Women’s World Cup: England fullback Ellie Kildunne to miss Scotland clash after head knock

BRIGHTON — England’s star fullback Ellie Kildunne will miss their Women’s Rugby World Cup quarterfinal with Scotland next weekend.

Kildunne was forced off in the second half of England’s 47-7 victory over Australia in Brighton on Saturday with a head knock and England have confirmed she now faces a 12-day mandatory stand-down period.

Kildunne did not undergo an HIA when she was taken off, but instead was permanently removed from the field by the doctor. England will also monitor Hannah Botterman’s fitness after the star prop was taken off in the first half of their win with a back spasm.

John Mitchell’s side will now face Scotland next Sunday in Bristol, but the Red Roses found it far from straightforward against Australia. The Wallaroos scored first in the match and led until the 28th minute, but England ended up running seven tries to make it a maximum return from the pool stage.

“We didn’t start well, we looked clunky, untidy in attack but I thought our defence was outstanding,” Mitchell said. “Sometimes the attack doesn’t go for you but it was something in our own control so we’ll reflect on our preparation. The defence was outstanding.”

Sadia Kabeya added: “Yeah definitely, it was our toughest game so far. You can see in the first half we got put under pressure. But we needed it. A lot of things to work on and iron out. We have trust in the plan. We just went out there and did what we needed to do.

“We’ve got huge carriers across our forward pack. We’ve got threats across the park, our forwards can’t take all the credit!”

– England close out pool stages with 47-7 win, Australia also advance
– Scotland to face England in quarterfinals after Canada defeat
– United States thrash Samoa but knocked out of WRWC

England’s captain Alex Matthews said: “It’s the stickiest we’ve been in the first 40 – usually our lineout is spot on, but soft error count was quite high. We just needed to be more patient and direct.”

England will now move to Bristol where they’ll prepare for Scotland.

“Great to be playing against Scotland — they’re playing well in this tournament so two countries with a rich history in rugby, and considering what they’ve had to experience with contract conditions, they’re doing a remarkable job playing for each other,” Mitchell said.