‘We are almost incomparable’: England’s Emma Sing on challenging Kildunne and Six Nations hopes
Emma Sing has ambitions to become England’s starting full-back in the Six Nations, but insists there is no rivalry between her and Ellie Kildunne, the Red Roses’ breakout World Cup star.Sing is a Rugby World Cup winner, a multiple Six Nations grand slam champion and has lifted the Premiership Women’s Rugby trophy three times.Touting her achievements is not something the Gloucester-Hartpury back is comfortable with, but the silverware, along with her consistent club performances, are the reason why the 25-year-old is pushing for a starting place.The No 15 jersey is synonymous with Kildunne, the Harlequins player who is the face of the England team and came second in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year after her electric performances at the 2025 World Cup.The players will be angling for the same position in the Women’s Six Nations, which begins on Saturday.
“I do find it really hard sometimes when you look at the media and they are trying to put us against each other,” she says.“I understand for club, we are against each other in that sense, but as soon as we go into camp we are trying to make each other better.We have different attributes so we are almost incomparable in that aspect.We are trying to make each other better and put that 15 shirt in a better place.“If you look at Ellie, she is crazy fast, crazy step, really agile, lots of flair.
I am a lot more physical than her because I think I am 10-plus kilos heavier than her.That separates us in a completely different style of rugby because I am not as fast as her, probably can’t step as well as her, but I do have goal-kicking that she doesn’t necessarily have.”Before England selections and multiple trophy wins, Sing had designs on becoming a vet.She has a degree in bio-veterinary science from Hartpury university with her passion for animals coming from growing up on a farm in Devon.She has previously said she had a reputation in teams for having “farm strength” and that in part, as well as her goal-kicking ability, has led to 13 caps for England, with her first coming back in 2022.
Three of those came at the 2025 World Cup and the title of World Cup winner is something that has still not sunk in for Sing.Her place in the World Cup squad came after lighting up the PWR.In the past two campaigns Sing has been the top points-scorer in the league, mostly from being an accurate kicker from the tee.Her form has not slipped in the current campaign, winning four player of the match awards and being the second-highest points-scorer, just behind Zoe Harrison, despite Sing missing a few games with a knee injury last month.Sing recovered for Gloucester’s 22-17 win over Saracens in March and is hoping to translate club form into more starts for John Mitchell’s England.
“Everyone wants to pull on their shirt for their country,” she says.“I haven’t necessarily had that many opportunities to start in an England shirt.“As long as I am trying to perform as best as I can in training to be selected then it is Mitch’s decision on who is performing better or which style of rugby would suit the game better.”Mitchell has said there is competition at full-back, but also that he may play Sing in a different position.“Ellie is going to be competing with Emma,” the head coach said.
“We know Helena [Rowland] is versatile and you have Mia [Venner] and Jess [Breach] who can play full-back as well.“We would also like to see how Emma Sing goes in the midfield as well over the next few years.It will be important for her to develop another position because she is a very strong carrier on the ball and her outside break, she has a very good fend.We may look at that in this tournament or another, but it is certainly in our minds.“I think Emma can play 12 or 13.
I’ve been speaking with Dan [Murphy, head coach] at Gloucester and asking him to train her at various times in that position in attack and defence.It is something Emma is also pretty keen on developing as well.”The likelihood of Sing being trialled in the midfield increased in the buildup to the tournament as Tatyana Heard, a regular starter at No 12, has been ruled out of the Six Nations with a foot injury.The 31-year-old is usually the partner of Meg Jones, the new captain.Selection will always bring opinions and the former England captain Katy Daley-McLean believes Kildunne will be challenged by Sing.
“It’s interesting because they’re so different,” Daley-McLean said on TNT Sports,“Sing is more of your traditional full-back,She kicks well,She defends well,“Ellie has so much X factor, but I think Sing has seen an opportunity here and she’s after Ellie’s shirt.
It’s good because there’s no pressure on her,You can go and thrive,Gloucester are going well,If I was Ellie Kildunne, I would be having a little look at the moment,”Any opportunity given to Sing this tournament, she will take it with both hands.
Not only to try further her own career, but to step out of Kildunne’s shadow.After all, as Sing says, they are incomparable.
