Archive September 26, 2025

The pivotal team in Ellie Kildunne’s journey doesn’t exist.

Even the actress can’t recall what they were called. Or, more accurately, what they were called.

“Keighley Queens” is her best guess.

Kildunne had appeared at a trial for Yorkshire’s under-15 team. Although she wasn’t invited, her mother recognized the date and took her along.

Asked which team she played for, a club-less Kildunne had to improvise. The Keighley Queens or a similar group was born.

Before then, Kildunne had two clubs.

Having tagged along with her neighbours ‘ two boys at the age of six, she would cross town and codes to play both league for Keighley Albion and union for Keighley on weekends.

She would scorch past once-scornful boys while being the only girl on the field.

She recalls, “I just loved the pressure of proving myself.”

“I wanted to make a statement. ‘ You laugh while looking over your shoulder, but hold on a minute.

Similar preconceptions in secondary school had been overturned by her. Arriving as an 11-year-old, she told the PE staff she would be playing rugby, not netball.

For the B team, she was pushed out on the wing. She was named the year’s back by the season’s end.

But her progress hit a familiar roadblock. There were no longer many rugby options for young women, and the genders split after the referendum.

At that time, “I didn’t know that women’s rugby was a big thing,” says Kildunne.

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

She was a childhood Liverpool fan who would run around the house while sporting a replica shirt to resemble Spanish striker Fernando Torres.

She relished the sense of teamwork there.

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.

However, Kildunne remained enthralled by rugby.

You must have the dedication and drive to overcome obstacles when you have that feeling inside of you that you’re meant to do something special,” she said.

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

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

She became a West Park Leeds employee. Soon after playing Castleford. On the opposite team was Carla Middleton, the daughter of future Red Roses coach Simon Middleton.

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

“Her team ran in tries and kicked goals from the touchline, going 30 points down, and she kept them in it almost on her own.” You don’t see that from many 15-year-olds”.

Three years later, Middleton made their England debut against Canada in a Barnet game.

This route passes through France, passes through a different time zone, and includes a car transporter train.

The online journey planner spoofs plenty of warnings when you plot a road trip from London to Monaco. Chief among them is the estimate that it will involve more than 15 hours at the wheel.

However, it was a drive Kildunne was considering in November of last year.

Her scheduled flight to Monaco, where she was in the top three players overall, was canceled due to the absence of her.

Instead of sharing the snacks and satnav duties, she and her partner ended up hitching a lift on a private charter flight laid on for southern hemisphere players involved in the autumn internationals.

She said, “It was undoubtedly the wildest thing ever.” I recorded a lot of videos of my parents.

“]South Africa wing] Cheslin Kolbe was a couple of seats behind me.

In a very, very small plane, Alun Wyn Jones appeared like a large man.

And then I realized how excited I was because there were so many people I wanted to speak with at the awards.

Kildunne, who scored 14 tries in nine Tests for the Red Roses in 2024, walked away with the award that night.

Her name has been sung loudest when the teams are announced at each England game of this Women’s Rugby World Cup.

When the match begins and she gets her hands on the ball, a bubbling mix of anticipation and excitement fills the stands.

More people have signs, T-shirts, and general feelings for her than anyone else.

Her talent is both exceptional and blatant.

While the finer points of Botterman’s breakdown work or Meg Jones ‘ defence are harder to appreciate, Kildunne’s ability with ball in hand needs no context or explanation.

She has a silken swerve, a galloping stride, and the courage to put them to use on the biggest stage, making it her supremely balanced runner.

She cut France open twice for outstanding individual scores in the semi-final victory.

But there is more to her popularity than that.

A motto for Kildunne is. It appears on the phone lock screen and on her walls.

She alluded to it in a social media post celebrating her world player of the year award win, finishing her message with” lukewarm is no good”.

The full quote begins with “If you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it at full speed ahead,” according to author Roald Dahl. Take it seriously, hug it, love it, and, above all, develop a passion for it. Lukewarm is no good. “

Kildunne has followed that advice closely.

She is passionate about her past.

” I’m a very proud Yorkshire woman, “she said on the eve of the tournament.

It’s important to adhere to your values and to remember who you are and where you came from, because that is who brought you here.

“That young girl picked up a rugby ball, it’s not just showbiz and the lights and the cameras,” said one witness.

She is passionate about her present.

“I just adore what I do and the people I work with on my team.” She says, “I’m happy to be a part of it.”

But she is also unapologetically ambitious about what’s next.

Her other interests include photography (she has been filming England men’s internationals while taking photos at pitchside), fashion (she designed a collection of campaign clothing), and podcasting (she and Breach founded Rugby Rodeo 12 months ago).

As the team traveled around England, she deliberately packed her gear so that she could piece together vintage outfits from local second-hand shops. She brought a second-hand keyboard into the pre-tournament training camp in the hope of learning piano.

She also has a number of commercial contracts, including big-screen ads for the tournament’s official beer and bespoke cheetah print boots that she wore in the semi-final victory over France.

Since the start of this year, the source of some of it has become clear.

ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), a neurodevelopmental disorder that can cause impulsiveness and hyperactivity, was identified as a cause for Kildunne’s diagnosis.

She told GQ, “I was having trouble falling asleep sometimes.”

“My brain was working really fast or I wasn’t quite able to verbalise something that I’d seen on the pitch, so I was frustrated with myself.

I discussed my diagnosis with my parents. They said that because of their creativity, they would go from one thing to another and become who they are.

“I definitely think it’s a superpower – I’ve got the ability to focus on many things at once, but also hyper focus on the things that matter. And that is unquestionably what has made me a player and person.

And she has the chance to win the world championship on Saturday, easing her pain from the 2022 final, which she described as “my first real rugby heartache.”

Inevitably though, she also has other goals.

As the tournament grew before her, she said, “The biggest thing for me is staying close to the girls.”

When we are old ladies sitting around a pool or some other sunny together, these will be the things we will talk about in years to come. Those are the moments we will reflect on”.

From the Keighley Queens to the world’s queens?

The pivotal team in Ellie Kildunne’s journey doesn’t exist.

Even the actress can’t recall what they were called. Or, more accurately, what they were called.

“Keighley Queens” is her best guess.

Kildunne had appeared at a trial for Yorkshire’s under-15 team. Although she wasn’t invited, her mother recognized the date and took her along.

Asked which team she played for, a club-less Kildunne had to improvise. The Keighley Queens or a similar group was born.

Before then, Kildunne had two clubs.

Having tagged along with her neighbours ‘ two boys at the age of six, she would cross town and codes to play both league for Keighley Albion and union for Keighley on weekends.

She would scorch past once-scornful boys while being the only girl on the field.

She recalls, “I just loved the pressure of proving myself.”

“I wanted to make a statement. ‘ You laugh while looking over your shoulder, but hold on a minute.

Similar preconceptions in secondary school had been overturned by her. Arriving as an 11-year-old, she told the PE staff she would be playing rugby, not netball.

For the B team, she was pushed out on the wing. She was named the year’s back by the season’s end.

But her progress hit a familiar roadblock. There were no longer many rugby options for young women, and the genders split after the referendum.

At that time, “I didn’t know that women’s rugby was a big thing,” says Kildunne.

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

She was a childhood Liverpool fan who would run around the house while sporting a replica shirt to resemble Spanish striker Fernando Torres.

She relished the sense of teamwork there.

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.

However, Kildunne remained enthralled by rugby.

You must have the dedication and drive to overcome obstacles when you have that feeling inside of you that you’re meant to do something special,” she said.

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

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

She became a West Park Leeds employee. Soon after playing Castleford. On the opposite team was Carla Middleton, the daughter of future Red Roses coach Simon Middleton.

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

“Her team ran in tries and kicked goals from the touchline, going 30 points down, and she kept them in it almost on her own.” You don’t see that from many 15-year-olds”.

Three years later, Middleton made their England debut against Canada in a Barnet game.

This route passes through France, passes through a different time zone, and includes a car transporter train.

The online journey planner spoofs plenty of warnings when you plot a road trip from London to Monaco. Chief among them is the estimate that it will involve more than 15 hours at the wheel.

However, it was a drive Kildunne was considering in November of last year.

Her scheduled flight to Monaco, where she was in the top three players overall, was canceled due to the absence of her.

Instead of sharing the snacks and satnav duties, she and her partner ended up hitching a lift on a private charter flight laid on for southern hemisphere players involved in the autumn internationals.

She said, “It was undoubtedly the wildest thing ever.” I recorded a lot of videos of my parents.

“]South Africa wing] Cheslin Kolbe was a couple of seats behind me.

In a very, very small plane, Alun Wyn Jones appeared like a large man.

And then I realized how excited I was because there were so many people I wanted to speak with at the awards.

Kildunne, who scored 14 tries in nine Tests for the Red Roses in 2024, walked away with the award that night.

Her name has been sung loudest when the teams are announced at each England game of this Women’s Rugby World Cup.

When the match begins and she gets her hands on the ball, a bubbling mix of anticipation and excitement fills the stands.

More people have signs, T-shirts, and general feelings for her than anyone else.

Her talent is both exceptional and blatant.

While the finer points of Botterman’s breakdown work or Meg Jones ‘ defence are harder to appreciate, Kildunne’s ability with ball in hand needs no context or explanation.

She has a silken swerve, a galloping stride, and the courage to put them to use on the biggest stage, making it her supremely balanced runner.

She cut France open twice for outstanding individual scores in the semi-final victory.

But there is more to her popularity than that.

A motto for Kildunne is. It appears on the phone lock screen and on her walls.

She alluded to it in a social media post celebrating her world player of the year award win, finishing her message with” lukewarm is no good”.

The full quote begins with “If you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it at full speed ahead,” according to author Roald Dahl. Take it seriously, hug it, love it, and, above all, develop a passion for it. Lukewarm is no good. “

Kildunne has followed that advice closely.

She is passionate about her past.

” I’m a very proud Yorkshire woman, “she said on the eve of the tournament.

