Super W kicks off this Saturday! If you’re not as excited as I am, then you’re probably just not in the know… Super W is a brand new format for the women’s competition (click here to get in the know).
Over the weekend, I was lucky to sit down with Queensland captain, Kirby Sefo. We had a great chat, talking about her own journey, her excitement about the Super W competition and women’s rugby in general. Hearing her talk, you can see why she has the respect of the players and coaching staff alike and has become a great ambassador for the game! Hope you enjoy reading our chat.
Hi Kirby, nice to catch up this morning. Thanks for taking time out from your schedule!
No problems!
How do you feel the pre-season has gone so far?
Pre-season, to be honest was off to a bit of a slow start, with new coaching, new management and new girls in our squad, it took a while to learn those new structures, new platforms and then I think, it was good timing being able to have a good run-out at Global 10s. That helped our pre-season a lot. When we were done with that, I guess we’ve been able to set back into 15s again, learn our patterns. We certainly had a good run-out this morning, we’re one week out, we’re just making sure our bodies are all good and hopefully we’ll be good on Saturday.
What's one thing your proud of about your team so far this year… and what's one thing you think the team can work on more?
During the pre-season, I’m proud of how the girls have sort of clicked and have fallen in sync together at the right time. We’ve got certain leaders taking care of certain parts of our game, then collectively we’ve been picking up our young ones and then experienced ones are bringing things together.
To work on… I guess that perhaps might come after round one. At the moment, we haven’t had a lot to test those patterns on the field. After round one, I might have a big list. [laughs]
I know your focused on game 1 of the Super W competition, on Saturday March 10th. What are you looking forward to most about this game?
I think what I’m looking forward to most, is the fact that it’s the first Super W competition, the fact that we’re a part of it. It means that the game is growing. We get to play at Suncorp, before the Reds… I think just the fact that this is where we are is what I’m excited about.
Women's rugby seems to be on the rise in Queensland. What advice would you give to young girls thinking of playing?
It definitely is on the rise isn’t it. My advice for young girls wanting to play… is first of all to try it, but I think as they go through their successes and build their own status for a rugby career, the main thing I would advise is to keep that balance. So still do the things that you love, aside from rugby. So if you enjoy your friends and your family, always make time for them. Just have a good balance of on and off-field, and keep everything in perspective. Don’t let it take over your life, but enjoy it.
How did you first get into rugby?
Funny, because you would think coming from New Zealand that I started then, but it was actually an old friend that asked if I wanted to play and at first I said “absolutely not”… I didn’t want a bar of playing rugby.
How old were you at the time?
I was a really late starter, I didn’t start playing until I was 25, not long after I moved to Australia. I went along to watch Sunnybank play Wests, they were short, they said jump in, so I did and I loved it. I just kind of fell into it and it went from strength to strength in the one season.
What have some of your highlights from your career been so far?
There’s a couple of really good moments. A recent one was obviously the 10s. I think just because we’re not used to being in the spotlight so much. While we do have wins and being able to celebrate in that kind of light, that’s really fun.
Also, I really love my club Sunnybank - last year we won our third premiership, back to back. I really appreciate where I’ve come from, in terms of rugby. I didn’t play back home, so my loyalties really do lie with Sunnybank. When I first started playing, we lost every game for two whole seasons. So to be a part of a team that developed together. It would have been easy to go to another club, but I like sharing those kind of moments with my club girls, because I’m sort of nothing without them. And a lot of them as you can see are with Queensland, we’ve gone through that all together.
And finally... what would you say to rugby fans in Queensland, leading up to Saturday March 10th?
I would first of all say thank you to them, because after the 10s they’ve been so supportive. And also, just to get around it and encourage it. There’s so many young girls out there that rugby can do really good things for them. You know, friendships, memories… also good health! Support things that are developing, it’s a good thing that we’re doing, so we appreciate the support. And hopefully come down and watch us! I’m sure I’ll see you there Tom.
I'm looking forward to the season and I'm sure many people are. All the best for the first game, and the rest of the season. See you at Suncorp soon.
Thank you so much. That’s the coolest interview I’ve ever done.
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