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Ellie Kildunne has almost a decade’s worth of experience in an England shirt. Her gamechanging moments have propelled her into the spotlight and helped England’s winning dominance, including last year’s World Cup title.
The attention that brings is on full display at a windy but sunny day in Teddington as she is stopped every few steps for pictures. It is tricky to go unnoticed with her trademark curls. “I think the hair is a bit of a give away,” she says with a grin.
Kildunne’s try-scoring antics have made her the face of the all-conquering Red Roses team who are about to play six WXV Global Series matches, starting against Australia’s Wallaroos on Saturday in Salford. The 27-year-old’s popularity is evidenced again when a young boy comes over for a picture with the full-back.
“I’m not saying with young girls it is a given [to be asked for a selfie] but you think that is going to happen,” Kildunne says. “These young boys look up to Jonny Wilkinson. For them to come and ask me for a picture shows how rugby is changing for women. It’s crazy.”
With more eyes on the game, there is more interest when a surprising story breaks. Kildunne’s exit from Harlequins this summer came as a shock to not only fans but the player herself.
Kildunne says it was after the Women’s Six Nations that she sat down with coaches and they “came to the conclusion” she would no longer play at the club. The star says it was a “shock” and that as Quins “didn’t have the best season” she “wasn’t prepared to leave when we’re down, but things happen for a reason and maybe this is the challenge that I needed”.
She has now signed for Bristol but there were media reports that Harlequins had released Kildunne because lateness had affected her relationships with the club’s coaches.
“Obviously I have made the switch of going to Bristol with a lot spoken in the summer about that move,” Kildunne, who was diagnosed with ADHD in 2025, says. “There was a little bit of worry around the negative side of things. Why did I move? What happened? That was a little bit stressful but what that has allowed is a space where I can grow, I can get better but also coaches are starting to understand me a little bit more.
“I am not trying to be late on purpose. I am also not going to give ADHD-ers an excuse. So I have got myself a Garmin watch and that is keeping me on time, I’m making sure I’m never late. So far I have been on time to everything. Also the Bristol coaches have been brilliant. I have only been in once but even if it is just a text reminder like: ‘Hey, Ellie: you might not have seen you have this form to fill out’ and we have kind of met in the middle on that.
“I don’t rely on them to tell me things all of the time but it’s just the support I need to be the best player that I can be. I definitely can be better and I take accountability but it was a really tough time in the summer. Reflecting on that, I have had to look in the mirror quite a lot and stick to my values and know I am a good player and keep that confidence but also take accountability in the places that I can get better.”
Kildunne’s destination for next season is confirmed and while she does not want to wish her time away too quickly, there are two major events on the horizon that she is open to competing in: the 2027 inaugural women’s British & Irish Lions tour and the 2028 Olympics.
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“It is the first Lions tour for women, it is a huge milestone. But I don’t even know when it is, is it in 2027? I can’t look too far ahead because I will lose where my feet are. We have got three big games in England and then we are going to go away and play some more big games, so my focus right now is how did I train in that session? How can I make myself better for the next session? How can I put myself in contention for my team in the next few weeks? If I do well with that, I will move on to the next thing.
“Will I do well with Bristol? How am I going to be the best player? That will leave me in the best place come the Lions tour. If I’m not good enough, I’m not good enough but if I look too far ahead I will never be as good as I can be, so I have got to focus on the now.”
Kildunne is already an Olympian after representing Team GB in sevens at the 2024 Games but it is something she would do again. “I learned so much when I went in last time,” she adds.
“It was a fantastic experience. I absolutely loved it. It challenged me in different ways. It definitely developed me. I would love to do it again. LA is going to be huge. I have to focus on the now, if it is something that comes up, it comes up.”
Kildunne has so much expectation around her on the pitch and attention off of it but what is really important to her is that people know the person rather than just the player. “I am not going to be a rugby player for ever,” she says. “I wasn’t a rugby player when I came out of the womb and I am not going to be a rugby player when I am grey and old. There is so much more to me, there is so much more to us as the Red Roses.
“I want people to know me for my rugby, I want to be the best player I can be and I hope people do remember me and the legacy I am building. But I also want to be a good person as well. [For people to say] ‘She is a brilliant rugby player but she is also a lovely, lovely person.’”
