\u201cI\u2019m not saying with young girls it is a given [to be asked for a selfie] but you think that is going to happen,\u201d Kildunne says. \u201cThese young boys look up to Jonny Wilkinson. For them to come and ask me for a picture shows how rugby is changing for women. It\u2019s crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
With more eyes on the game, there is more interest when a surprising story breaks. Kildunne\u2019s exit from Harlequins this summer came as a shock to not only fans but the player herself.<\/p>\n
Kildunne says it was after the Women\u2019s Six Nations that she sat down with coaches and they \u201ccame to the conclusion\u201d she would no longer play at the club. The star says it was a \u201cshock\u201d and that as Quins \u201cdidn\u2019t have the best season\u201d she \u201cwasn\u2019t prepared to leave when we\u2019re down, but things happen for a reason and maybe this is the challenge that I needed\u201d.<\/p>\n
She has now signed for Bristol but there were media reports that Harlequins had released Kildunne because lateness had affected her relationships with the club\u2019s coaches.<\/p>\n
England\u2019s Ellie Kildunne says it was after the Women\u2019s Six Nations that she sat down with the Harlequins coaches and they \u201ccame to the conclusion\u201d she would leave. Photograph: Russell Cheyne\/Reuters<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously I have made the switch of going to Bristol with a lot spoken in the summer about that move,\u201d Kildunne, who was diagnosed with ADHD in 2025, says. \u201cThere was a little bit of worry around the negative side of things. Why did I move? What happened? That was a little bit stressful but what that has allowed is a space where I can grow, I can get better but also coaches are starting to understand me a little bit more.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not trying to be late on purpose. I am also not going to give ADHD-ers an excuse. So I have got myself a Garmin watch and that is keeping me on time, I\u2019m making sure I\u2019m never late. So far I have been on time to everything. Also the Bristol coaches have been brilliant. I have only been in once but even if it is just a text reminder like: \u2018Hey, Ellie: you might not have seen you have this form to fill out\u2019 and we have kind of met in the middle on that.<\/p>\n
A fan sports an Ellie Kildunne scarf. \u2018These young boys look up to Jonny Wilkinson. For them to come and ask me for a picture shows how rugby is changing for women. It\u2019s crazy.\u2019 Photograph: Tom Jenkins\/The Guardian<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t rely on them to tell me things all of the time but it\u2019s just the support I need to be the best player that I can be. I definitely can be better and I take accountability but it was a really tough time in the summer. Reflecting on that, I have had to look in the mirror quite a lot and stick to my values and know I am a good player and keep that confidence but also take accountability in the places that I can get better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kildunne\u2019s destination for next season is confirmed and while she does not want to wish her time away too quickly, there are two major events on the horizon that she is open to competing in: the 2027 inaugural women\u2019s British & Irish Lions tour and the 2029 Olympics.<\/p>\n
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