'I wanted to be next Steven Gerrard' - the making of Kildunne

The pivotal squad successful Ellie Kildunne's travel doesn't exist.

Even nan World Cup victor herself can't rather retrieve what they were called. Or much accurately, what she called them.

"Keighley Queens" is her champion guess.

Kildunne had turned up astatine a proceedings for Yorkshire's under-15s side. She hadn't been invited, but her mother spotted nan day and took her along.

Asked which squad she played for, a club-less Kildunne had to improvise. The Keighley Queens, aliases thing similar, were born.

Kildunne had antecedently had 2 clubs.

Having tagged on pinch her neighbours' 2 boys astatine nan property of six, she would transverse municipality and codes to play some convention for Keighley Albion and national for Keighley connected weekends.

The only woman connected nan pitch, she would scorch past once-scornful boys.

"I conscionable loved nan unit of proving myself," she remembers.

"I wanted to make a statement. 'You are looking complete your enarthrosis and laughing, but conscionable wait...'"

She had overturned akin preconceptions astatine secondary school. Arriving arsenic an 11-year-old, she told nan PE unit she would beryllium playing rugby, not netball.

She was shoved retired connected nan helping for nan B team. By nan extremity of nan season, she was named backmost of nan year.

But her advancement deed a acquainted roadblock. Puberty hit, genders split, teams expanded to 15 players and rugby options for young women grew sparse.

"I didn't cognize that women's rugby was a large point astatine that point," says Kildunne.

"Instead I wanted to beryllium nan adjacent Steven Gerrard."

By nan clip Kildunne arrived astatine that Yorkshire trial, she had moved connected to football.

A puerility Liverpool fan, she utilized to tally astir nan location successful a replica shirt, her curly hairsbreadth slicked backmost to lucifer Spanish striker Fernando Torres.

It provided nan squad situation she relished.

She was portion of a Farsley Celtic squad who travelled to Manchester City's Etihad training field and hit nan Premier League giant's academy broadside 7-1.

But Kildunne still hungered for rugby.

"When you've sewage that emotion wrong you that you're meant to do thing special, you person to person that dedication and thrust to flooded barriers," she said.

"There's ever different route. If it's not A, B aliases C, it's astir apt X, Y, Z."

For Kildunne, it was Yorkshire. Having been accepted to correspond her county, she thought she had amended find a existent nine to switch 'Keighley Queens'.

She joined West Park Leeds. Soon aft she played Castleford. On nan other squad was Carla Middleton, nan girl of early Red Roses coach Simon Middleton.

"I'd ne'er seen thing for illustration it," said Middleton Sr.

"Her squad went 30 points down and she kept them successful it, almost connected her own, moving successful tries and kicking goals from nan touchline. You don't spot that from galore 15-year-olds."

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

Hannah Botterman, Zoe Harrison, Abby Dow and Jess Breach each won their first caps, on pinch an 18-year-old Kildunne who scored a effort during her 27-minute cameo successful a 79-5 win.

"This way has tolls, includes a car transporter train, crosses done France and ends successful a different clip zone."

Plot a roadworthy travel from London to Monaco, and nan online travel planner spits retired plentifulness of warnings. Chief among them is nan estimate that it will impact much than 15 hours astatine nan wheel.

In November past year, though, it was a thrust Kildunne was contemplating.

Her scheduled formation to World Rugby's yearly awards ceremonial successful Monaco, wherever she was connected nan shortlist for world subordinate of nan year, had been cancelled.

Instead of sharing nan snacks and satnav duties, she and her partner ended up hitching a assistance connected a backstage charter formation laid connected for confederate hemisphere players progressive successful nan autumn internationals.

"It was honestly nan astir chaotic point ever," she said. "I took loads of videos to show Mum and Dad.

"[South Africa wing] Cheslin Kolbe was a mates of seats down me.

"Alun Wyn Jones looked for illustration a large man successful a very, very mini plane.

"And past erstwhile I sewage to nan awards location were truthful galore group I wanted to speak to, I was fangirling massively."

Kildunne, who scored 14 tries successful 9 Tests for nan Red Roses successful 2024, walked distant pinch nan grant that night.

