Ellie Kildunne
Wasps signing Ellie Kildunne can’t wait to get back on the pitch
AS PART of a pre-season bonding exercise, Giselle Mather sent her Wasps squad on a scavenger hunt around London. They set off in teams, tasked with taking photos at various locations and spotting certain things, a golden retriever for one. For Ellie Kildunne, it was the perfect way to get to know her new team-mates.
Kildunne only recently turned 21 but she’s already got an impressive rugby CV – try-scoring England debut at 18, nine tries in eight Tests, part of the England Sevens side that booked Team GB’s place at the Tokyo Olympics… The Olympics is still the ultimate goal but with England’s sevens programme up in the air, it’s on to another challenge for Kildunne – a Premier 15s campaign with Wasps. And she cannot wait to not only get back on the pitch herself but to put women’s rugby back on the agenda.
“It’s incredibly important for players to get back playing and with everything going on in women’s sport, like #enough, girls need role models, to see women playing,” says Kildunne, who is studying sports science at St Mary’s University.
“It was very difficult for everybody training on their own and doing lengths on a pitch is not appealing to me. I’m so much more hungry to come back.”
Returning to the full-back role she enjoyed before the switch to sevens in 2018, Kildunne will be donning the No 15 shirt once worn by the newly-retired Danielle Waterman. She describes the pressure of stepping into the position of an England great as a “privilege” and sees it as extra motivation: “Playing full-back as well as her drives me.”
She’s also hoping to put the core skills sharpened by two years on the sevens circuit to good use in 15s. “I really enjoy full-back and the space you’re given is quite like sevens. I have to try to find that space on a 15s pitch.”
With a handful of England Sevens players joining the Wasps set-up, the
back-line is expected to deliver plenty of excitement. Kildunne is also looking forward to linking with Abby Dow again – the pair started their Test careers together – and developing a strong kick-chase game with Flo Williams.
The Premier 15s has been dominated by Harlequins (twice runners-up) and Saracens (twice winners) to date, but Wasps aim to compete for the title.
“Everyone has got a buzz about them, without being cocky or arrogant, and that belief is really important,” Kildunne says. “I’ve massive respect for Quins and Saracens, they’re fantastic teams. But we’ve got special players, some great combinations, and we can really challenge.”
Away from rugby, Kildunne enjoys putting together videos that “capture fantastic memories”. If she was making a video of her career, it would already be packed with highlights – and she’s hoping there will be many more to come.
“I really enjoy full-back. The space you’re given is quite like sevens”