🔗 Share this article

As the game concluded, Sadia Kabeya felt immense relief. Before a historic audience, she hugged her England teammate Lucy Packer and finally grasped that the England team had secured the Rugby World Cup. The clash with Canada had been so “exhausting,” Kabeya found it hard to believe they were international winners until she the whistle blew. “It was incredible,” Kabeya says. “The end-of-game signal was a lot of relief, a moment to exhale and then: ‘Wow, we’ve done it.’”

England’s success capped a dominant three years, a 33-game winning run, but the broader influence is what Kabeya remembers most. Notably, getting off the team bus to be welcomed by massive crowds and the roar from the 81,885-strong Twickenham crowd after the anthems.

“I find it hard to describe,” the young forward says. “The team procession was spectacular, a rare opportunity. Just to witness the incredible backing, the variety present – parents and children, people who are more youthful, more senior, many male attendees – it was massive. I definitely have to watch videos back to relive it because I believe I didn’t fully absorb it because I was a bit in shock.

“You look up and you see everyone in the stands. I recall people gesturing and being like: ‘Look, look.’ It was insane. I got my phone out immediately, I was like: ‘I must capture this.’”

If Kabeya was left with lifelong memories then she also gave spectators something to remember, with a player-of-the-final performance guiding her team to a 33-13 win. Thousands sang her now-familiar chant at the Battersea Power Station celebrations the following day, when the “Sadia Kabeya chant” was sung by her England teammate Hannah Botterman. These are all occasions she couldn't foresee could be a reality a in her younger days.

Kabeya first picked up a rugby ball about a short distance from the stadium, at the her school in the London borough of Croydon. First participating with boys, she was motivated by an instructor and retired athlete Bryony Cleall to follow her passion. When she joined her first club, outside her home area, she felt she had to adjust her identity to fit in.

“It was in Richmond, which is a largely homogeneous neighborhood,” Kabeya says. “I was young and I hoped to be accepted so I modified my preferences what music I was listening to, my speech patterns. I have changed my accent when I was in my teens but I was a typical resident when I moved to the area and I attempted to suppress that and suppress myself.

“It’s only as I have progressed in rugby and met other people who look like me and have helped me rediscover myself that I am embracing my identity. I am authentic today.”

While encouraging future athletes, Kabeya has developed a product which will reduce hurdles deterring involvement. Working with her sponsor, she has developed a specialized headgear to shield different styles from abrasion, irritation and dehydration.

“It’s been a journey because we had to find the right material with how it can work and be breathable still as it has to be appropriate for the sport, where you’re sweating and facing physical demands but also maintaining hair health.

“A protective cap is something that has been in use for ages, it’s not a groundbreaking concept. But to add this layer, it is such a small thing but it can make such a big difference. In my younger days I used to play with a plastic bag on my head because I aimed to maintain my hairstyle but I enjoyed the game so it didn't deter me.

I was a true local when I joined the club and I felt the need to adjust and hold back

“However, for other players that would be it. It would be: ‘I’m not playing 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 successful for the athlete. Her upcoming international matches will be in the European championship in the spring, while in the period before her focus will be on the upcoming Premiership Women’s Rugby season for her team, Loughborough Lightning. In the three years between the last two World Cups, she found it far from easy, experiencing injuries and a “mental dip” during the recent tournament: “I started assuming: ‘Oh I’ll be alright, I’ll be able to handle it.’

“I think the harder her personal life was, the poorer she played. I was able to go away and address the issues and consult professionals to prepare psychologically for a World Cup. I think, especially in sport, you often delay until crisis point to try and do something about it. But today, having the resources and people who I can use consistently instead of waiting to hit a bump in the road is significant.”