Summer heatwave has put Hunt in high spirits
DEFIANT England 7s star Natasha Hunt says her side are ready to come out “all guns blazing” ahead of a fiendishly difficult World Cup assignment in a fortnight’s time.
England Women bagged a breakthrough bronze at the recent Commonwealth Games in Australia.
However, the knock-out nature of the World Cup means they will face jointfavourites New Zealand in the quarter-finals – if they can first overcome Ireland.
Hunt, a hero of England’s Commonwealth Games success, told The Rugby Paper: “It’s a tough draw but if you want to be the best in the world you have to beat everyone – that’s our aim.
“We’ve got nothing to lose, all the pressure will be on New Zealand and I’ve been in positions in the past when you’re favourites and that’s got on top of you.
“They’ll have all the media and expectation around them, so hopefully we can get past Ireland and then just go out and play the rugby we know we’re capable of. It’s all guns blazing for us and everyone’s got a buzz ahead of squad selection this week.”
On paper England do not have a prayer. An eighth placed World Series finish fell well short of expectations while title holders Australia and runner’s up New Zealand dominated proceedings, winning all five tournaments between them.
However, Hunt said: “Our Commonwealth bronze felt like a breakthrough. It’s no secret that we haven’t performed as well as we’d have liked in the World Series, but we’ve shown glimpses and to hold off Canada in the Gold Coast showed character.
“To do something in a major tournament is something we’ve aspired to, so to actually go away and hold our nerve was amazing. We owed Canada one after the Olympics in Rio and we also ran New Zealand and Australia pretty close in other games.
“We know what we can do now and that’s given us confidence. We slipped off the radar at times in the World Series and that’s disappointing, but we’ve got a good squad and know that if we get it right we can compete with the best.”
With July temperatures in San Francisco usually in the mid-20s, Hunt believes England are also set to benefit from the recent heatwave at home.
Asked how England might close the gap with their main Southern Hemisphere rivals, she added: “Training in sunshine! We talk about it quite a lot because during the long winter months here it’s really difficult to get any benefits of training in heat.
“New Zealand and Australia can throw the ball around, rather than running around in as many layers as you can find in the rain and dropping a wet ball.
“It’s a difficult thing to try and manage but this last couple of months will massively help our preparation because we’ve been able to train properly. We’ve been able to nail down our skills so hopefully we can go over and play exciting rugby.”