2026-04-25 13:30:57
Ellie Kildunne was warned pursuing a rugby career would be “throwing away” her education.
The sports star – who was instrumental as England won the Women’s Rugby World Cup on home soil last year – is happy she opted to pursue her passion and ignore the advice she was given when she was younger.
She admitted to Women’s Health magazine: “I’ve been told by teachers and well-known coaches that women’s rugby is not a thing, so why would you be throwing away your education for that?”
At the age of 16, Ellie told her parents she wanted to leave home to study for her A-levels at Hartpury College, a facility known for its high number of future England rugby stars.
She said: “People think you’re either sporty or you’re intelligent, you can’t be both.
“I wanted to be successful and in my sport.”
Despite her dedication, the 26-year-old Harlequins player is still amazed she’s made a living just from playing rugby.
She said: “If you said to me a couple of years ago, ‘These are the opportunities that are going to come up’, I would have thought you were pulling my leg.
“It highlights how quickly the sport that excelled into a space that’s in households and not just in the niche of women’s rugby.”
And Ellie was amazed to recently get recognised by a group of men around her own age.
She said: “I have it in my heat that boys my age won’t care, because they grew up at the same time as me, so won’t have seen much women’s sport.
“So it’s super cool to be recognised by those people.”
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