Kildunne backed to bounce back after concussion

Ellie Kildunne has been backed to bounce back quickly from the concussion that has halted her Rugby World Cup campaign.

England's World Player of the Year was left dazed after a heavy tackle in the Red Roses’ 47-7 win over Australia and will stand down for a minimum 12-day period after showing concussion symptoms.

That means she will miss next weekend's quarter-final with Scotland in Bristol, with Emma Sing deputising at full-back.

"I'm just surprised that her hair didn't protect her head," said scrum-half Natasha Hunt.

"Ellie will be alright and we'll look after her and make sure she's okay, but she was smiling in the changing room.

"We've got incredible squad depth and we always knew everyone would be involved in this campaign.

"If there's no Ellie, you need to remember that Emma [Sing] has beaten more defenders than anyone ever in the PWR."

England have averaged 54 points in their last five games with Scotland and have conceded just 29, so it was always likely coach John Mitchell would freshen up his starting team for the fourth game in a row.

It's not always the best thing — when trying to win a tournament or grow a sport — if the pre-match debate is solely about the winning margin.

But while this win over Australia stretched the Red Roses’ unbeaten streak to a record-equalling 30 games, the Wallaroos put them under serious pressure early on.

Coached by former England captain Jo Yapp, their first-half game plan, with precision kicking used to optimum effect, will be useful for future opponents to study.

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"Ellie's fine, there's not much in that head anyway," joked vice-captain Meg Jones, one of only two players to have started all three pool games.

"She'll recover quickly and bounce back, but she's a really important player for us and we need to protect her as much as we can.

"We've got some work to do this week because Australia gave us a real test there. They'd done their homework on us, but we solved it and that's the important thing.

We got ahead of the game and it felt flat. I've got so much belief in our defence and sometimes it's nice to show another way to win. I'm sure the forwards will remind us."

Yapp will reset her side for the challenge of Canada in what could be her final assignment, the rising-star coach swapping Sydney for her native Shropshire at the conclusion of the World Cup.

Her team may have come up short, but Yapp's tactical nous underlines why her future coaching role will be much discussed.

"Everybody is looking to beat England — they are the number one team in the world for a reason," she said. "Our game management in that first 30 minutes was really good, but we need to be able to do that for longer against Canada."

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