Ellie Kildunne looks to emulate Chloe Kelly at the Women's Rugby World Cup

Ellie Kildunne aims to emulate the “Lionesses” at the Women’s Rugby World Cup

The outstanding rugby player, Ellie Kildunne, named World Player of the Year, has expressed her desire to follow in the footsteps of “Lionesses” star Chloe Kelly. Kildunne seeks to have her name recognized and appear on fans’ jerseys during the Women’s Rugby World Cup. The Harlequins player feels full of confidence heading into the tournament and is inspired by the success of the English footballers, who recently won the European Championship. Arsenal forward Chloe Kelly played a pivotal role in England’s triumph at the 2025 European Championship in Switzerland, solidifying her position by scoring the winning goal in the 2022 European Championship final at Wembley. Kildunne is key to the “Red Roses'” aspirations of lifting the trophy at Twickenham next month and hopes the team can follow in the footsteps of the “Lionesses”, becoming household names and raising the profile of women’s sport.

“Outside this pub, Chloe Kelly shirts are being sold on the street. That’s what the Euros have done for the Lionesses and the opportunity we have with this World Cup is to have Kildunne shirts being sold on the street; for girls and boys to have posters of Emily Scarratt and Meg Jones on their walls and not just Jonny Wilkinson. I am inspired by the Lionesses and what they have done for women’s football and I hope for nothing less [for women’s rugby] than what they have achieved so far”.
Ellie Kildunne

England will begin their participation in the World Cup on August 22 against the United States in Sunderland, and will also face Samoa and Australia in Group A. The hosts arrive at the tournament as the world’s top-ranked team, favorites and with seven consecutive Six Nations titles.

Ellie Kildunne looks to emulate Chloe Kelly at the Women's Rugby World Cup

The Red Roses have won the last seven Six Nations.After watching Sarina Wiegman’s “Lionesses” come back in each of their qualifying matches this summer, Kildunne commented that John Mitchell’s team might need similar resilience.

“Her ability to keep fighting and not giving up is something that inspires many people. Like the Red Roses, it’s something we can draw inspiration from because it won’t be easy, we’ll have to work hard. I can’t go anywhere without someone talking about the Women’s World Cup or the Red Roses. We’ll have to get used to it because this isn’t going to diminish anytime soon”.
Ellie Kildunne

Kildunne was established as the image of the tournament by being awarded as World Player of the Year after an outstanding 2024, in which she scored 14 tries in nine matches. The 25-year-old player stated that she is not intimidated by the increased attention.

“Adding that target to my back; I see it as pressure, but I don’t think pressure is a bad thing. I see pressure as a privilege and I definitely think it’s a good thing. I use pressure to challenge myself to exceed people’s expectations and rewrite what people may think I can do and take it to the next level. I feel strong and confident, the most confident I’ve felt, so I’m ready and eager to start”.
Ellie Kildunne

Kildunne was part of the English team that was defeated 34-31 by New Zealand in the 2022 World Cup final, after the red card for her teammate Lydia Thompson in the 18th minute.

“The disappointment and anguish of the last World Cup rekindled a flame within me that I already thought was burning quite intensely. We have learned a lot from that tournament and we have built a lot in our culture that we are in a completely different space. It’s something you can rewrite and that’s something we’re very focused on. It’s not a revenge story, we’re just rewriting”.
Ellie Kildunne