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When the game concluded, a wave of relief swept through. In front of a record crowd, she hugged her England teammate Lucy Packer and only then realised that the England team had secured the Rugby World Cup. The final against Canada had been so “demanding,” Kabeya found it difficult to accept they were global titleholders until she heard that sound. “It was incredible,” Kabeya says. “The full-time whistle was a lot of comfort, a chance to breathe out and then: ‘Wow, we’ve achieved it.’”

England’s success capped a lengthy winning streak, a 33-game winning run, but the broader influence is what Kabeya recalls fondly. In particular, getting off the team bus to be welcomed by massive crowds and the applause from the packed stadium after the anthems.

“I struggle to put it into words,” the young forward says. “The team procession was spectacular, a once in a lifetime experience. Just to see the amount of support, the mix of people – parents and children, people who are younger, older, loads of men coming to the game – it was immense. I absolutely must see recordings to see it because I believe I didn’t fully absorb it because I was a bit in shock.

“You gaze upward and you see everyone in the stands. I remember everyone pointing up and being like: ‘Look, look.’ It was unreal. I quickly pulled out my phone, I was like: ‘I have to record this.’”

If Kabeya was left with lifelong memories then she also made some for the fans, with a player-of-the-final performance guiding her team to a 33-13 win. Thousands sang her well-known slogan at the title-winning party the following day, when the “Sadia Kabeya chant” was initiated by her England teammate Hannah Botterman. These are all events she never imagined could be a possibility a decade ago.

Kabeya first started playing rugby about a short distance from the stadium, at the a local institution in the London borough of Croydon. Initially playing alongside the boys, she was encouraged by the PE teacher and ex-international player Bryony Cleall to follow her passion. When she joined her first club, in a different locale, she felt she had to alter her behavior to be accepted.

“It was in Richmond, which is a mostly white community,” Kabeya says. “I was young and I hoped to be accepted so culturally I changed my musical tastes, my way of talking. I have changed my accent when I was in high school but I was a proper south London girl when I joined the club and I felt the need to adjust and suppress myself.

“It’s only as I have progressed in rugby and met other people who look like me and have brought me out of my shell again that I am finding [my] personality. I am myself now.”

In addition to motivating young players, Kabeya has developed a product which will reduce hurdles deterring involvement. Collaborating with a partner, she has created a satin scrum cap to safeguard various textures from abrasion, irritation and dehydration.

“It’s been a journey because we had to find the right material with how it can perform without causing discomfort as it has to be something you can wear in rugby, where you’re sweating and undergoing intense activity but also protecting your hair.

“A rugby headgear is something that has been around for a long, long time, it’s not a novel invention. But to add this layer, it is such a tiny detail but it can have significant impact. In my younger days I used to improvise with household items because I didn’t want to get my hair messy but I loved the sport so it didn't deter me.

I was a proper south London girl when I joined the club and I wanted to change that and hold back

“However, for some girls that would be the end. It would be: ‘I’m not playing because I don’t want to do that to my hair, I don’t want to have breakage.’ To have gear that supports involvement or attract new players is important.”

The completion of the competition has been triumphant for the player. Her future games for the national team will be in the European championship in the spring, while in the meantime her priorities include the next club competition for her team, Loughborough Lightning. In the three years between the last two World Cups, she found it far from easy, facing physical issues and a “mental dip” during the previous competition: “I entered believing: ‘Oh I’ll be okay, I’ll be able to get through it.’

“I think the worse it got off pitch, the poorer she played. I was capable of stepping back and address the issues and speak to the right people to achieve optimal mental state for a major tournament. I think, particularly in athletics, you frequently postpone action to attempt to make changes. But today, utilizing available help and experts I can consult regularly as opposed to reacting to issues is huge.”