"Loud and Proud" - Sadia Kabeya: England star feels privileged to represent black women and girls at World Cup

For the 23-year-old, the tournament is not only about showcasing her on-field talents and determination to help England towards the trophy over the coming weeks. Kabeya's goal is to inspire the next generation of Black women and girls to see themselves in the game. The Loughborough star's presence in the Red Rose jersey is a powerful reminder on the importance of visibility, diversity, and breaking barriers in sport.

"I feel really, really privileged to be in a position I am, on a world stage as a black woman in rugby. I'm really excited to be that face over this tournament, wearing my natural hair. I'm just being loud and proud about it. So, I'm buzzing, I feel like now I've got a platform to show everyone that this is a sport for them, and that's what we're trying to do."

Kabeya brings a brilliantly bright personality to the Red Roses squad and a formidable presence in the back row. Relentlessly putting herself on the line time and again for her country, her barrier-breaking satin scrum cap is frequently seen at the bottom of a breakdown. This head-ware was specially made for Kabeya natural curly hair, and is just one way that the loose-forward has stamped her personal touch upon the global women's game.

With millions of followers across social media platforms, and an ever-growing fan base as women's rugby continues to bloom, the individual stars of the Red Roses are steadily becoming well-known personalities, with head coach John Mitchell encouraging his players to be themselves upon the world's stage. With fresh faces in the England squad as each tournament passes, Kabeya shared how the side bonds effortlessly with 'Mitch' at the helm.

"Mitch [John Mitchell] has been great at bonding us in the squad and getting us to know each other. And everyone feels more comfortable. So definitely, you're going to see more personalities and see people more comfortable on the pitch as he brings us together as a squad."

"When we're off pitch, we turn into fans, so it will be nice to tune into the other girls games [at the Women's Rugby World Cup], but also recovering covering hard. Then we're getting into next week."

Kabeya was a stand-out performer from the opening match of the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup, as England handed the USA a commanding 69-7 defeat in Sunderland's Stadium of Light. Kabeya was first on the score-board and ignited capacity crowd ahead of the 11-try rout, with the back row delighted to hold the accolade of being the first try-scorer at the home-hosted tournament.

"It's always nice to go with the whitewash. But, it was a forwards try, a rolling maul, and it was just nice to dot it down.I can't take credit for it. But, it's nice to get over!"

"I love walking out in front of the big crowd and just taking it all in, you know, listening to the music, listening to the roar of the crowd. But, yeah, you can't get better than this opening match, you know, in a home world cup. I loved it!"

England are back in action this afternoon, for their second match in Pool A. The Red Roses take on Samoa at Northampton's Franklin's Gardens, in what is only the third ever on-field meeting between the two nations at Women's Test level. Samoa took a heavy 72-0 defeat to Australia in their opening round match, with Kabeya leading the scouting mission ahead of this evening's clash in the East Midlands.

"We're going to go back and do some analysis and see what they will come with. But I think we're anticipating a very physical game, which will be fun for the forwards, I don't know how much so much on the backs! But, we'll be doing lots of homework on that [Samoa]."