‘Pressure is a privilege,’ says Red Roses star as England hope for World Cup glory

Growing up in the rural West Yorkshire village of Riddlesden, Ellie Kildunne had a Roald Dahl quote pinned on her wall.

- HARRY LATHAM-COYLE

“Lukewarm is no good,” it read, a maxim that Kildunne has carried with her to the top of her sport. These next few weeks, in which she will be the poster-girl of a home World Cup that England are overwhelming favourites to win, could catapult the 25-year-old to superstardom; it is a good job, then, that Kildunne appears totally at ease with the fame for which she has long felt destined.

“She was playing against my daughter in an under-15 game and I'd never seen anything like it,” former England head coach Simon Middleton once recalled of the first time he had seen Kildunne play. “Her team went 30 points down and she kept them in it, almost on her own, running in tries and kicking goals from the touchline. You don’t see that from many 15-year-olds.”

Prepare to see plenty more feats of daring and dynamism from a Red Rose in full bloom as the World Cup begins. With a great shock of curls decorating an upright yet deceptively powerful frame, Kildunne is a smooth mover, with trademark serpentine weaves in and out of contact employed to devastating effect since her introduction to international rugby as a teenager.

Off the pitch, too, she will be tough to miss; brand deals with Asahi, LG, Canterbury and others befit her status as World Player of the Year. It would be easy to fatigue given the prominence afforded her even within a standard-setting side, but Kildunne’s natural charisma and charm have been clear in every media engagement ahead of a tournament of which she may become the face. Kildunne was named World Player of the Year in 2024 (AFP/Getty)

“I haven’t even scratched my potential yet,” Kildunne told