Ellie Kildunne: England now the benchmark following World Cup glory

Ellie Kildunne acknowledges that England now carry the weight of being the team everyone aims to beat as they look to build a lasting legacy following their World Cup success.

The Red Roses produced a dominant 33-13 win over Canada in front of a packed Allianz Stadium on Saturday.

With an unmatched streak of 33 consecutive Test victories and a comfortable lead atop the world rankings, there’s no denying that England currently sit at the pinnacle of women’s rugby.

Kildunne is perhaps already setting her sights on defending their World Cup crown in Australia in four years time, but is fully aware that being the team to beat comes with constant pressure.

“If we stay focused on improving in every training session and every match, there’s no reason we can’t lift the World Cup again,” Kildunne said.

“It’s a long road ahead, and there will always be teams gunning for us. Everyone wants to take down the top team and claim the World Cup for themselves.

“It is not something that is ever going to be given, it is something we are going to have to work on. We will keep striving to be better.

“We want to be an entertaining team, we want to score tries from every single corner of the pitch because we want more fans to come down.”