It’s important to adhere to your values and to remember who you are and where you came from, because that is who brought you here.

“That young girl picked up a rugby ball, it’s not just showbiz and the lights and the cameras,” said one witness.

She is passionate about her present.

“I just adore what I do and the people I work with on my team.” She says, “I’m happy to be a part of it.”

But she is also unapologetically ambitious about what’s next.

Her other interests include photography (she has been filming England men’s internationals while taking photos at pitchside), fashion (she designed a collection of campaign clothing), and podcasting (she and Breach founded Rugby Rodeo 12 months ago).

As the team traveled around England, she deliberately packed her gear so that she could piece together vintage outfits from local second-hand shops. She brought a second-hand keyboard into the pre-tournament training camp in the hope of learning piano.

She also has a number of commercial contracts, including big-screen ads for the tournament’s official beer and bespoke cheetah print boots that she wore in the semi-final victory over France.

Since the start of this year, the source of some of it has become clear.

ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), a neurodevelopmental disorder that can cause impulsiveness and hyperactivity, was identified as a cause for Kildunne’s diagnosis.

She told GQ, “I was having trouble falling asleep sometimes.”

“My brain was working really fast or I wasn’t quite able to verbalise something that I’d seen on the pitch, so I was frustrated with myself.

I discussed my diagnosis with my parents. They said that because of their creativity, they would go from one thing to another and become who they are.

“I definitely think it’s a superpower – I’ve got the ability to focus on many things at once, but also hyper focus on the things that matter. And that is unquestionably what has made me a player and person.

And she has the chance to win the world championship on Saturday, easing her pain from the 2022 final, which she described as “my first real rugby heartache.”

Inevitably though, she also has other goals.

As the tournament grew before her, she said, “The biggest thing for me is staying close to the girls.”

When we are old ladies sitting around a pool or some other sunny together, these will be the things we will talk about in years to come. Those are the moments we will reflect on”.

From the Keighley Queens to the world’s queens?

The dressing room at Chelsea was too hot. The weather in Liverpool was too cold. Some leaking toilets on the floor above once turned out to be a nasty surprise for Manchester United’s players.

In his most recent BBC podcast, Wayne Rooney recalls some of his strangest away trips, and those are some of the stories he has revealed.

The former England captain continued, adding that many of his away games had been canceled the night before on The Wayne Rooney Show.

He claimed that there have been fireworks outside the hotel at various locations.

“We celebrated New Year’s Day in a hotel in Birmingham for one year.”

They moved us to the top floor because there were parties taking place downstairs in the function rooms. However, they forgot to let us know that the hotel’s roof had a firework display.

“All the players were awakened at midnight by all these fireworks going off just above us.”

Rooney claimed that he was suspended for the match because of the flooded dressing room at Sunderland.

The toilets were above the dressing rooms, and when the players were all dressed up, the roof [came through].

“I believe there was a ton of stuff all over the players and the clothes,” he said.

You have some cramped dressing rooms. Chelsea and Tottenham were always in the air. You would literally get dressed as quickly as you could before leaving the dressing room.

“Anfield was always freezing,” he said. I’m not sure if they change the temperature there.

Rooney added that returning to a former club can frequently be the most agonizing of all vacations. His father refused to watch the striker when he returned to Goodison Park for the first time since joining Manchester United for an FA Cup match in February 2005.

“Yes, that was awful. The 39-year-old, who joined United from Everton for £27 million in 2004, said it is obvious that the ground has been with him since he was a child, a baby.

Rooney also made the suggestion on the podcast that club owners’ obsession with expected goals (xG) are having an impact on the Premier League.

He thinks that top-flight players are taking fewer long-range shots because of this obsession.

“Owners want high xG because they believe there is a higher chance of winning the game when you have high xG,” he said.

The higher the xG is, according to the saying, “The closer you get to the goal, the more they want.” Therefore, teams are no longer shooting from the box’s edge.

Rooney’s point is supported by statistics. In the Premier League, there have been 7.3 shots outside the box per game this season, compared to 9.5 during the 2016-17 campaign, which was an average of 9.5.

“His xG would be very low if you had Frank Lampard, for instance, who had a lot of shots from the edge of the box.” But he had 200 and 200 career goals, Rooney continued.

Rooney was also inquired about Hugo Ekitike’s dismissal from Tuesday’s Carabao Cup game against Southampton.

The Liverpool forward celebrated by removing his shirt after scoring a late winner and receiving a second yellow card and a suspension from Saturday’s Premier League game against Crystal Palace.

Chris Sutton, a former Blackburn striker, described Ekitike’s celebration on BBC Radio 5 Live as “sheer stupidity,” but Rooney was much more understanding.

He’s been sucked into the joy of scoring a goal, according to Rooney, who’s likely to regret it.

It’s silly, I’m not going to defend it, but I think it’s refreshing to see someone celebrate a goal, as I’ve seen in recent years with VAR and players scoring goals and waiting to celebrate, and other things.

He’s doing really well, and [fellow new signing] Alexander Isak will start against Palace.