Emily Scarratt and Sarah Hunter caught the train down to London last week, whereupon the conductor sneakily handed the Red Rose greats a free first-class upgrade.
The humbled pair were bowled over by the gesture, even slightly surprised to be recognised out of their rugby context.
Scarratt even admits to finding role model status equal parts bizarre and humbling, especially when youngsters single her out as someone to emulate.
The now-retired Red Roses skipper Hunter might not thank Scarratt for retelling the train anecdote, but the wider impact of women’s rugby fully merits further exploration.
A world-record 50,000-plus crowd awaits the Red Roses for their first standalone fixture at Twickenham on Saturday, in the Six Nations Grand Slam decider with France.
The Red Roses last played at Twickenham in 2019, as a curtain closer to the men, where some 13,000 people stayed on to watch their clash with Scotland for free.
The speed of progress might have caught the Red Roses by surprise, but no one is complaining.
“Sarah will probably kill me for telling this story, but we were travelling down to London, the train conductor recognised her and upgraded us to first class,” Scarratt told Standard Sport.
“Now whether or not he’s allowed to do that or not I don’t know, but it’s things like that, you think ‘actually, this message is getting out there’.
“He knows who she is, and bless him, when he sat us down he just said, ‘this is just to say thank you for everything that you’ve done’.
“Obviously we get a comfier seat, but the impact is much bigger than that.
“Those are the pinch-me moments, that one I’m glad I’m friends with Sarah Hunter, but two, are really cool as well.
“The idea of being a role model didn’t even come into my thought process at all growing up.
“It’s humbling and inspiring when people say that, when essentially all you’re doing is your job, your hobby and what you love to do.
"We’re super passionate about sharing how great rugby can be, it’s a huge privilege to be part of that.
“Social media is amazing as well, because you can find yourself being added to a thread about someone’s school project.
“Sometimes pupils are asked to pick a hero or an inspiration, and you see it’s you.
“It’s so humbling, but it can be bizarre as well if I’m honest with you. Of all the people they could draw, and they pick you.
“It’s bizarre, but definitely super cool as well.”
England can complete a fifth-straight Six Nations triumph by toppling France on Saturday, as the RFU continues to set the standard for women’s professionalism.
Scarratt admitted England’s approach has forced other unions to accelerate their moves towards the pro game, to the benefit of the whole sport.
“Selfishly we wanted to go pro to put us in the best place possible,” said Scarratt.
“But now it’s forcing other nations to do the same, to be in a position whereby they can compete.
“The investment is most likely such that they are not reaping the full rewards yet, but that’s the point of the investment is to see the rewards in the future. And north of 50,000 people at Twickenham is starting to see results to be fair.
“Other nations are definitely following suit, and it’s an amazing opportunity to continue to grow rugby to a new place.
“England are hosting the World Cup in 2025, it could honestly be phenomenal, but I don’t think we can let ourselves quite think about that, with everything else that’s going on.
“Any time you dare to think about it, you have to snap back into the here and now.”
The here and now for Scarratt remains rehab from ankle surgery and a neck injury.
The 33-year-old’s desire to be back in Red Roses action has only been strengthened by watching an imperious Six Nations.
“With the ankle it just made sense to have that done now, while I’m not playing with the neck,” said Scarratt.
“It’s frustrating not to be a part of it, especially at the moment, but the neck injury doesn’t necessarily have a time frame attached for the recovery, it’s more wait and see.
“We’re so used to setting goals for injury recovery, this one’s not quite like that but I’m experienced enough to know how to handle it.
“I’m lucky not to have any real pain or symptoms with the neck, so it’s just about getting it ready for the contact sport again.”
O2 and the RFU have co-funded a half-time performance by the Sugababes for the Red Roses v France Women’s Six Nations match on Saturday 29 April. For tickets, visit: https://www.eticketing.co.uk/rfu/Events
