The 77th edition of the SJA British Sports Awards – the longest-established awards of their kind in Britain – will take place on Tuesday, November 11, 2025; for the second consecutive year, the Awards will be announced live on Sky Sports News; SJA members are voted to decide the big three prizes on offer; our SJA Academy members made their cases for the awards…
By JAMES BOOLS
Ellie Kildunne has had a dream year.
The 26-year-old full back excelled for Harlequins, bagging 14 tries across a mere 1,040 minutes to top score for the South West London outfit last season.
She also put in a string of superb performances for the national side – including a sensational eight-minute hat-trick against Wales in the Six Nations to mark her 50th cap.
And she was named in the World Rugby Women’s 15s Dream Team of the Year, alongside six of her international team-mates.
But it is her efforts in the World Cup that have captured the public imagination, and catapulted her to superstardom.
As the tournament’s de facto poster girl huge pressure was on the Keighley native to bring her A game. And she didn’t just exceed expectations – she shattered them.
She scored a total of five tries across just 286 minutes, including a dominant double against France to help England over the line in the semi-finals.
In the final, she once again stepped up when the team needed her most – scoring the equaliser to settle English nerves before the Red Roses ultimately ran out comfortable winners.
So seismic was her impact that the final became the most-watched rugby match of the year on UK television.
It is her influence off the pitch, however, which really sets her apart. At a time when women’s rugby union is having its Euro 2022 moment, she has presented herself as the perfect ambassador for the game.
A keen amateur photographer with a wicked sense of fun, she has connected with the public in a way that few other sportspeople are able to do.
She has provided rugby-mad girls a role model they can look up to, and her openness surrounding her ADHD diagnosis has made her a fantastic representative for the neurodivergent community.
She is also involved in the Impact 25 programme, a government initiative which has ploughed more than £6 million into supporting women’s rugby.
And she even has her own Barbie doll – something she told The Independent that she was taken aback by.
As if all of that wasn’t impressive enough, she is also one of the favourites to win Sports Personality of the Year.
Speaking to the Yorkshire Post in October, Kildunne said she takes immense pride in the development of the women’s game. Although she is too humble to admit it, she has been the catalyst for that development.
Like Chloe Kelly, Luke Littler and Sir Mo Farah, she is spearheading a shining new era in her sport, and taking it to dizzying new heights. Thanks to her women’s rugby union is in the strongest place it has ever been.
No matter what she goes on to do next, her place in the pantheon of English sporting greats is already assured.
James Bools is a member of the SJA Academy for media professionals starting their careers. Click here to join.