England scrum-half Natasha Hunt says it is no longer possible to satisfy fans’ post-match requests for selfies and autographs, given the Red Roses’ success and growth over the past decade.

Hunt, 37, made her England debut in 2011, when the team were regularly playing in front of three-figure crowds.

Even in 2019, an attendance of 4,674 at the Women’s Six Nations game against France set a new record for a standalone Red Roses game away from a Rugby World Cup.

More than 50,000 tickets have been sold for Saturday’s meeting with New Zealand at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium, a year on from a world record sell-out crowd of 81,885 who watched the Red Roses beat Canada to become world champions at the venue.

“I didn’t think ever in my lifetime I would be in a position where 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 adore 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 space at the minute 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 really can’t because they’re probably being bombarded by 700 people over 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.”