Ellie Kildunne and Sadia Kabeya, two of England’s Women’s Rugby World Cup winners, are stranded in Dubai amid Israel’s and the United States’ war with Iran.
Kildunne, the Red Roses’ standout player as John Mitchell’s side were crowned world champions at Twickenham last summer, will miss Harlequins’ home Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) fixture against Saracens on Saturday. Kabeya will be unavailable for Loughborough Lightning’s match at Sale.
A joint Rugby Football Union, PWR, Harlequins and Loughborough statement confirmed that the Quins full-back and the Lightning back-row Kabeya are in contact with their clubs and the RFU but their prospects of flying home from a short break in coming days remains uncertain.
The statement said: “During the reserve Premiership Women’s Rugby week, Ellie Kildunne and Sadia Kabeya travelled to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for a short break. Due to ongoing airspace disruption, they have been unable to return to England as planned and will therefore not play in PWR games this weekend.
“Both players have registered their presence with the UK government to receive official updates and guidance. Both Ellie and Sadia are in contact with the RFU, PWR and their clubs and will continue to be supported throughout this period. They will return to England as soon as it is possible to do so.”
Also stuck in travel limbo due to the Middle East conflict are England’s men’s cricket team, who will not leave India until Saturday at the earliest. Players and support staff would ordinarily have been expected to fly home on Friday following Thursday’s agonising seven-run defeat to the hosts in Mumbai in the T20 World Cup semi-finals.
However, the escalating conflict has limited their options, and it is understood they are working with the International Cricket Council (ICC) to secure a charter to the UK. England are understood to be relaxed about the situation and could head out to London on Saturday or Sunday alongside fellow beaten semi-finalists South Africa, plus the West Indies, who have been stuck in India since bowing out of the tournament last Sunday.
Efforts to help Britons trapped in the war zone are continuing, with the first government charter flight arriving in the UK early on Friday. Passengers on the Titan Airways charter flight, which flew in from Muscat, Oman, told of sleeping in car parks in Dubai as they heard explosions at the beginning of the conflict.
Etihad Airways announced on Friday it would be resuming a “limited commercial flight schedule” until 19 March, including flights to and from Abu Dhabi to Heathrow, Manchester and Dublin. More than 140,000 people in the region have registered their presence with the Foreign Office as the crisis has deepened.
The England Women cricket team have relocated their warm-weather training camp to South Africa after the Middle East conflict forced the cancellation of their scheduled trip to Abu Dhabi. The England and Wales Cricket Board scrapped plans to head to the UAE amid safety concerns and travel disruption in the region after the US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran last weekend.
