England lose two forwards
England’s women’s squad were hit by injury losses when Natasha Hunt and Morwenna Talling were both ruled out for the rest of the Women’s Six Nations after leg injuries sustained in the opening‑round win over Ireland. ( | ).
England have lost Natasha Hunt and Morwenna Talling for the rest of the 2026 Women’s Six Nations after both suffered leg injuries against Ireland. (skysports.com) The injuries came in England’s 33-12 opening win on Saturday, April 11, at Allianz Stadium in London. Talling started at lock and went off early in the second half, while Hunt came on as a replacement scrum-half and lasted 13 minutes before leaving injured. (reuters.com | skysports.com) The Rugby Football Union said both players will see specialists in camp this week before returning to their clubs for rehabilitation. England have brought in Saracens back Sydney Gregson and uncapped Trailfinders forward Haidee Head before the trip to Scotland on Saturday, April 18. (rugbypass.com | skysports.com) The timing cuts into two positions where England were already juggling absences. Hunt is a senior scrum-half in a squad announced with 38 players, and Talling’s loss deepens a second-row shortage after Zoe Stratford, Abbie Ward and Rosie Galligan were unavailable because of pregnancy. (englandrugby.com | channelnewsasia.com) England still opened the championship with a bonus-point win and sit second in the table after round one, behind France on points difference. Their next match is away to Scotland at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, where Scottish Rugby said the game is set to draw the biggest crowd for a standalone women’s sporting event in Scotland. (sixnationsrugby.com | scottishrugby.org) This is England’s latest personnel hit in a title defence that started with a narrower margin than many of their recent Six Nations openers. The Red Roses are chasing another championship after winning the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup and beating Ireland in front of a record 77,120 crowd for a Women’s Six Nations match. (theguardian.com | skysports.com) Head coach John Mitchell said after the Ireland game that the injuries looked “long-term,” and England now have four matches left: Scotland, Wales, Italy and France. The immediate question is how much of the squad’s depth can absorb another week of changes without disrupting the title run. (rugbypass.com | world.rugby)
