Nottingham Rugby will join England Rugby, the football community and other sports in taking part in a social media blackout from 15:00 BST on Friday 30 April to 23:59 BST on Monday 3 May in a show of solidarity against online abuse. This will cover all RFU & Nottingham Rugby social media channels including England Rugby, Allianz Premier 15s, Greene King IPA Championship, GB7s and the Nottingham Rugby website.

The Red Roses take on France in Lille on Friday evening (kick-off 8pm BST), live on BBC iPlayer with coverage on englandrugby.com

Red Roses captain Sarah Hunter said: “No professional sportsperson should have to suffer abuse, racism or harassment on social media.

“We’ve all seen how social media can help bring fans and players closer together but this does not mean abuse should be ignored.

“While we have an important Test match in France on Friday, we understand there are bigger and more important issues and hopefully this is an important statement that online hate will not be tolerated.”