Hats off to Hunt
When Red Roses scrum half Natasha Hunt was playing for England U20s, her grandmother knitted her a Mo hat in keeping with her nickname and went on to knit personalised hats for most of the squad.
“She had tags saying hand knitted with love by Barbara Wright,” says Hunt. “My dad still wears mine sometimes when it’s cold.”
Headgear also featured when she returned from sevens rugby. She won a bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and was part of Team GB’s squad for both the 2016 and 2021 Olympics.
“Lots of the sevens girls were wearing scrunchies but when I came back to 15s everyone was rinsing me about it, so I decided to wear them even more. Now I just love them.”.
From a rugby family in the Forest of Dean, and Drybrook rugby club, Hunt loved all sport growing up and always had a ball in her hands as a youngster. She focused on netball practising three or four times a week until, at 17, her height was questioned at England trials.
That’s when she turned to rugby and was soon fast tracked through the system. She joined Gloucester-Hartpury in 2018 having previously played for Bristol and Lichfield. She won her first England cap in 2011, won the Rugby World Cup in 2014, and earned her 70th cap last weekend against Scotland.
Mo’s performances as co-captain at Gloucester-Hartpury, where she significantly contributed to their maiden Premiership Women’s Rugby title last year, and in England’s victorious inaugural WXV campaign, earned her a Red Roses contract as she re-established herself on the international scene.
Resilience is something she will have encouraged in pupils when working as a teacher and she has it herself in spades. With the Red Roses defending their Grand Slam title she said: ”I adore the Six Nations. To go and play against players we face week in week out, or as teammates, there’s that extra spice about it.”
Her nickname Mo became a feature when her younger sister couldn’t pronounce her name as a toddler. She has two names, many hats and many talents, having worked in the media, co-hosted the Nick and Mo show with Nick Heath during the Six Nations, commentated on matches for the BBC. She is currently hosting O2 Inside Line Live from the Red Roses camp.
“I love being in this environment. I’ve loved the last year building with this group of players and staff, and I am super excited to see where we can go in the future,” she says. “We want to continue to inspire the next generation and connect with our fans; it’s so important for us to have everyone along for the journey leading into a home World Cup. Women’s rugby has come so far since we used to play in front of 100 people only a few years ago. We just want to thank our fans so much for all of the support they continue to bring; Red Roses fans are the best! Hopefully they are enjoying being on this journey with us!”
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