England Sevens: Teenager Ellie Kildunne makes switch from 15-a-side
- Published
Ellie Kildunne scored nine tries in eight appearances for England in the 15-a-side game
England teenager Ellie Kildunne has switched from the 15-a-side game to sevens and is one of 17 players awarded contracts for the 2018-19 season.
The 18-year-old back, who scored nine tries in eight appearances in the XVs programme last season, is one of seven new additions to the squad.
World Cup winners Emily Scarratt and Natasha Hunt will once again play sevens this season.
The men's and women's sevens programmes have been integrated this season.
It means the women's squad will move from their present base at Bisham Abbey to join the men at England's High Performance Centre at The Lensbury in Teddington.
The move by the Rugby Football Union will allow the squads to "share facilities and best practice".
Men's coach Simon Amor has named his 20-strong squad for the new season, including five Olympic silver medallists from Rio 2016 in Dan Bibby, Phil Burgess, Tom Mitchell, Ollie Lindsay-Hague and all-time leading try scorer Dan Norton.
Qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics takes place this season and England men's and women's team are the nominated nation to qualify on behalf of Great Britain.
Squads
Women's: Lizzie Adam, Holly Aitchison, Claire Allan, Jess Breach, Abbie Brown, Abi Burton, Heather Fisher, Deborah Fleming, Emma Hardy, Natasha Hunt, Megan Jones, Ellie Kildunne, Alex Matthews, Celia Quansah, Helena Rowland, Emily Scarratt, Emma Uren.
Men's: Jamie Barden, Dan Bibby, Tom Bowen, Phil Burgess, Alex Davis, Richard de Carpentier, Will Edwards, Mike Ellery, Harry Glover, Ben Harris, Charlie Hayter, Ollie Lindsay-Hague, Charlton Kerr, Tom Mitchell, Will Muir, Dan Norton, Ryan Olowofela, James Rodwell, Femi Sofolarin, Ethan Waddleton.