Sarah Hunter: The North Tyneside England captain leading England into rugby union World Cup final
The hometown club of England captain Sarah Hunter says she has what it takes to lead her side to victory in the Women's Rugby World Cup Final.
Hunter, originally from North Tyneside, will captain the Red Roses when they take on New Zealand in Auckland.
England will have the chance to secure a third World Cup title against the holders, who are also the hosts of this year's tournament.
Hunter developed a love of rugby at an early age. Graeme Cooper, former head coach of Novacastrians RFC, said it was a stroke of luck that brought her to the club in the first place.
He said: "Sarah came to us from Longbenton High School. Fortunately for us, she couldn't find a rugby league team to play for so she came to us to play rugby union!
"She was clearly a talented player but what stood her out from the crowd was her drive and her determination. From a very, very early point, she just wanted to be the best she could be."
Rachel Cooper met Sarah when she first started teaching at Longbenton High School. She says she was always one to defy the odds.
"She had a really unfortunate break of a leg early in her early career. That set her back a little bit but her determination and everything else that goes with it...
"Some people would let that stop them. They wouldn't continue but she was so determined to come back. Her England coach at the time said, 'if you stay at Longbenton and do your A Levels, you'll never play for England.'
"Look at her now. She's achieved absolutely the greatest thing she could achieve in rugby. She's already a World Cup winner and hopefully, fingers crossed, she'll be another World Cup winner come Saturday morning."
Ella Davidson, a year 12 student at Longbenton High School, has mirrored Hunter's journey.
She said: "Sarah Hunter being also from Novos and also from this school, it makes everything more real.
"I was offered a place at the Falcons' College but I decided to stay on for A Levels and that's exactly what she's done, so it's made the dream of playing professional a little bit more realistic. Everything just seems much more reachable.
"I'm hoping that it gets the same momentum that the Lionesses did with girls wanting to join because they've seen it as something realistic.
"I hope this school having the opportunities to play rugby that they do for younger year groups follows the path that I did, so then they go to a club so then we have big teams in clubs.
"If people don't see any point in playing because they're not playing matches. It's really important to see these dreams as realistic."
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To know...