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The moment the match ended, Sadia Kabeya felt immense relief. With a massive turnout watching, she hugged her England teammate Lucy Packer and finally grasped that the Red Roses had won the Rugby World Cup. The championship match versus Canada had been so “demanding,” Kabeya found it difficult to accept they were international winners until she heard that sound. “It was amazing,” Kabeya says. “The full-time whistle was a lot of ease, a opportunity to relax and then: ‘Wow, we’ve done it.’”

England’s victory topped off a dominant three years, a 33-game winning run, but the off-field impact is what Kabeya cherishes deeply. 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 struggle to put it into words,” the England star says. “The team procession was spectacular, a rare opportunity. Just to observe the enormous encouragement, the diversity in it – parents and children, people who are more youthful, more senior, many male attendees – it was huge. 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 glance around and you observe the entire crowd. I recall people gesturing and being like: ‘Check it out.’ It was unreal. I instantly reached for my device, I was like: ‘I have to record this.’”

If Kabeya was granted unforgettable moments then she also gave spectators something to remember, with a award-winning match effort steering England to their 33-13 victory. Thousands sang her now-familiar chant at the Battersea Power Station celebrations the following day, when the “Do, do, do Sadia Kabeya” was sung by her England teammate Hannah Botterman. These are all occasions she couldn't foresee could be a possibility a ten years back.

Kabeya first took up the sport about 15 miles south-east of Twickenham, at the Harris city academy in the London borough of Croydon. Starting out with male peers, she was supported by her coach and retired athlete Bryony Cleall to follow her passion. When she started at her initial team, away from south London, she felt she had to alter her behavior to fit in.

“It was in another part of town, which is a mostly white community,” Kabeya says. “I was inexperienced and I aimed to blend in so I modified my preferences the songs I enjoyed, my speech patterns. I have changed my accent when I was in secondary school but I was a true local when I moved to the area and I felt the need to adjust and hold back.

“It’s only as I have progressed in rugby and found those with shared experiences and have encouraged my authentic personality that I am embracing my identity. I am authentic today.”

While encouraging future athletes, Kabeya has developed a product which will remove more barriers blocking some from taking up the sport. Collaborating with a partner, she has created a satin scrum cap to shield different styles from abrasion, irritation and damage.

“It’s been a process because we had to identify perfect textiles with how it can function while allowing airflow 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 scrum cap is something that has been around for a long, long time, it’s not a groundbreaking concept. But to add this layer, it is such a minor adjustment but it can create substantial change. In my younger days I used to play with a plastic bag on my head because I aimed to maintain my hairstyle but I was passionate about rugby so it didn’t bother me.

I was a proper south London girl when I moved to the area and I attempted to suppress that and hold back

“However, for other players that would be it. It would be: ‘I’m staying away because I want to protect my hair, I want to prevent damage.’ To have equipment that encourages participation or have people join the game is important.”

The conclusion of the tournament has been golden for Kabeya. Her upcoming international matches will be in the Six Nations in next season, while in the meantime her attention turns to the upcoming Premiership Women’s Rugby season for her side, Loughborough Lightning. In the time before the championship, she found it far from easy, dealing with setbacks and a “psychological challenge” during the previous competition: “I came in thinking: ‘Oh I’ll be fine, I’ll be able to get through it.’

“I think the worse it got off pitch, the poorer she played. I was able to go away and put in the effort and consult professionals to get myself in the best head space 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 huge.”