Red Roses struggle to meet fans' selfie demands - Hunt

England scrum‑half Natasha Hunt says fulfilling fans’ post‑match requests for selfies and autographs is no longer possible, pointing to the Red Roses’ growth over the past decade. Hunt, 37, made her England debut in 2011, when the team regularly played in front of crowds numbering in the hundreds. Even in 2019, an attendance of 4,674 at the Women’s Six Nations match against France set a new benchmark for a standalone Red Roses fixture held outside a Rugby World Cup. More than 50,000 tickets have been sold for Saturday’s encounter with New Zealand at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium, a figure that follows a stadium‑sell‑out of 81,885 spectators who watched the Red Roses defeat Canada to become world champions at the same venue. “I didn’t deliberation ever in my beingness I would beryllium in a presumption wherever we’d get crowds the size that we do,” Hunt told Rugby Union Weekly. “It is unbelievable and we definitely don’t take it lightly.” “We’re so appreciative and we absolutely love our fans and love them and what they do for us and have done for us.” “But I do think we’re in a tricky spot at the moment where there’s that expectation that everyone has to have a photo or a signature or something.” “Sometimes you go and you see people and they will say ‘can you go get Ellie [Kildunne]? Can you go get Meg [Jones]?’ And I truly can’t because they’re most likely being bombarded by 700 people in there.” “Some of the girls have had DMs saying ‘it would have made our day, we’re disappointed’ and it breaks your heart because you want everyone to have the best time ever.”