Ellie Kildunne Opens Up on Feeling Alone After World Cup Triumph

Winning the Women's Rugby World Cup in front of 81,885 fans at Twickenham produced the greatest moment of Ellie Kildunne's career. What followed, she has admitted, nearly broke her.

In a December 2025 RugbyPass interview, the England full-back described the psychological toll of returning to ordinary life after England's 33-13 victory over Canada on 27 September 2025, comparing the emotional arc to "a wedding and a divorce." She felt, she said, "really alone" once the collective euphoria of the Red Roses' campaign dissolved and club commitments resumed.

"The Rugby World Cup final was the biggest high of my career," Kildunne said. "I had a couple of weeks off and then it was the club season. I played well in the first couple of games at Quins but I wasn't..." She trailed off, the gap in the sentence conveying something words couldn't quite finish.

The contrast with the hours after the final was stark. At the final whistle of a victory that gave England their third World Cup title and first since 2014, Kildunne was visibly overwhelmed. "The final whistle went, I burst out crying, I saw my mum and dad, they cried, that made me cry again," she said. Days later, the magnitude of the win was still finding its way through. "There have been moments, silent moments when I've been driving in my car or having my pasta last night and I find myself getting a little bit emotional," she told Sky Sports. "I think it's going to take a long time to sink in."

The 26-year-old from Keighley, West Yorkshire had scored the opening try in the final, one of five she scored across the tournament as England completed a record 32-match unbeaten run. Amy Cokayne, Alex Matthews (twice) and Abbie Ward also crossed in the final, with fly-half Emily Harrison contributing eight points with the boot.

That sense of release carried particular weight given what had come before. At the 2022 Women's Rugby World Cup final in Auckland, England lost while playing with 14 players for over an hour. Ahead of the 2025 tournament, Kildunne had recalled: "When I went back into the changing room, I was numb, and I wanted it all to start again there and then." She had vowed to "rewrite the fairy tale" on home soil, a promise delivered in front of the largest crowd ever to watch a women's rugby match.

The post-World Cup dip sits within a broader picture of a player unusually candid about her inner life. In a GQ interview published ahead of the 2025 tournament, Kildunne revealed she had been diagnosed with ADHD in 2024, a discovery she described as "relieving." She has spoken publicly about the condition shaping her as an unpredictable, fearless player, and her openness has established her as a prominent voice in the neurodiversity community.

Her profile beyond rugby has expanded substantially since the final. She was runner-up at the 2025 BBC Sports Personality of the Year, the first female rugby player ever shortlisted and the first English rugby player nominated since Jonny Wilkinson and Jason Robinson in 2007. In October 2025 she was featured in the "Team Barbie" campaign alongside USA's Ilona Maher, New Zealand's Portia Woodman-Wickliffe and France's Nassira Konde, with dolls in their likeness going on sale in 2026. She has been awarded an MBE, and a forthcoming Penguin book will chronicle her journey from playing rugby league in West Yorkshire to becoming a world champion, encompassing injury, ADHD and overcoming prejudice.

Having rewritten the fairy tale, Kildunne is now navigating what comes after the ending.