England backs Kildunne and Jones to join GB Sevens Brazil’s football giants rally to help victims of deadly flooding
LONDON: England pair Ellie Kildunne and Meg Jones will join Great Britain Sevens women’s squad in preparation for the SVNS Grand Final and the Paris Olympic Games.
Both backs, who have previous Sevens experience, played an influential role as the Red Roses won a third consecutive Six Nations Grand Slam last month.
Jones, 27, travelled to the Rio Olympics in 2016 as a non-playing reserve before winning bronze at the Commonwealth Games two years later.
She then co-captained Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics, scoring both tries in the bronze-medal match before returning to the XVS game.
Kildunne, 24, was involved in GB’S Sevens camp before the Tokyo Olympics but chose to withdraw to make herself eligible for a professional XVS contract.
Speaking exclusively to BBC Rugby Union Weekly after England claimed the Grand Slam, Kildunne said she would be returning to Sevens for the chance to feature at this summer’s Olympics.
“I’m going into that group fancying my chances to see where I can get,” Kildunne said. “It’s another opportunity to grow and I haven’t been in Sevens for a while, so I’m looking forward to being in a new environment and finding different levels to my game.”
Kildunne was one of the beneficiaries after England became the first country in the Six Nations to award players permanent full-time professional contracts in 2019.
“I’ve been in the Sevens before but I had to step away from it when the [professional] contracts came up and that broke my heart because I wasn’t too far away from the Olympics,” Kildunne added.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and I want to be the best player in the world, man or woman, and that comes from experiences.”
Team GB qualified for Paris 2024 last June after winning gold at the European Games.
Great Britain’s men and women both qualified for this year’s SVNS Grand Final after finishing eighth overall.
The men were beaten by Ireland in the semi-final in Singapore before claiming the final qualifying place with a 26-5 victory over Australia in the bronze medal match.
The women’s 35-5 victory over Brazil in the group stages secured the last qualifying spot before they were beaten by eventual winners New Zealand in the quarter-finals. The inaugural SVNS Grand Final takes place in Madrid between 31 May and 2 June.
RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil’s football giants — including Neymar, Vinicius Junior and Ronaldinho — are rallying behind a fundraising effort for victims of devastating floods that have killed at least 85 people in the south of the country.
Using their huge social media presence, the stars of Brazil’s most popular sport have joined ranks with local club players, who have used their own jet skis to help people escape waters that have completely inundated entire towns.
Former Barcelona and Paris Saint-germain forward Neymar, 32, shared a video on Tuesday showing his private jet being filled with crates of water bottles and other supplies.
“Brazil is going through a delicate moment and helping is NEVER too much,” he wrote in the post shared with his 221 million followers, after endorsing a call for donations led by the Brazilian Football Confederation.
Brazil’s southern state of Rio Grande do Sul was hit by deadly flooding last week after days of heavy rains, forcing more than 150,000 people from their homes and cutting off many from drinking water and electricity.
The disaster, which the government and experts have linked to climate change, swept away bridges and roads, further complicating humanitarian relief.
Floodwater also filled the stadiums and training facilities of Porto Alegre’s two main football clubs, Internacional and Gremio. The typically fierce rivals have united in rescue efforts.
“We are all on the same side. This is our goal,” Uruguayan goalkeeper Sergio Rochet, who plays for Internacional, told local station Radio Gaucha.
He and Ecuadoran teammate Enner Valencia have personally delivered aid supplies to a shelter for displaced people.
Opposing Brazilian goalkeeper Caique, of Gremio, also took dramatic measures to help -- using his jet ski to save people in Porto Alegre cut off by the overflowing Guaiba River.
His teammate Diego Costa, a Brazilian-born forward, donated four jet skis to help rescue people stranded by floodwaters.