'Fire in the belly': The brutal routine Wallaroos have faced in late dash to be ready for Rugby World Cup

A mental fitness coach was standing on the freezing sands of Coogee Beach ready to try and break the members of Australia’s women’s rugby team. After all this team has been through, he never stood a chance.

Early last year when it was announced the 2021 World Cup had to be postponed because of Covid, the national team players from the Waratahs were reflecting on the news at training.

“I’d be lying if I said that there weren’t tears. As a group we were so heartbroken,” national team member Sera Naiqama told The Roar Rugby Podcast this week.

“I have a vivid memory of us Waratahs girls standing there in a circle at training just devastated and Grace Hamilton saying ‘it’s okay to feel the things that you’re feeling. But what we do as a group is take this moment and carry it with us as fire in our belly.’

“We’re here now and that’s just testament to each girl’s resilience to stay on this path because it’s not easy. But bloody hell it’s worth it.”

You can stream Sera Naiqama’s fascinating chat with Harry Jones and Brett McKay here, or on your podcast app of choice

Usually a national team builds up for a World Cup over a period of years, with an attempt at tapering into the tournament itself. That’s not the story of these Wallaroos.

Covid meant they missed out on Tests in 2020 and 2021, and with little funding available and the players unpaid, their camp time has been limited. They have managed some matches – against New Zealand, Japan and Canada, but circumstances have meant piling as much work into them as possible close to Saturday’s kick off against the Black Ferns.

“It’s been a pretty tough trot,” said Naiqama. “We checked into camp a week ago, and we had a beautiful send off by Rugby Australia.

“Then first thing Saturday morning, day two of World Cup camp, we’re out on the icy cold sand in Coogee Beach and we had a mental fitness coach by the name of David King waiting for us.

“The intention of that session was to isolate us, take us into the darkness and break us. That is exactly what he said to us. It was tough, it was so tough.”

The intensity has stayed high as the team moved to Auckland, with coach Jay Tregonning running the players through multiple sessions a day.

Podcast host Brett McKay asked Naiqama is she was ready to soak up the atmosphere in Auckland. “Maybe in an Epsom salt bath,” she fired back. “Because the body’s aching.”

Sera Naiqama. (Photo by Hannah Peters – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)

Anyone who has seen Naiqama’s contributions on Stan Sport’s rugby coverage won’t be surprised by her sharp mind. She is an excellent communicator who effortlessly switches between displaying genuine humour and emotional heft.

She’s fearless too. On day one on the Stan couch she disagreed with Sonny Bill Williams.

“At first I was so doubtful in my ability to commentate and talk about the game in such a way that would be viewed and could potentially be criticised by viewers.

“But I think when think back to that Bledisloe where I was on the couch with Sonny Bill, and of course he was like rooting for the All Blacks, and he said that the Wallabies weren’t pulling the trigger early to attack.

“I was like, well that’s BS because Marika broke the line in the first few minutes and we did have an attacking opportunity. From that moment [I thought] if you could pull up Sonny Bill Williams on your debut of commentary,  girlfriend, you’ve got a long history in this game.”

Perhaps her banter was honed by growing up with rugby league stars Kevin and Wes as her older brothers, as one of five kids. And she got into rugby as an “opportunity to show my brothers that I’m tough just like them.”

She added, laughing: “They go alright. One of them’s a has-been now and it’s my time to shine!”

Her selection for the World Cup is special for her and her family. Mum Verenaisi will travel to New Zealand for the tournament.

“My parents are so proud of me and they never fail to tell me. And that hasn’t just come about because I’ve been selected for a World Cup – they’re the first people on the phone when I’m being dropped as well.

“For them to be able to see me live out my rugby journey since I was 16, to now being a 27 year old woman and the early morning, the late nights, the missing out on birthdays, weddings, for them it’s an accumulation of everything that’s happened over the past 10 years.

“When I had found out that I’d been selected to be part of the World Cup squad I told my siblings straightaway, and there were just so many tears.

“Talking to each of my siblings they would draw on a moment that could have potentially made me walk away from the game. But you reap the rewards of what you sow.

“Mum booked a ticket to fly into Auckland later this week. And I was like, ‘mum, I don’t know, do you want to wait to see if I’m in the squad?’ And her response to me was ‘I don’t care. It’s your first World Cup and I want to be there. I was there for your brothers’. So that’s cool. I just feel really grateful to be able to add to my family’s legacy in such a way.”

While Naiqama’s talents extend beyond the field, she is committed to being a warrior on it, drawing inspiration from an American President’s speech 112 years ago, written in her grandmother’s script as ink upon her arm.

“I have these words tattooed on my arm that says ‘I am the woman in the arena.’ It’s an extract from Theodore Roosevelt’s Man in the Arena,” says Naiqama. “I have the text on my forearm that’s written in my grandmother’s handwriting.

“For me, this is the arena, and I’m the woman in it. And it doesn’t matter what happens out there, what matters is that I’m putting my body on the line.

“I’m putting myself in vulnerable positions to either be hit or to hit. But it’s my moment. And I’m in that arena. And you know, nothing makes me prouder than being able to put on a gold jersey, and standing there in those final moments in the dressingroom and you’re looking in the eyes of the other 22 girls and you’re like, ‘this is it, this is us’. It gives me goosebumps. There’s nothing compared to it.

“Throughout the week, you’re constantly seeking validation from your coaches, whether you’re doing the right thing or not. But when you cross that line, it’s about you then.

“What you going to do to make yourself believe that you are strong enough to put your hand up for the ball? Do you back your ability to call the right line out when you’re in your 22?

“There are so many things that go through your mind. For me, it’s just about ‘how can I ground myself’ and that’s the words I say. I’m the woman in the arena and all the work that I’ve done throughout the week is enough because I’m there now.”