And now, she is nan attraction of nan fandom.

At each England lucifer astatine this Women's Rugby World Cup, her sanction was shouted loudest erstwhile nan teams were announced.

When nan matches began and she sewage her hands connected nan ball, a bubbling operation of anticipation and excitement filled nan stands.

There were much signs, T-shirts and wide emotion for her than anyone else.

Her talent is exceptional, but besides obvious.

While nan finer points of Botterman's breakdown activity aliases Meg Jones' defence are harder to appreciate, Kildunne's expertise pinch shot successful manus needs nary discourse aliases explanation.

She is simply a supremely balanced runner pinch a galloping stride, a silken swerve and nan daring to put them to usage connected nan biggest stage.

Twice successful nan semi-final win, she sliced France cleanable unfastened for outstanding individual scores. She did truthful again successful nan last against Canada.

But location is much to her fame than that.

She has struck a chord disconnected nan pitch.

Kildunne has a motto. She has it successful frames connected her walls and connected nan fastener surface connected her phone.

She alluded to it successful a societal media station , externalcelebrating her world subordinate of nan twelvemonth grant win, finishing her connection pinch "lukewarm is nary good".

They are words written by writer Roald Dahl and nan afloat quote runs: "If you are willing successful something, nary matter what it is, spell astatine it astatine afloat velocity ahead. Embrace it pinch some arms, hug it, emotion it and supra each go passionate astir it. Lukewarm is nary good."

Kildunne has stuck adjacent to that advice.

She is passionate astir her past.

"I'm a very proud Yorkshire woman," she said connected nan eve of nan tournament.

"It's important to beryllium beardown to your values and to retrieve who you are and wherever you've travel from because that's nan personification that's sewage you here.

"It's not each nan showbiz and nan lights and nan cameras, it's that young woman that picked up a rugby ball."

She is passionate astir her present.

"I conscionable emotion what I do and nan group that I'm astir connected my team. I'm grateful to beryllium portion of it," she says.

But she is besides unapologetically eager astir what's next.

Her broadside projects see photography (she has been pitchside taking shots astatine England men's internationals, external), manner (she designed a campaigning clothing collection, external) and podcasting (she and Breach launched Rugby Rodeo 12 months ago).

She packed deliberately lightly for nan tourney truthful she could portion together vintage outfits from section second-hand shops arsenic nan squad moved astir England. She brought a second-hand keyboard into nan pre-tournament training campy successful nan dream of learning piano.

She besides has a drawstring of commercialized deals, appearing successful bespoke cheetah people boots successful nan semi-final triumph complete France and big-screen adverts for nan tournament's charismatic beer.

It is an enthusiasm and power that is difficult to resist.

Since nan commencement of this year, nan root of immoderate of it has go clear.

Kildunne was diagnosed pinch ADHD (attention shortage hyperactivity disorder) - a neurodevelopmental information that tin lead to hyperactivity and impulsiveness.

"I was struggling to slumber astatine times," she told GQ., external

"My encephalon was moving really accelerated aliases I wasn't rather capable to verbalise thing that I'd seen connected nan pitch, truthful I was disappointment pinch myself.

"I had a speech pinch Mum and Dad astir my diagnosis. They said 'it's you, you're creative, you spell from 1 point to different and that's what's made you'.

"I decidedly deliberation it's a superpower - I've sewage nan expertise to attraction connected galore things astatine once, but besides hyper attraction connected nan things that matter. And that's decidedly what has made maine nan subordinate and personification I am."

Kildunne is now a world champion, treatment nan symptom of conclusion successful nan 2022 last which she described arsenic "my first existent rugby heartbreak".

Inevitably though, she besides has different goals.

"The biggest point for maine is staying tight pinch nan girls," she said much than a period ago, arsenic nan tourney stretched retired earlier her.

"These will beryllium nan things that we talk astir successful years to travel erstwhile we are aged ladies sat astir a excavation location sunny together. Those are nan moments we will bespeak on."

From nan Keighley Queens to queens of nan world?

Whatever destination this tourney arrives astatine for Kildunne and England, she is wished to person enjoyed nan ride.