Hunter ready for Aldcroft to get her happy ending at Rugby World Cup
Former England skipper Sarah Hunter believes Zoe Aldcroft deserves a happy World Cup ending at the 2025 Rugby World Cup.
The Scarborough native was forced off with a concussion in the first half of the World Cup final three years ago as England went on to lose to hosts New Zealand.
Aldcroft, who plays at lock, was named England captain earlier this year, nine years on from her Red Roses debut and will be reaming of lifting the trophy come September.
'Zoe Aldcroft is an unbelievable player, I think she just underestimates the presence that she has,' Hunter said. 'I am in awe when I watch her train; she is a machine.
'Her ability to just go to places where other people don't, her impact in a game and her work rate.
'The engine that she has, a lot of the unseen work she does but then she will have a moment of brilliance.
'She galvanises the team around her, when she speaks people listen. People can't not be inspired by the way she plays the game, the way she puts her body on the line.'
Fresh threads for a big year 💙
The #RedRoses alternate kit for the 2025/26 season is here 🌹 — Red Roses (@RedRosesRugby) July 21, 2025
Hunter has gone from captaining Aldcroft to coaching her, serving as England's defence coach since 2023.
She transitioned into coaching immediately after retiring and has been supported by the Gallagher High Performance Academy.
The initiative run by World Rugby will have helped almost 50 female coaches earn valuable coaching experience with their unions by the end of the 2025 Rugby World Cup, which begins on 22 August in Sunderland.
Aldcroft is expected to lead England at a home World Cup, which the Red Roses enter the tournament as the overwhelming favourites and world number ones.
Hunter added: 'Different coaches have different reasons of why they select their captain, but when you watch her play, she is definitely someone who is the standard bearer of how you want the game to be played.
'She is the one who you think 'I will follow you into battle', and quite often as captain that is what you want.
'You want someone out there, leading the charges, in front, Zoe Aldcroft will never take a backward step.
'The way she galvanises the team, the way she motivates them, she is just brilliant all-round.
'I really hope she gets the World Cup ending she deserves this time around, she got taken off in the final through a concussion, she is a pretty special player.'
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