Natasha Hunt and Emily Scarratt return to England squad for Women’s Six Nations

Hunt returns to Simon Middleton’s squad with fellow scrum-half Claudia MacDonald ruled out with injury

Emily Scarratt has returned to the England squad after missing the autumn internationals with injury (Getty Images)

Emily Scarratt and Natasha ‘Mo’ Hunt both return to a 40-player training squad named by England head coach Simon Middleton ahead of the Women’s Six Nations.

Scarratt missed the autumn internationals with a serious leg injury suffered in the opening game of the Allianz Premier 15s season, but made her return for Loughborough Lightning last weekend and is fit for the start of the tournament.

Hunt earns a recall to the England squad with fellow scrum-half Claudia MacDonald ruled out of the Six Nations with injury.

The Gloucester-Hartpury nine appeared at Tokyo 2020 with GB Sevens after taking a break from the Red Roses in 2021.

Prop Bryony Cleall and flanker Vicky Fleetwood also return to Middleton’s squad after autumn injuries, while there are three uncapped players, including Saracens hooker May Campbell.

England extended their unbeaten run to 18 games with wins over New Zealand, twice, the USA and Canada in the autumn and are the favourites for the World Cup, which begins in October.

“This is our last competitive tournament before we go into the World Cup so it’s an opportunity for players to put their best foot forward,” said Middleton.

“We’ve got a summer’s preparation to go but ultimately how people perform on the biggest stages is critical to us.

“We’re really excited and can’t wait to get started.We have a tremendous amount of competition in the squad both in terms of the established players and especially in terms of the younger players now coming through, which is great.”

Scarratt, the 2019 World Rugby Player of the Year, broke her leg at the Twickenham Stoop in September but made her return from injury against Hunt’s Gloucester-Hartpury last weekend.

She missed Lougborough’s draw with Bristol on Saturday due to Covid.

Alongside Campbell, goal-kicking full-back Emma Sing and scrum-half Ella Wyrwas are the other uncapped players in the squad having been retained from the squad that completed an autumn clean sweep.

Rosie Galligan, who joined Harlequins from Saracens at the start of the season, could win a first England cap since 2019.

England begin their campaign against Scotland in Edinburgh on 26 March.

A trip to Italy is followed by back-to-back home encounters with Wales and Ireland before a potential Grand Slam decider against France in Bayonne on the final weekend.

England retained their Women’s Six Nations crown in a revamped format in 2021, beating France in the final.

England 2022 Women’s Six Nations squad

Forwards

Zoe Aldcroft (Gloucester-Hartpury, 28 caps)

Sarah Beckett (Harlequins, 22 caps)

Sarah Bern (Bristol Bears, 40 caps)

Hannah Botterman (Saracens, 26 caps)

Shaunagh Brown (Harlequins, 24 caps)

Rowena Burnfield (Wasps, 50 caps)

May Campbell (Saracens, uncapped)

Bryony Cleall (Wasps, 5 caps)

Poppy Cleall (Saracens, 50 caps)

Amy Cokayne (Harlequins, 60 caps)

Vickii Cornborough (Harlequins, 64 caps)

Lark Davies (Loughborough Lightning, 35 caps)

Vicky Fleetwood (Saracens, 79 caps)

Rosie Galligan (Harlequins, 1 cap)

Detysha Harper (Loughborough Lightning, 5 caps)

Sarah Hunter (Loughborough Lightning, 130 caps)

Sadia Kabeya (Loughborough Lightning, 2 caps)

Alex Matthews (Worcester Warriors, 45 caps)

Harriet Millar-Mills (Wasps, 66 caps)

Maud Muir (Wasps, 4 caps)

Marlie Packer (Saracens, 79 caps)

Connie Powell (Gloucester-Hartpury, 1 cap)

Abbie Ward (Bristol Bears, 50 caps)

Backs

Holly Aitchison (Saracens, 4 caps)

Jess Breach (Harlequins, 19 caps)

Heather Cowell (Harlequins, 2 caps)

Abby Dow (Wasps, 22 caps)

Zoe Harrison (Saracens, 34 caps)

Natasha Hunt (Gloucester-Hartpury, 55 caps)

Leanne Infante (Bristol Bears, 48 caps)

Ellie Kildunne (Harlequins, 18 caps)

Sarah McKenna (Saracens, 39 caps)

Lucy Packer (Harlequins, 1 cap)

Amber Reed (Bristol Bears, 58 caps)

Helena Rowland (Loughborough Lightning, 10 caps)

Emily Scarratt (Loughborough Lightning, 96 caps)

Emma Sing (Gloucester-Hartpury, uncapped)

Lagi Tuima (Harlequins, 12 caps)

Lydia Thompson (Worcester Warriors, 50 caps)

Ella Wyrwas (Saracens, uncapped)