In the final week of pool stage at Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, the pressure is on for teams to secure a place in the quarter-finals.
Needless to say, these matches are incredibly important for all players. But for one Australian player, this match is special in more ways than one.
Lydia Kavoa will be starting at loose-head prop in a first for her at a Rugby World Cup, in what is a second ever Test start in the position. Her road to the World Cup has been anything but conventional having only started playing prop last year.
The 31-year old Leading Seaman was scouted by Wallaroo’s coach Jo Yapp at a Naval tri-service competition, and was convinced by Yapp to switch playing positions following a spate of injuries in Australia’s front row.
“At first I was like, ‘no, I’m back row’ because there’s this massive stigma that you’ve gotten slower and you’ve put on weight.
“I went away and thought about it and she [Yapp] told me, ‘I want to take you to a World Cup, but your opportunity will be in the front row’ so I said ‘OK, when do we start?’”
Kavoa said her dad was a key factor in coming to the right decision and moving forward on it with purpose.
“I went away and thought, ‘do I really want to do it?’ My dad said ‘if you’re going to do it, make sure all your eggs are in one basket and give it a decent crack, go all in, because you can’t half-ass it.’”
Kavoa has certainly been giving it a ‘decent crack’. She took on three extra training sessions a week to work on her skills to ensure she would be ready to play in the front row at Rugby World Cup 2025.
“I got in contact with a scrum coach down in Canberra. I was like, ‘you got to help me out here.’
“He moved mountains for me and I said ‘I need to play this game’. He said ‘Well you got to see me like, twice to three times a week then.’ I was like ‘okay, let’s do it.’”
Now at her first Rugby World Cup, Kavoa is starting a hugely crucial match for the Wallaroos, who need to secure a bonus point at the very least in order to progress to the quarter-finals at the expense of USA.
“I’m literally still pinching myself, because one of my key goals was to try and start this World Cup and after last week’s game, I didn’t think I’d play. They caught me off guard.
“It’s a huge honour. I just want to try and be in the moment on Saturday.”
Australia face England’s Red Roses at 17:00 on Saturday at the Brighton and Hove Community Stadium.