Sarah Hunter MBE

2014 Rugby World Cup winner Sarah Hunter is a stalwart of English Rugby. Recognised for her Services to Rugby with a MBE in 2014, she has become a leading inspirational role model for the women’s and girls’ game.

The 33-year-old England Captain has amassed over 100 caps playing for her country, and has had the honour of leading the team on a number of occasions, most recently at the 2019 Six Nations.

Sarah was also England’s captain during the last Rugby World Cup in 2017 in Ireland. With Sarah at the helm, England booked their place in the World Cup final where they played a phenomenal New Zealand side. Disappointingly, England came up just short, losing 32-41, but with the game watched by over 2.6million people on primetime TV, Sarah’s team certainly inspired a new generation of women’s and girls to play rugby that day.

Sarah took over the England captaincy reins full time in 2015, and during her tenure she has also led England to the RBS 6 Nations Grand Slam in 2016. In that same year, she was also named England’s Player of the Year by the Rugby Players’ Association and World Rugby’s Player of the Year.

Sarah began playing rugby league as a nine year-old but switched to Union in her teens. She is now the face of the Rugby Football Union’s All Schools Programme, and alongside the likes of Patron HRH Prince Harry, encourages children from state schools to give rugby a try.

Sarah is an excellent speaker and is well versed in delivering to a vast array of audiences, on subjects as diverse as leadership, understanding pressure, the psychology of winning, working in a male dominated environment and challenging perceptions.