England captain Sarah Hunter ruled out of Six Nations decider against France

England have been dealt a significant blow as they seek to secure another grand slam this weekend with their captain, Sarah Hunter, ruled out of the Six Nations decider against France on Saturday.

The No 8 sustained a rib injury last weekend in the 69-0 victory against Ireland and will miss the showdown with France in Bayonne. In a testament to the influence of Hunter, who has amassed 134 caps for her country, she will join the squad in France this week to lend her support behind the scenes.

Poppy Cleall, who was named captain against Italy when Hunter was selected on the bench, could fill the void on Saturday if she recovers from a calf problem.

England head to Bayonne as favourites for the title, having been crowned champions in the previous three years. In 2019 and in 2020 England also clinched the grand slam, while last year the competition’s format was changed to a round robin because of the pandemic. Simon Middleton’s side edged their last Six Nations trip to France 19-13 in February 2020 but Les Bleus have also swept all before them this year and are in the hunt for the grand slam.

The England men’s captain, Courtney Lawes, remains in the dark over whether he will play again this season. Lawes sustained a gruesome dislocated thumb this month and there is no timeframe over whether he will feature before the end of the season, or be fit for England’s tour of Australia. The Northampton coach, Phil Dowson, offered a more optimistic assessment but described Lawes as “Frankenstein’s monster” given the nature of the injury.

“The scan revealed there was nothing broken but obviously it was an open dislocation so he’s been stitched up with a number of stitches,” said Dowson, whose side occupies the fourth and final playoff