 Kildunne with England in 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Ellie Tea Kildunne | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 8 September 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Keighley, Yorkshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 68 kg (150 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ellie Tea Kildunne (born 8 September 1999) is an English rugby union player. She is a member of the England women's national rugby union team and plays for Harlequins Women at club level. In 2024, she was named World Rugby Women's 15s Player of the Year at the World Rugby Awards. [1]
Kildunne grew up in West Yorkshire and started playing rugby aged seven. She played rugby league for Keighley Albion as well as rugby union for Keighley RUFC, where she was the only girl on the pitch. [2]
She was also a keen footballer, but went down the rugby route when she enrolled at Hartpury College after finishing school. [1] She later studied Sport and Exercise Science at St Mary's University, Twickenham on a scholarship. [3]
At Under-18 level, Kildunne captained the Yorkshire team and represented the England Under-18 side at sevens. [4]
Kildunne's England debut came in 2017, when she scored a try for the England 15s in a match against Canada. [4]
After an impressive performance in the Tyrrells Premier 15s, she was called up to start five of England's 2018 Women's Six Nations Championship matches. She was named Player of the Match after England's win over Ireland, [5] and also in the Six Nations after England's 46–0 win over Scotland on 13 April 2024. [6]
In the summer of 2018, Kildunne transitioned to England Women's Sevens team as it fought to - and did - qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics. [7] [8]
Kildunne made her return to XVs rugby but missed the first two events of the 2019 World Series due to injury. She went on to play eight of England's matches of the competition and scored three tries for her country. [7]
She was part of the team that won the 2020 Women's Six Nations Championship, which was postponed until late 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [1] She also played in the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championships, which England won. [9] She was named in the England squad for the delayed 2021 Rugby World Cup held in New Zealand in October and November 2022. [10]
After winning the 2024 Six Nations grand slam, in which she was the top try scorer, it was announced that she would join up with the Great Britain women's sevens team prior to the 2024 Summer Olympics. [11] In June 2024, she was named in the British squad for the Olympic Games. [12] The team finished seventh. [13]
In November 2024, she was named World Rugby Women's 15s Player of the Year at the World Rugby Awards. [14] [15]
Kildunne began playing rugby league for Keighley Albion and rugby union for Keighley RUFC before moving on to West Park, Leeds, and then Castleford. She joined Premier 15s team Gloucester-Hartpury for the 2017/18 season. [7] [1]
Ellie joined Wasps in 2020 and committed her immediate future to XVs and won the 2021 Six Nations. A move to Harlequins followed in 2021. Ellie was part of the Red Roses' 2021 autumn international squad and won the 2022 Six Nations.
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