Rugby World Cup winner and England star Ellie Kildunne has been made into a barbie doll following her impressive performances that helped the Red Roses to victory.
The 26-year-old was one of the stars of this year’s World Cup which saw England beat out Canada 33-13 in the final just nine days ago.
The Red Roses route to victory captured the attention of the nation and the final was played in front of 82,000 fans at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
Kildunne, who plays as a centre and full back, was one of four rugby stars whose likeness was captured in doll form and her Barbie featured defining characteristics such as her nose ring and the custom boots she wore through the tournament.
The reasoning behind the creating the dolls was to celebrate how the Rugby World Cup has inspired a new generation of female rugby players – a sentiment Kildunne agrees with.
"It's so cool and the hair's spot on as well," she said after getting a look at herself in doll form.
"It's really cool because growing up I didn't necessarily play with Barbies, but I think that's because none of the Barbies looked liked me.
"Having a Barbie doll that looks like that is very inspiring to see. It's representation and for young girls and boys to be able to see that there's women in the sport that have a Barbie doll, they can be inspired to be like us."
France's Nassira Konde, New Zealand's Portia Woodman and the United States’ Ilona Maher were also presented with their own one-of-a-kind Barbie dolls.
Kildunne’s England teammate Abby Dow spoke about using the World Cup triumph as a stepping stone to grow the game for women and girls and hopes England’s win makes that more accessible.
She said: “We’ve got the ball rolling and I don’t want it to stop. What is so important is the influence we will have towards the grassroots game right now.
“Rugby has an influence to change anyone’s life. It is quite stereotyped, especially with boys, that it can be a middle-class sport, but it’s not. It really isn’t.
“I want to see rugby move up to the north, I want to see it flourish across the country, because look at what football has done in the women’s game. It’s got so many girls questioning why they are not doing it.
“What we are trying to prove is that, actually, it’s not just a one-off with football. It’s women’s sport as a whole and it is here to stay. I hope that kids will never be limited by it and we are proving that today.”
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