortunately for us, all these players came out of XVs, so they all have very good XVs skill sets.”

The squad will assemble on Wednesday for training at Pennyhill Park before flying to Italy on Friday. Telegraph Sport understands that Hunter will remain with her team-mates in the build up to the fixture in which England start as heavy favourites to collect a second consecutive Grand Slam.

Rashford praised Hunter after it was highlighted she was paying for free school meal vouchers at Benton Dene Primary, the school she attended in North Shields.

Middleton said: “The biggest accolade you could give Sarah is that she is an even greater person than she is a player and she is a great, great player. She is an amazing person.”

The RFU also announced on Tuesday that Mark Luffman will join the setup as forwards coach in place of Richard Blaze who departed during rugby’s hiatus to work with Wasps men.

Arriving from Darlington Mowden Park Sharks, former Yorkshire Carnegie coach Luffman has worked in the England men’s pathway, most recently with Jonathan Pendlebury’s Under 18s.