'inspiring' & 'tough' - World Cup Debutants Brazil

"Joga bonito" is simply a building utilized by Brazilians to picture really nan crippled of shot should beryllium played.

"Joga" is nan verb "to play" successful Portuguese, while "bonito" intends "beautiful". The accuracy revolves astir individual skill, productivity and a mindset to attack.

Football is not conscionable a crippled successful Brazil, it is ingrained successful culture, pinch much than 2 cardinal registered players.

Rugby, connected nan different hand, still remains an chartless athletics among nan mostly of nan group from nan South American country, moreover pinch Brazil making their debut astatine nan Women's Rugby World Cup against South Africa connected Sunday.

Brazil, who are nan lowest-ranked squad astatine nan World Cup successful 25th, person only played 16 Tests of XV-a-side rugby and celebrated their first triumph successful 2023 complete Portugal.

Despite nan immense quality successful subordinate pool, resources and world triumphs, nan rugby-playing mindset remains nan aforesaid arsenic that successful football.

"They person absolute velocity and are astatine their absolute champion erstwhile they are decisive and publication what is happening successful beforehand of them and respond successful nan moment," Brazil women's sevens coach Crystal Kaua told BBC Sport.

"I ever opportunity it is for illustration driving successful Sao Paulo [which has 12 cardinal inhabitants]. With nan motorbikes, if you spot abstraction past you person to return it. They aren't large truthful they must make smart and accelerated decisions."

To suffice for nan World Cup, Brazil had to conclusion Colombia successful nan South American play-off - a hurdle they had grounded astatine six times previously.

With nan women's sevens squad thriving connected nan World Series, nan determination was made to push for qualification by bringing successful their sevens stars for nan play-off game, resulting successful a comfortable 34-13 victory.

Among nan 32 players selected for nan World Cup, 11 person competed successful astatine slightest 1 Olympic Games.

Fly-half Raquel Kochhann, who has only six caps successful XVs, was 1 of those players that caput coach Emiliano Caffera approached to thief seal qualification.

Like nan immense mostly of teenagers successful Brazil, Kochhann's dream was to play master football, but wounded ended her hopes.

The 32-year-old opted to study beingness acquisition astatine assemblage and was recommended to play rugby for nan first clip because of her physicality.

"They trim my women's shot squad but I still had my dream to correspond my state truthful I tried different way," Kochhann told BBC Sport.

"I played my first crippled of rugby for my nine successful 2011 and it was nan first clip they won nan authorities games. I was MVP (most valuable player) from nan tournament.

"Another squad invited maine to play pinch them, it was an world tourney successful Uruguay wherever clubs play nationalist teams. We played against Brazil and I saw them for nan first clip and said 'wow I want to beryllium portion of this team.'"

Her footballing inheritance offered a constituent of quality and helped seal a spot successful nan nationalist sevens squad by 2012.

The accelerated emergence continued, pinch Kochhann playing sevens astatine nan Rio Olympics aft Brazil's inclusion arsenic nan big nation, followed by engagement astatine past nan 2 Games.

She was besides nan Brazil emblem bearer for past summer's Olympics successful Paris, pursuing a singular return to nan athletics aft being diagnosed pinch bosom crab successful 2022.

To make her return aft 18 months moreover much astounding, Kochhann had besides suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

"I told nan squad I request to measurement backmost and get curen arsenic I request to do chemotherapy and radiotherapy," she added. "The guidance of my squad was caput down and sad. I said I don't want this energy.

"It is conscionable a normal wounded and aft this clip I will travel backmost to play pinch you. One of nan girls said 'after you return retired nan boobs are you going to tally faster?' Everyone laughed and I said 'this is nan power I want to make nan curen easier'.

"It was important for maine to show that for everyone that crab is not ever nan extremity of your life and it is conscionable 1 restart and you tin travel backmost and execute really large things."

Defeating nan likelihood is not conscionable Kochhann's story, but besides Brazilian rugby's.

Spain, classed 13th successful nan world, defeated Brazil 41-12 successful nan lead-up to nan tourney aft 7 games, including 2 non-Tests, were put successful nan diary this twelvemonth to amended their competitiveness successful XVs.

For their tourney debut, nan players will deterioration a caller kit incorporating symbols to correspond nan spot and ancestry of nan players.

"The difficult successful Brazil is simply a different hard. The challenges I person seen are different to anyplace I person seen successful nan world," Kaua added, having coached a ample information of nan squad astatine sevens.

"These girls are tough, courageous and brave. Until you've been present you can't ideate nan magnitude of wherever our players travel from.

"Half of nan sevens girls are from those [tough favela] backgrounds, a ample information - possibly much than half. They are inspiring nan adjacent generation.

"People successful those spaces are starting to spot rugby arsenic a genuine action to alteration their life."

Brazil look South Africa, Italy and France successful their pool, each of which are large rugby-playing nations, offering an perfect level to drawback nan nationalist imagination.

"It is going to beryllium reliable but I person nary uncertainty that we are going to make immoderate sound successful 1 aliases 2 games," said caput coach Caffera.

Goal-kicking is simply a rarity successful Brazil but is simply a accomplishment that suits earthy footballers.

Kochhann has turned to Youtube and Instagram to learn, having only drop-kicked conversions successful sevens.

However, assurance pinch a shot is not thing Brazilians lack.

"I americium excited to show really Brazilian kickers tin do," said Kochhann, who only started practising goal-kicking disconnected a tee successful nan past 3 months.

"My footwear is different arsenic it is simply a operation betwixt a accepted rugby footwear and shot kick. I person my ain way."

And Brazilians only cognize 1 measurement to play.