Oil prices plunge and stocks jump after Trump announces conditional ceasefire with Iran
Oil prices tumbled on Wednesday and global stock markets rallied after the US and Iran agreed a two-week conditional ceasefire.Investors welcomed the news that Donald Trump had held off on his threat to bomb Iran into “the stone ages”, while Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said passage through the strait of Hormuz would be allowed for the next two weeks under the management of Iran’s military. Wall Street recorded its biggest single-day rally in a year.Oil fell below the $100-a-barrel mark, even though it was not certain that the US would accept a 10-point proposal drawn up by Iran. How the strait will be reopened and managed beyond the two-week grace period is yet to be determined
John Lewis boss’s pay rises to £1.2m as retailer cuts 3,300 jobs
The boss of the group that owns John Lewis and Waitrose had his basic pay rate increased by 21% last year while the retailer cut 3,300 jobs.The annual salary of Jason Tarry, who became chair of the John Lewis Partnership (JLP) in September 2024, was increased to £1.2m for the year to January, from £990,000.He also received a £22,700 annual bonus – equivalent to 2% of his pay – and other benefits, taking his total package to almost £1.26m
British computer scientist denies he is bitcoin developer Satoshi Nakamoto
A British computer scientist has insisted he is not the elusive developer of bitcoin, after a report claimed to unmask him as its creator.A story in the New York Times details a years-long effort to unmask Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious author of the bitcoin white paper which laid the theoretical foundations for modern digital currencies.It names Adam Back, a London-born computer scientist and entrepreneur. In a thread on X, Back promptly denied being the mysterious – and presumably ultra-wealthy – technologist.“I also don’t know who satoshi is, and i think it is good for bitcoin that this is the case, as it helps bitcoin be viewed [as] a new asset class, the mathematically scarce digital commodity,” he wrote
Britons warned about Russian hackers targeting internet routers for espionage
Russian hackers are exploiting commonly sold internet routers to harvest information for espionage purposes, the UK’s cybersecurity agency has said.The hack could allow attackers to obtain users’ credentials, redirect them to fake sites, and potentially access other devices on their home network such as phones and PCs, said Alan Woodward, a professor at the University of Surrey.The National Cyber Security Centre said on Tuesday the operations were “believed to be opportunistic in nature, with the actor targeting a wide pool of victims and then likely filtering down for users of potential intelligence value at each stage of the exploitation chain”.It follows a common pattern of cyber-actors targeting edge devices – hardware such as internet routers or internet-connected security cameras – that act as a bridge between users and the cloud.Woodward said: “It’s not the first time that warnings have come out about routers
How Augusta National outwitted ticket resellers and kept door closed on Trump | Andy Bull
Jeffrey Epstein’s web of influence stretched from European palaces to Ivy League universities and Wall Street banks, but there was apparently at least one little corner of the establishment that seems to have been beyond his reach: Augusta National. In July 2019, Epstein sent an iMessage to Steve Bannon asking for his help with a particularly difficult problem. “Need to work magic to get brad Karp admitted to augusta golf club,” Epstein wrote. “The head of Paul Weiss Brad Karp?” Bannon replied. “Yes
Rahm stands out as Masters favourite as Augusta adjusts to post-Tiger world | Ewan Murray
Spaniard is seeking his second Green Jacket at first Masters since 1994 without Tiger Woods or Phil MickelsonHalf a mile from the gates of Augusta National, at the foot of Washington Road, sits a keyboard and piano store. It closes on Masters week every year. “Spring has sprung and so have we,” reads a sign in the forecourt. Clearly there is insufficient correlation between golf fans and those with a tendency to tinkle the ivories (or similar) for the business to remain open.Masters mania is not for everyone
Can’t face another mouthful of chicken? You’re probably coming down with the ick
Georgina Hayden’s quick and easy recipe for gochujang butter salmon | Quick and easy
How to make the perfect Portuguese feijoada – recipe | Felicity Cloake's How to make the perfect
Burro, WC2: ‘Big but the opposite of brash – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants
Sunday best: Thomasina Miers’ recipes for aromatic chicken one-pot and salted caramel banana cake
Oats, sardines and crisps: emergency foods to stockpile – and why you should share them