Kabeya relishing back row competition amongst Red Roses

Sadia Kabeya is relishing the competition for places after making a triumphant return to the Red Roses last weekend in a 38-5 victory following a year away from international rugby due to injury.

Before tearing her hamstring, the 23-year-old had become part of the furniture in the always competitive England back row, starting every game in last year's Six Nations.

However, given her time away from the squad and the emergence of new competition, including Maddie Feaunati and Abi Burton, the Loughborough Lightning flanker may no longer be the first name on John Mitchell's team sheet. 

But Kabeya is taking the competition in her stride and seems to love the fact that she must now fight for her place.

"Having competition is always a good thing. In England, everyone in the back row has amazing talent in different ways," Kabeya said. 

"There are great jackalers, great carriers and great tacklers, so there is always someone pushing you somewhere, and I thrive on that. 

"I've always had Marlie [Packer] there and we've had a little battle [for selection], and now with Georgia Brock and Abi Burton coming in it's even better."

If England fans were beginning to question why Kabeya is rated so highly compared to the rest of the Red Roses squad, they only need to look at last campaign's game against Wales.

The back row made 25 tackles and had 7 carries in a complete 80-minute performance helping England to a 46-10 drubbing of their arch-rivals.

She's not done either, with the 23-year-old confident she is still yet to reach her potential in an England shirt. 

"I don't think I've even skimmed the surface so far in terms of what I can learn and give," she added.

"The past couple of years have been amazing for me in terms of rugby skill development and also off pitch stuff and leadership stuff and I think I'm only just starting to come back into that now."

Away from the pitch, Kabeya, like many of her teammates, is intent on growing the women's game by any means necessary.

The flanker regularly features on podcasts, has written a BBC sports column, and last month signed a sponsorship deal to become an Adidas athlete, a sign of how rapidly women's rugby is growing.

Kabeya believes this is among the duties of an England player at the moment, and all of the squad should get involved.

"There are so many personalities within the squad and the sport, and it's something that I really enjoy," she said.

"People showing their personalities on social media is important because we're in the age when everyone is on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, and if you want to grow the game, what better way is there to do it other than showing your off-pitch self?"

With the World Cup coming up, women's rugby needs to market itself more than ever, and young stars like Kabeya will be crucial to that.

Now, heading to Wales, in front of a record crowd at the Principality for a women's game, it is clear that this is another stepping stone on the road to sellouts in the summer.

Kabeya said, "When we play at Allianz, the number of people we get in who haven't watched rugby before, or even people who have just seen the ad on the train, is enormous.

"To play in stadiums like this, it's what we need, and to fill the stadiums too is great, so now Wales has the opportunity as well; it's a brilliant occasion."