Women’s Rugby World Cup: Ellie Kildunne and her influences

By the time Kildunne arrived at that Yorkshire trial, she had moved on to football.

A childhood Liverpool fan, she used to run around the house in a replica shirt, her curly hair slicked back to resemble Spanish striker Fernando Torres.

It provided the team environment she relished.

She was part of a Farsley Celtic team who travelled to Manchester City’s Etihad training campus and beat the Premier League giant’s academy side 7-1.

But Kildunne still hungered for rugby.

“When you’ve got that feeling inside you that you’re meant to do something special, you have to have that dedication and drive to overcome barriers,” she said.

“There’s always another route. If it’s not A, B or C, it’s probably X, Y, Z.”

For Kildunne, it was Yorkshire. Having been accepted to represent her county, she thought she had better find a real club to replace ‘Keighley Queens’.

She joined West Park Leeds. Soon after she played Castleford. On the opposite team was Carla Middleton, the daughter of future Red Roses coach Simon Middleton.

“I’d never seen anything like it,” said Middleton Sr.

“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.”

Three years later, Middleton gave a raft of youngsters their England debuts in a match against Canada in Barnet.

Hannah Botterman, Zoe Harrison, Abby Dow and Jess Breach all won their first caps, along with an 18-year-old Kildunne who scored a try during her 27-minute cameo in a 79-5 win.