Full-back Ellie Kildunne says she is ready to “fight for her jersey” and focus on England’s bid to win a Rugby World Cup on home soil in 2025.
Kildunne was part of the Great Britain women’s sevens team that finished seventh at the Paris Olympics but is already back training with the Red Roses as the countdown to next year’s tournament in England gathers pace.
One year after the start of the World Cup The 24-year-old has not ruled out switching codes again on August 22, but will not consider any possible change until the tournament is over.
“That’s about 15 seconds, now we’re heading towards a World Cup and who knows after that,” he told BBC Sport.
“I don’t want to be someone who comes and goes all the time. It’s very important to be part of the team.”
Kildunne, this year’s Women’s Six Nations player of the tournament, returned to the England camp less than two weeks after the final day of the sevens tournament in Paris.
“As soon as the final whistle blew, I went back to the locker room and wanted to play again,” he said.
The Red Roses have plenty of rugby to play in the build-up to the World Cup, with warm-up matches at home against France and New Zealand in September before travelling to Canada to defend their WXV title.
The match against reigning world champions New Zealand on 14 September will be played at Twickenham, when the stadium will be open. renamed Allianz Stadium.
“This could be the World Cup final,” said Kildunne, who was part of the Red Roses team that lost the 2022 final to New Zealand. “There’s a lot of excitement ahead.”
Will Kildunne return to sevens?
While the Red Roses are now Kildunne’s focus, she harbours ambitions of returning to sevens and possibly playing at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
She attributes both merits French captain Antoine Dupont and U.S. bronze medalist and social media influencer. Ilona Maher With the aim of helping to transform the sport of seven.
“Having personalities like that, having superstars in the game that appeal to different audiences, is very, very important,” he said. “It’s brought in a new audience.”
Kildunne hopes British players will be better funded over the next four years after the men’s team failed to qualify for the Paris Games, while the women’s team only trained together for 30 days last year.
“How do we expect a team to perform at the highest level and win an Olympic medal?” he asked.
“I hope more funding is provided. I hope Great Britain gets it. If you want to have a successful team, you have to invest in it.”
