England captain Sarah Hunter’s career came to an emotional end as the Red Roses secured a 10-try Six Nations win against Scotland in Newcastle.

The hosts rarely looked threatened as they began their bid for a fifth successive Women’s Six Nations title.

The crowd in Hunter’s home city was in full voice as she left the field.

The 37-year-old retires as English rugby’s most-capped international – male or female – and the world’s most-capped women’s player with 141 appearances.

Hunter left the field in the 57th minute to a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd of 10,053, hugging Marlie Packer before waving and beaming to her adoring fans.

Packer will now take on the England captaincy and fittingly completed a hat-trick after Hunter went off.

England show gulf in class

The fact that every team in the tournament has some form of professional contract for the first time has been rightly celebrated, but there is still a long way to go before every Women’s Six Nations match is competitive.

Still, playing a song entitled Panic Room as Scotland emerged from the tunnel felt a little harsh.

Hunter was met with ear-piercing screams as she emerged with nine-year-old niece Isabella holding her hand.

England’s dominance was blatant from the first scrum and Holly Aitchison conducted the backs with aplomb as she took the 10 shirt from the injured Zoe Harrison.

Aitchison was at the centre of England’s opening try, sending Packer through a gap before starting a move that put Claudia McDonald over.

In their first match since World Cup final heartbreak against New Zealand in November, the absence of key England leaders Abbie Ward and Emily Scarratt showed in a hesitancy both sides of the ball.

There were sloppy handling errors too but England have plenty of time to warm-up before a likely title decider against France in the final round of the tournament.

Still, the hosts punched so many holes in Scotland’s defence that tries were inevitable.

Hooker Amy Cokayne went over on the right wing and as a bleak and cold Newcastle night descended, so did Scotland’s hopes of staying in the game.

MacDonald exposed the gulf in class as she powered through five Scotland defenders for a try, before Tatyana Heard and Cokayne went over to complete the first-half scoring.

Poppy Cleall and Sadia Kabeya kicked off the second-half try spree, with Packer claiming her first in a maul before celebrating Hunter as she left the field, then adding two more scores for a hat-trick.

More to follow.

Line-ups

England: Dow; Breach, Tuima, Reed, MacDonald; Aitchison, Packer; Carson, Cokayne, Bern, Aldcroft, P Cleall, Kabeya, Packer (co-capt), Hunter (co-capt).

Replacements: Davies, Crake, Clifford, O’Donnell, Beckett, Wyrwas, Heard, Sing.

Scotland: Rollie; Grant, Orr, Smith, McGhie; Nelson, Caity Mattinson; Bartlett, Skeldon, Belisle, O’Donnell, McMillan, Malcolm, McLachlan, Gallagher.

Replacements: Rettie, Young, Clarke, Donaldson, Sinclair, McDonald, Blacklock, Musgrove.