Full-back Ellie Kildunne says she is ready to “fight for her shirt” and focus on England’s bid to win a home Rugby World Cup in 2025.
Kildunne was part of the Great Britain women’s sevens side 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 out from the start of the World Cup on 22 August, the 24-year-old has not ruled out changing codes again, but will not contemplate any possible switch until after the tournament has finished.
“This is about 15s now we’re heading towards a World Cup and who knows after that,” she told BBC Sport.
“I don’t want to be someone that’s in and out. It’s really important to be part of the squad.”
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 sevens in Paris.
“As soon as that last whistle went, I went back into the changing room and I wanted to go again,” she said.
The Red Roses have plenty of rugby to play in the build-up to the World Cup, with home warm-up games against France and New Zealand in September before they travel 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 renamed the Allianz Stadium.
“This could be the World Cup final” said Kildunne, who was part of the Red Roses side that lost the 2022 final to New Zealand. “There’s a lot of excitement going into it.”
Will Kildunne return to sevens?
While the Red Roses are now Kildunne’s focus, she does harbour ambitions to return to sevens and possibly play at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
She credits both France captain Antoine Dupont and USA bronze medallist and social media influencer Ilona Maher with helping transform the sport of sevens.
“Having personalities like that – having superstars in the game bringing different crowds in – is very, very important,” she said. “It brought a new audience in.”
Kildunne hopes the British players are 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 over the past year.
“How do we expect a team to be at the top level and win an Olympic medal?” she said.
“I hope more funding is put into it. I hope GB get that – if you want a successful team you have to invest in that team.”
