Sarah Hunter believes Scotland have made “great progress” in recent years and expects them to come out and play with an “attacking mindset” on Saturday.
During her playing days Hunter, now 40, played against the Scots on many occasions and had a lot of success, indeed the last of her 141 caps for England was versus them in Newcastle back in 2023 when the Red Roses came out on top 58-7.
England have not lost to Scotland since 1999 and have won 28 match ups in a row between the old rivals. In 33 total meetings since the first one in 1994, England have won 31 and Scotland just two.
The visitors to Murrayfield on Saturday in the much-anticipated Women’s Six Nations round two clash are also after a 35th Test win on the spin.
With a crowd of over 25,000 expected at the national stadium (1.30pm, live on BBC), England are big favourites, but former back-row and now England assistant coach Hunter and co are not taking Scotland lightly.
“Scotland have been making great progress,” she said.
“Getting to the Rugby World Cup quarter-final last year was significant for Scotland and they played some really good rugby at that tournament.
“And obviously, as coaches and players, we know a lot of the players from Scotland as a lot of them play in the PWR and are doing well for their various club teams.
“They’ve got a whole new coaching set up now headed up by Sione Fukofuka and it’s interesting when that happens because, when doing analysis, you have to think how much you watch from last year and how much you watch from this year.
“But you can see that – as Sione did with USA before too – they want to play attacking rugby.
“And they’ve got a lot of tactical players and Helen Nelson and Meryl Smith will be able to put them into the right areas.
“I was really impressed with some of what I saw against Wales last week from Scotland around that attacking mindset.”
The last time Scotland and England met at Murrayfield was in 2020 and was played behind closed doors due to Storm Ciara.
Hunter was captain of the visitors that day and scored a try as England came out on top 53-0.
What does she remember of that bizarre occasion?
“It being very cold,” the defence coach joked.
“Seriously though, Murrayfield’s an amazing stadium so to have the opportunity to play there was pretty special.
“There was only really a few friends and family there so this game at the weekend with 25,000 plus people in the stands will be pretty special.
“The type of crowds coming to matches now just shows where the women’s game has moved to.
“We can’t wait to be part of a big day at such a historic stadium.”
The England squad is here and news on the Scotland matchday squad is here.
- The other round two games see Wales play France at Cardiff Arms Park (3.35pm, live on BBC) and Ireland are hosting Italy at the Dexcom Stadium in Galway (5.40pm, live on BBC).
- Over 25,000 tickets have been sold for Scotland-England, join in the fun by getting tickets here – before the senior game at 1.30pm at Murrayfield the under-21 sides from both countries are meeting at Hive Stadium at 11am.
Sarah Hunter is pictured – thanks to England Rugby
The Women’s Six Nations is here and the 2026 event runs from April 11 to May 17 and, between April 6 and May 20, GH Media will be covering Scotland’s campaign and the wider tournament – keep an eye out for content and thanks to everyone who supports GH Media’s work within women’s rugby