🔗 Share this article

As the match ended, Sadia Kabeya felt immense relief. With a massive turnout watching, she embraced her Red Roses colleague Lucy Packer and then understood that the Red Roses had won the Rugby World Cup. The championship match versus Canada had been so “demanding,” Kabeya found it hard to believe they were world champions until she heard that sound. “It was amazing,” Kabeya says. “The end-of-game signal was a lot of ease, a opportunity to relax and then: ‘Wow, we’ve done it.’”

England’s triumph concluded a lengthy winning streak, a 33 consecutive victories, but the wider effect is what Kabeya recalls fondly. In particular, exiting the team coach to be met with throngs of fans and the roar from the 81,885-strong Twickenham crowd after the anthems.

“I can’t even explain it,” the 23-year-old flanker says. “The stadium entrance was unforgettable, a unique moment. Just to witness the incredible backing, the mix of people – families, people who are younger, older, many male attendees – it was huge. I absolutely must see recordings to experience it again because I feel I missed some of it because I was a bit in amazement.

“You gaze upward and you see everyone in the stands. I recall people gesturing and being like: ‘See that.’ It was insane. I instantly reached for my device, I was like: ‘I must capture this.’”

If Kabeya was provided lasting recollections then she also made some for the fans, with a player-of-the-final performance guiding her team to a 33-13 win. Fans voiced her popular refrain at the title-winning party the next day, when the “celebratory tune” was initiated by her England teammate Hannah Botterman. These are all events she never imagined could be a reality a decade ago.

Kabeya first started playing rugby about 15 miles south-east of Twickenham, at the Harris city academy in her hometown. Initially playing alongside the boys, she was motivated by an instructor and retired athlete Bryony Cleall to pursue the sport. When she became part of a new squad, outside her home area, she felt she had to adjust her identity to belong.

“It was in Richmond, which is a mostly white community,” Kabeya says. “I was just starting out and I aimed to blend in so I adjusted my habits the songs I enjoyed, how I was speaking. I have changed my accent when I was in high school but I was a proper south London girl when I moved to the area and I attempted to suppress that and hold back.

“It’s only as I have advanced in my career and met other people who look like me and have encouraged my authentic personality that I am embracing my identity. I am true to who I am.”

Alongside inspiring the next generation, Kabeya has designed gear which will remove more barriers blocking some from taking up the sport. Collaborating with a partner, she has developed a specialized headgear to protect a range of hair types from rubbing, irritation and damage.

“It’s been a development because we had to identify perfect textiles with how it can function while allowing airflow as it has to be appropriate for the sport, where you’re sweating and undergoing intense activity but also keeping your hair safe.

“A scrum cap is something that has been around for a long, long time, it’s not a revolutionary idea. But to add this layer, it is such a tiny detail but it can have significant impact. In high school I used to use makeshift protection because I wanted to keep my hair neat but I was passionate about rugby so it didn’t bother me.

I was a proper south London girl when I moved to the area and I felt the need to adjust and conceal my true identity

“However, for some girls that would be the end. It would be: ‘I’m avoiding participation because I prefer to avoid damage, I aim to maintain health.’ To have something that could keep people in the game or attract new players is significant.”

The ending of this World Cup cycle has been golden for Kabeya. Her next appearance in an England jersey will be in the international tournament in next season, while in the period before her attention turns to the upcoming Premiership Women’s Rugby season for her club, Loughborough Lightning. In the time before the championship, she found it quite challenging, facing physical issues and a “mental dip” during the recent tournament: “I came in thinking: ‘Oh I’ll be alright, I’ll be able to ride it out.’

“I think the harder her personal life was, the poorer she played. I was able to go away and put in the effort and speak to the right people to get myself in the best head space for a major tournament. I think, especially in sport, you often delay until crisis point to seek solutions. But today, accessing support systems and experts I can consult regularly instead of waiting to hit a bump in the road is important.”