Natasha Hunt: Gloucester giving title win their 'best shot', says scrum-half

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Natasha 'Mo' Hunt (centre) playing for Gloucester-HartpuryImage source, Rex Features
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Natasha Hunt (centre) has been with Gloucester-Hartpury since the start of 2019 and has won 60 England caps

Gloucester-Hartpury scrum-half Natasha 'Mo' Hunt says the team are putting themselves in the "best position" to try and win the Premier 15s.

The club are top of the table and unbeaten after five matches.

Gloucester-Hartpury have never finished higher than fourth.

"We're putting ourselves in the best position to give it our best shot and it's a very exciting place to be," Hunt told BBC Radio Gloucestershire's No Tackle podcast.

"I think we're in a really good place," continued the England international, who joined Gloucester-Hartpury in January 2019

"The way that I am and I work with people, I can sense when we're not and I try and get the best out of everyone and try and put the arm around them and it doesn't feel like we need to do that at the moment."

Gloucester-Hartpury next face Worcester on 7 January.

They went on a major recruitment drive over the summer, signing major international players such as Wales captain Siwan Lillicrap and winger Caitlin Lewis, England flanker Alex Matthews, back-rower Sarah Beckett and prop Maud Muir, and Spain captain Laura Delgado.

England lock Zoe Aldcroft, who was voted World Rugby's women's player of the year in 2021, also extended her contract in June.

"We needed to do something. We were in games to the last 10, 15 minutes, three minutes sometimes last season and we couldn't get over the line because our depth probably wasn't where it needed to be," 33-year-old Hunt said.

"We didn't have the big ball carriers to get us over the line that we were asking so much of players. We needed to do something to seriously, seriously be contenders for the top four.

"Hats off to the guys in terms of how they've recruited. It's not just how they play the game, it's what they bring off-pitch, the people they are, can they come and can they fit in, will they fit into what we've built here.

Hunt was in the England squad that won the World Cup in 2014 but missed out on selection for this autumn's tournament and last played for the Red Roses in the Six Nations in the spring.

"Not going to the World Cup was tough but being able to be around the [Gloucester-Hartpury] girls and being able to help that transition for some of those players, and be somebody on the ground for that, has been amazing," she added.

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