ELLIE KILDUNNE will never hit her peak.
But that is only because every time she achieves her goals, she sets new ones.
England star Ellie Kildunne will play a key role in the Six Nations final Credit: Nulo Pet Food
Kildunne will lead England Le Crunch in Bordeaux against France Credit: Nulo Pet Food
That goes for her sport, too, as this year’s Six Nations reaches a dramatic climax, having pushed on to fresh heights.
Kildunne — the 2024 World Player of the Year, 2025 winner and BBC Sports Personality of the Year runner-up — has been instrumental in the meteoric rise of the game. But the 61-cap star still feels she has so much more to give.
The full-back and occasional winger will be a key player in Le Crunch in Bordeaux as England and France battle it out in a decider — as they have every year since 2021.
But despite her new-found fame and unexpected elevation to the post of role model, , 26, still feels she has so much more to give.
The Red Roses are gunning for an EIGHTH consecutive championship and fifth straight Grand Slam.
And although they boast a 16-game winning streak over Les Bleus, many of those clashes have been absolute nail-biters.
Kildunne expects another huge challenge, especially in front of a 42,000 sell-out crowd, the biggest ever for a home game.
, Scotland, Ireland and Italy have also seen their highest Six Nations attendances this year, following the success of last year’s World Cup.
And Kildunne said: “I’ve been blown away by the people that are coming to watch us.
“We’ve always said that we want to change the game completely and we saw the numbers that we were racking up in the World Cup, with nearly 82,000 at the final.
“But then to revisit Twickenham this year and have 77,000-plus people there just shows that it wasn’t a moment, it’s a momentum.
“It was the same at Ashton Gate against , having 26,000-plus there and having the top tier full of people was an amazing moment.
“When we played at Murrayfield, it was the highest-attended game for any female sport in . So it really shows the impact that the World Cup has had in terms of driving the game forward. It’s been amazing.”
As for her own rise, she added: “My drive comes from within myself. Even when I got named Player of the Year, the first thing I said was, ‘I’m not at my best yet’.
“It’s not that I didn’t think I was performing my best at the time, I just think my best is yet to come. I think you can always get one per cent better in any angle of life and rugby. I never want to get to my best.
“I want to keep on elevating my game to heights that I never imagined it could get to. I don’t want to set that limit.”
Kildunne is still only 26 but it has snuck up on her that she is now one of the senior heads in the England camp.
She said: “It was my 60th cap against Wales and everyone was surprised. I was like, ‘Well, 60 caps, I feel like I’m getting old’.
Kildunne still feels she has so much more to give to women’s rugby Credit: Getty Images – Getty
Kildunne has experienced a meteoric rise in rugby Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
“I will always see myself as the 18-year-old player that came in and got a debut but I also know that I probably am in that senior role now at the Red Roses, and we’ve got a lot of fantastic talent coming through that have spent their age-group rugby watching us on the television.
“But we’re all Red Roses, we’re all the same. It doesn’t change if you’ve got 100-plus caps or it’s your first cap.
“We’ve all got a job to do and you won’t be able to do it without each other. So, I just see myself as part of a team. There’s no hierarchy or anything like that.
“Playing France is always a tough game, and playing away makes it a little bit harder. The French are an incredibly good side, and it will be an incredible game in Bordeaux – one that everyone wants to watch, definitely.”
Away from the game, Kildunne relaxes with her dog Otis. She said: “He’s a cocklier – a cross between a King Charles and a cocker spaniel.
“I got him after the last World Cup out in New Zealand and he’s given me more to life outside of rugby, huge amounts of perspective and really just a friend and a companion that helps me switch off from the rugby. I love having him by my side.”
Kildunne has also recently released her autobiography, aptly entitled Game Changer. It includes a chapter on her struggle with body dysmorphia.
She explained: “I always said that I didn’t want it to feel like an autobiography.
“I wanted it to feel a bit like a self-help book and show people that even those at the top – that get championed and score the tries – do go through some normal life stuff and everyday battles.
“So I felt that it was right for me to speak about it because I feel like I’m a role model now and I know there’s a lot of people out there, unfortunately, that struggle with body dysmorphia or relationships with food.
Kildunne has also recently released her autobiography, aptly entitled Game Changer Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
It includes a chapter on Kildunne’s struggle with body dysmorphia. Credit: Getty Images – Getty
“That’s across the board – men, women, children, adults – and so I wanted to share my experience and hope that it helps because it really helped me to speak about it.
“I didn’t speak to everyone about it but, once I did, that was the start of getting better.
“I remember listening to a podcast that footballer Alessia Russo was on and she spoke about her relationship with food.
“That hugely inspired me to want to do the same and share my experience, to let people know that they’re not alone and there is light at the end of the tunnel.
“I’m starting to understand the impact that I can have on people and also the help that I can be. I’m not just a rugby player, I’m someone that I want people to look at and feel like they know me as a person as well as a player.
“I don’t want people to go through what I went through, so maybe it gives them that courage to speak to someone about it, know that they’re not alone.”
Kildunne hired a ghostwriter for her book but it was still an intensely personal experience.
She said: “I’m very busy so where we would have normally met in person, a lot of it was over the phone on my way to training.
Away from the game, Kildunne relaxes with her dog Otis Credit: Getty Images – Getty
Kildunne’s stardom continues to grow in rugby Credit: Getty Images – Getty
“From my house to Harlequins training is about an hour’s drive, and spending those moments on the phone, just chatting, it felt like therapy.
“What was hard was reading the audiobook. It was such a challenge because you’re sat in a small room reading, listening to yourself and you’ve got to really focus.
“My focus isn’t great, so I did find that quite challenging, but I’m glad that I did it because I wanted it to be my voice.
“There were times that I did get choked up and I had to take a second to keep on reading, but it was brilliant to have that moment to reflect on everything that’s happened so far. But it’s only just the start as well.”
She’s right – and today could well be yet another glorious chapter in her story.
England rugby star Ellie Kildunne and her dog Otis have joined Nulo Pet Food as British ambassadors for its global “Fuel Incredible” campaign. Visit uk.nulo.com for more information.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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