
Hunter ready for Aldcroft to get her happy ending at Rugby World Cup
Former England skipper Sarah Hunter believes Zoe Aldcroft deserves a happy World Cup ending at the 2025 Rugby World Cup.
The Scarborough native was forced off with a concussion in the first half of the World Cup final three years ago as England went on to lose to hosts New Zealand.
Aldcroft, who plays at lock, was named England captain earlier this year, nine years on from her Red Roses debut and will be reaming of lifting the trophy come September.
'Zoe Aldcroft is an unbelievable player, I think she just underestimates the presence that she has,' Hunter said. 'I am in awe when I watch her train; she is a machine.
'Her ability to just go to places where other people don't, her impact in a game and her work rate.
'The engine that she has, a lot of the unseen work she does but then she will have a moment of brilliance.
'She galvanises the team around her, when she speaks people listen. People can't not be inspired by the way she plays the game, the way she puts her body on the line.'
Fresh threads for a big year 💙
The #RedRoses alternate kit for the 2025/26 season is here 🌹 — Red Roses (@RedRosesRugby) July 21, 2025
Hunter has gone from captaining Aldcroft to coaching her, serving as England's defence coach since 2023.
She transitioned into coaching immediately after retiring and has been supported by the Gallagher High Performance Academy.
The initiative run by World Rugby will have helped almost 50 female coaches earn valuable coaching experience with their unions by the end of the 2025 Rugby World Cup, which begins on 22 August in Sunderland.
Aldcroft is expected to lead England at a home World Cup, which the Red Roses enter the tournament as the overwhelming favourites and world number ones.
Hunter added: 'Different coaches have different reasons of why they select their captain, but when you watch her play, she is definitely someone who is the standard bearer of how you want the game to be played.
'She is the one who you think 'I will follow you into battle', and quite often as captain that is what you want.
'You want someone out there, leading the charges, in front, Zoe Aldcroft will never take a backward step.
'The way she galvanises the team, the way she motivates them, she is just brilliant all-round.
'I really hope she gets the World Cup ending she deserves this time around, she got taken off in the final through a concussion, she is a pretty special player.'
Gallagher is Right Here for Rugby; Right Here for Business; and Right Here for You.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Metro
4 minutes ago
- Metro
Inside Sarina Wiegman's relationship with husband Marten Glotzbach
Sarina Wiegman has cemented her place as one of the finest football managers of her generation by guiding England into the Women's Euros Final 2025. The Lionesses' head coach has transformed England's fortunes since taking over in 2021, embarking on a spectacular run of only nine losses in 69 games. These wins include the Women's Euros triumph 2022, only narrowly missing out on the World Cup to Spain in 2023, with a score of 1-0 against. Wiegman has reached the final of all the major international tournaments she has been involved in – including a Euro 2017 win with her native Netherlands and the World Cup 2019 defeat to the all-conquering USA. She will be cheered on in Sunday's Switzerland showdown by husband Marten Glotzbach, who has been at his wife's side throughout the highs and lows of her career. Let's take a brief look inside Wiegman's relationship with Glotzbach as she and the Lionesses prepare to take on Spain in tonight's final. Glotzbach, who is thought to be of a similar age to his 55-year-old wife, is a German football coach and economics professor. After earning his bachelor's degree in marketing and commerce in 1994, he worked as a teacher at Sebroek College in the Netherlands. The German worked alongside Wiegman with the Dutch Women's team before his wife was appointed as the England manager in September 2021. According to Hello! Magazine, she chose to move with her husband and her children to the UK after realising that she would need to relocate for the role. Following on from England's Euro success in 2022, Wiegman opted to recharge her batteries by jetting off on holiday with Glotzbach, with the couple posing for a selfie together on the beach. 'Family time! Different mode than two weeks ago 😅 but still enjoying all the amazing footage that's passing by…' she wrote in the accompanying caption. Glotzbach previously worked at Sebroek College in the Netherlands as a Professor of Economics, putting his official coaching qualification to use by managing the college football teams. His career actually started at Host Broadcast Services, which records major sporting events, working as a coordinator and a youth trainer. According to his LinkedIn profile, Glotzbach also has a bachelor's degree in marketing and commerce. The couple have two daughters together, Sacha and Lauren. Eldest daughter Lauren, 21, briefly followed in her parents footsteps and pursued a career in football. At 19, she signed a contract for Dutch football club ADO Den Haag, with whom she played for two years, before her contract ended in May 2025. Not much else is known about the sisters, with their parents keen to keep them out of the gaze of the public spotlight. However, the family do regularly share a glimpse of their lives together when they pose for a picture at Christmas. 'Happy holidays 🌟🎄' the football coach wrote on Instagram last year, as she posed with her husband and daughters in front of a mountain range. Back in 2020, she shared an intimate picture of the family celebrating Christmas together at home, along with their dog. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The caption read: 'What a year it's been… living differently, work differently, no fans in the stadiums. More Trending 'We missed you so much! Health is not self-evident, that has become even more clearer in 2020. 'I wish you a very merry Christmas and a very beautiful sporty, and happy 2021.' Sacha and Lauren have set their Instagram accounts to private, such is their wish to live as normal lives as possible. Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Share your views in the comments below MORE: Why are Mary Earps and Millie Bright not playing for England at Euro 2025? MORE: Ian Wright speaks out on England's surprise change for Women's Euro 2025 final against Spain MORE: Who is commentating on England's Euro 2025 final vs Spain? BBC and ITV line-ups


