Sarah Hunter hopes England win fans as well as games at women’s Six Nations Red Roses captain wants her side to win the battle for points on the field as well as public exposure and profile off it

The women’s Six Nations continues to be a two-pronged battle for points on the field, and public exposure and profile off it. In 2018, France led the way in both respects, as they captured a third Championship title in five years with a Grand Slam and a record crowd for the competition of 17,434 to watch their 18-17 win over perennial contenders England, in Grenoble, on the way.

Since then England, who were Six Nations champions every season from 2006 to 2012 but only once since then, have attempted to swing the balance back in their favour by awarding full-time contracts to the squad led by popular captain Sarah Hunter. The possibly pivotal fixture versus the French in the second round of this year’s Championship will be played at Castle Park in Doncaster – where the Red Roses beat one of the world’s top non-Six Nations teams, Canada, in November – while Italy will be hosted at Sandy Park in Exeter in round four.

“It is hugely important for us to showcase what the Red Rose is all about, and to support what is being done in women’s rugby around the country,” said Hunter. “We are playing the last game against Scotland at Twickenham, after the men’s match, and while it is great to play at the home of English rugby, we know that wherever we go, we will have fans coming out to support us.”

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First crack

The Six Nations’ opening fixture at Dublin’s Energia Park – aka the historic Donnybrook ground – on Friday 1 February gives Ireland the first crack at England, and the home skipper Ciara Griffin is hoping her team can repeat the title win of 2015, after finishes of third, second and third in the meantime. “It’s a great opener and we hope a good number of people will come out and support us,” said Griffin. “For the team it’s all about hard work and trying to improve each match.”

Scotland awarded 12 new caps in 2018, and after a 29-24 pre-Six Nations loss to Spain in Madrid last weekend, captain Lisa Thomson tipped Stirling County’s No 8 Siobhan Cattigan and prop Megan Kennedy as players to watch, and evidence of a squad with increasing depth. “I’ll look to lead by example and hopefully the players will follow,” Thomson said.

Wales have not finished among the Six Nations’ top three since 2009, and the only way is up after they propped up the table in 2018. Skipper Carys Phillips’s team have been boosted by a win over South Africa and a close loss to the Canadians last November. Phillips said: “We have developed our youngsters and we have 18-year-olds on eight caps, so that’s a great step for us.”

Pick up a copy of i for news, interviews and expert analysis from rugby correspondent Hugh Godwin throughout the Six Nations