Maya Stewart says she shed a few tears upon learning she would be making her Wallaroos debut at the Rugby World Cup.
The 22-year-old, who plays for the New South Wales Waratahs in Super W, has had to wait for her time to come.
For a while, she feared she might never play for the national side. This year, she suffered her third ACL injury, which threatened to derail her career.
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She was picked to play in the Laurie O’Reilly Cup, but did not play in either match in Christchurch or Adelaide.
Now, Stewart is set to start when Australia face Scotland on Saturday in Whangarei.
“It was pretty emotional,” said Stewart.
“I definitely shed a few tears with the girls. Super excited.”
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For the fresh-faced Newcastle-born player, a positive mindset was key to not losing sight of her ambition.
“I think it was about knuckling down at the start, getting the surgery done quickly, and then sort of setting an end goal but not putting all of my eggs in one basket,” she explained.
“If I got here, I got here. Obviously, I’ve worked really hard and Jay [Tregonning, head coach] and the team have got around me. I’m here.
“I think having a really good support network, family, and my boyfriend in Sydney, but obviously the team as well and having KB (Kylie Baldwin), our physio in Sydney, was awesome.
“It’s pretty special to me. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, to finally get the opportunity to do that is amazing.”
Stewart has had a roundabout path to the Rugby World Cup having played league and touch as a teenager.
It was only when her family encouraged her to pursue playing union and she saw the Wallaroos at the 2016 edition of the Rugby World Cup that her interest piqued.
“I didn’t play rugby growing up,” said Stewart.
“I played a whole heap of sports. I think seeing the girls in 2016 was a big eye-opener for me.
“Dad played footy growing up and so did the rest of my family. Seeing that and they were like, ‘Why don’t you give it a go?’
“So, finally got down there in 2018 and played a tournament and have never looked back.”
Australia and Scotland will go head-to-head at 1pm (AEDT) on Saturday with live coverage ad-free and exclusively on Stan Sport.
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