ITV News
4 minutes ago
- ITV News
Euro 2025: England bid to retain their Euro crown in final against Spain
England are taking on world champions Spain in the Euro 2025 final as they bid for back-to-back European titles. In the hours before the tournament showdown, England boss Sarina Wiegman said the team is 'going to do everything we can to win it' and she would prefer to avoid a 'nerve-wracking' match. This comes after a number of dramatic late comebacks in the tournament to make it to the final in Basel, Switzerland, to face Spain, who beat them in the World Cup. Wiegman made only one change in her team from Tuesday's semi-final victory over Italy, playing Gotham FC defender Jess Carter. She elected to play Esme Morgan in defence earlier in the week. Chelsea forward James has also made the starting eleven, after she was forced off with an ankle issue in that final-four comeback against Italy. Carter started the Lionesses' first four matches in Switzerland, revealing before the semi-final that she had been targeted by racist abuse on social media and would be taking a step back from the platforms. There were two changes for Spain as centre-back Laia Aleixandri returned from suspension to replace Maria Mendez and forward Athenea del Castillo earned a start in place of Claudia Pina. The Prince of Wales, who is patron of the Football Association (FA) and set to be in Switzerland on Sunday to cheer the team on, wished them good luck on an online message, William said: 'Good luck to the Lionesses tomorrow.'The nation is so proud you are through to the final, after some stunning comebacks! We are all cheering you on! W.' On Saturday Wiegman said: 'We're happy that we're in the final and we're going to do everything we can to win it and make that happen.'When you are in some scenarios, you hope you can turn it around with some subs or shape change, but the most important thing is that the players believe we can win and change the game, and that's what we've shown.'We want to do well, we don't want a nerve-wracking game, but it also shows what the competition has been and I say it all the time, but the women's game is improving so much and every game is a hard game, so I'm just really glad that we made it through.'England clinched their place in the final with a last-gasp victory over Italy in extra time in Switzerland on also took a a dramatic penalty shootout win over Sweden to keep their title hopes alive and reach the semi-final, as England looked as though they were going out in extra time.


Scottish Sun
4 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Princess Charlotte joins dad William in Basel to roar on Lionesses to victory at Euros final
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) PRINCESS Charlotte has joined dad William in Switzerland tonight to help roar on the Lionesses to victory. England are set to go head-to-head against Spain in Basel, with football fan Charlotte joining her dad in the stands. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 10 Princess Charlotte and Prince William were spotted in Basel ahead of the Lionesses game Credit: X/@KensingtonRoyal 10 The dad-of-three appeared to be discussing the match with his daughter Credit: PA 10 The pair looked out onto the pitch Credit: PA 10 Princess Charlotte beamed in the stands Credit: PA The pair were spotted in Switzerland this afternoon, where excited fans have been packing out fan zones all day. The princess wore a polka-dot navy dress, while her dad opted for a dapper suit. William was seen beaming in the crowd, ahead of the Lionesses game. The Prince was also spotted shaking hands with fellow fans just before kick-off. Ahead of the final, which starts at 5pm UK time, Prince William joined millions across in England in cheering the Lionesses on. He said: 'Good luck to the Lionesses tomorrow. "The nation is so proud you are through to the final, after some stunning comebacks! "We are all cheering you on!' His words of support have been echoed by the Band of the Grenadier Guards, who played footie anthem Three Lions in front of Buckingham Palace. The Lionesses have had an incredible run up until now, beating Italy and Sweden to land a spot in the final. Although the bookies have counted out the team several times so far, they've proven that they can beat the odds and win. The Spanish team might be the bookies' favourite to win tonight, but England fans think the Lionesses can pull off another incredible victory. England fans flock to Basel to roar on Lionesses in Euros final The match tonight is expected to be especially tense, as the two teams have previously gone head-to-head in the World Cup final 2025. Sadly, for the Lionesses, Spain won but the Euro final 2025 is a chance for them to get even. 10 Spain's Laia Aleixandri, left, challenges England's Georgia Stanway Credit: AP 10 Sir Keir Starmer with his wife Victoria Starmer at the game Credit: Getty 10 The Prince shook hands with fellow fans Credit: Reuters The match is due to take place in Basel, Switzerland, at the massive St Jakob-Park stadium and an estimated 38,000 fans will be in attendance. Meanwhile, an estimated 16 million Brits will be watching from home, when the game is broadcast on BBC and ITV. A slew of celebrities have cheered the Lionesses on too, with Amanda Holden saying: 'You can do it girls! "The whole country is behind you and we are so proud. Bring it home.' Loose Women's Katie Piper added: 'Good luck Lionesses! You've already inspired so many with your passion, teamwork and fight.' Ahead of the match, England Skipper Leah Williamson revealed that the team feels the support from the nation behind them. She said: 'We're very connected to what it means to the nation because it means the same to us. "The opportunity of tomorrow and what's on offer is the best thing in football — we have a chance to fight for the trophy. 'We recognise the opportunity and we'll do everything we can to take it.' Fans have flooded the stadium already, bearing flags and even bringing cardboard cutouts of their favourite players. At home, pub licenses have been extended to 1am so that Brits can cheer on their team together. 10 England fans have travelled to Basel, Switzerland to cheer on the Lionesses tonight Credit: Louis Wood 10 Excitement is building as supporters participate in the fan walk to St. Jakob-Park stadium Credit: Getty