England eye WXV1 glory after discovering new edge for Canada finale
Ellie Kildunne believes the Red Roses have greater variety now with confidence high off a nine-try win over world champions New Zealand
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Ellie Kildunne insists England are ready to shift into yet another gear as they face hosts Canada in a winner-takes-all finale to WXV1.
The Red Roses produced a ruthless nine-try display to overcome world champions New Zealand after starting the defence of their crown with a 61-21 win over the USA.
Last weekend’s victory over the Black Ferns extended England’s winning streak to 19 games and marked a third-straight triumph over New Zealand in less than 12 months - an indicator of their ‘sky’s-the-limit’ mentality.
“We really are having the best time out there,” Kildunne said. “I think the best rugby comes when you’re happy. I just love the group and the fun we have.
"That’s important because you’re not just doing it for yourself, you’re doing it for every single person that’s involved in the Red Roses squad.”
Canada enter the clash also with two wins from two, beating France and then Ireland to set up a tantalising encounter.
And although England have won 12 games in a row against the hosts - including during last year’s WXV1 - Kildunne is not underestimating the challenge the second-best team in the world rankings pose.
“We never go into a game with complacency,” said the 25-year-old. “We can’t ever expect to win - no one thought Ireland would beat New Zealand and they did - it’s rugby and anything can happen.
“Having said that, it’s the final and we want to win so we’ll be switched on. We’ve really learned to switch up our attack and set piece work so I send luck to any team who comes against us.”
As someone who lives by the phrase ‘lukewarm is no good’, Kildunne is certain England are similarly ready to leave it all on the pitch in their final outing in Vancouver.
She added: “Canada are a very physical, very fast team who have posed a lot of challenges for us in the past.
"I think some of us are still hurting from such a physical game with New Zealand, so we’ll be taking that into the game, but we’ll also take some of the athleticism from our game against America.
“I think it’s important to learn from both of the games we’ve had and take each game as a new one. We’re not going in with expectations that because we’ve beaten Canada before, we’ll do it again.
“It’s all about focusing on us now. John Mitchell had a quote for us that said, ‘Winners focus on winning, not on their opposition,’ so we’ll be working on our game rather than trying to manipulate theirs.
“They’ve got speed all over the park, but it’s nothing that we don’t have. It’s a case of getting stuck into the arm wrestle. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
It has been a busy few months for Kildunne, who made her Olympic debut in the women's rugby sevens squad as she played in front of world-record crowds for the women's game in Paris.
“One of my favourite experiences was running out for the first game [in Paris],” she said. “The storyline is always that the crowds will be bigger for the men’s games but it was like a Britain’s Got Talent audition.
“It took my breath away. I giggled like a kid because I was so excited. That moment has stuck with me because it was a ‘two fingers up’ to the people who say ‘the women’s games don’t sell tickets’ or ‘no one wants to watch women’s games’.”
With this experience fresh in mind, Kildunne is hoping WXV1’s debut appearance in Canada has set the stage for what is still to come in terms of recognition for the women’s game and players alike.
“I don’t think as athletes we recognise how inspiring we are on and off the pitch because we really love what we do, and at the end of the day we’re just playing rugby,” she said.
“The knock-on effect that’s had is that we’ve been able to inspire thousands of people. I think something that’s part of our culture in England is we want to express ourselves off the pitch and that pays its dividends in the people who follow us and come to watch our games.
“We really want to build the crowds and the audiences - especially those we don’t quite reach at the moment - and tell the stories of the Red Roses so people feel like they know us.”
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