Emily Scarratt: England centre says 'future is bright' for Sadia Kabeya & Morwenna Talling
- Published
Scarratt on pride of inspiring next generation
"I have to give them their full name. It's Emily Scarratt and Sarah Hunter."
Sadia Kabeya might be one of world rugby's most explosive emerging talents and the reigning RPA Premier 15s Player of the Year, but she often finds herself formally referring to her England and Loughborough Lightning team-mates Hunter and Scarratt by first and last names.
Such is the reverence the 20-year-old flanker holds England's World Cup-winning pair.
"When I first knew I was coming to play for Loughborough and knew I would be playing with Emily Scarratt and Sarah Hunter, I was like 'oh my god'," Kabeya grins.
"With Sarah Hunter also being a back row, I watched her a lot and is someome to be looked up to - she never has a bad game in my opinion.
"Emily Scarratt is Emily Scarratt - everyone knows who she is, she is a rugby icon."
Sarah Hunter (left) and Emily Scarratt (right) won a Women's Six Nations Grand Slam with England in 2019
Kabeya smiles sheepishly when she admits the response her sometimes over-eager greeting gets from Scarratt in the changing room.
"Every time I see her I'm like, 'hi Scaz'. She is then like, 'Sadia we are team-mates now, you can chill out a bit'."
Hunter, England's captain and record appearance maker, and Scarratt were two of just six of the 2014 World Cup-winning England side that featured in this year's tournament.
Kabeya and her Lightning team-mate Morwenna Talling were the youngest members of the Red Roses squad that narrowly missed out on the title, with New Zealand winning the final 34-31 in front of a record crowd for a women's game of 42,579.
The pair were aged just 12 when their decorated team-mates for club and country lifted the trophy.
Talling admits she has no memory of it, with the exposure of the women's game growing exponentially in the years since.
"I don't remember watching too much because it probably wasn't that widely available to watch," Talling tells BBC Sport.
"I don't think many would have missed this one. There is still so much growth in the game, it will just keep getting better.
"To go with that will be quite amazing to do what Emily and Sarah have done and be the ones to push the next generation."
Talling already knew Kabeya as a junior England international before teaming up at Loughborough and admits the feeling was always "we could be next".
The lock earned her first England cap in November 2020, having only burst onto the scene at Loughborough months earlier.
A knee injury sidelined Talling in 2021, but she recovered to reclaim her England spot in time for the World Cup.
Along the way she further impressed an already big admirer in Scarratt.
"Morwenna is a phenomenal talent in terms of natural stature, ball-carrying ability and skill," Scarratt says.
"She struggled last year with that knee injury, but watching her in the gym and how diligent she was at such a young age you could see she will have a really bright future."
Morwenna Talling (left) and Sadia Kabeya (right) - and their England team-mates - have returned to a difficult start to the Premier 15s season, with Loughborough losing their opening four games this season
Kabeya has made her impression on the former World Player of the Year in a different way.
"Sadia tackles like no-one I have ever seen before," says Scarratt.
"I kind of want to tackle like her, but then when I watch it I'm then not sure I want to tackle like that.
"In Morwenna and Sadia you have two prospects for the future that will be around for a lot longer than I will be. They are phenomenal talents already, representing on the world stage.
"That's hopefully the people you want to be inspire, but also the person who has never picked up a rugby ball before."
When 32-year-old Scarratt talks of the "bright futures" of both Talling and Kabeya, it is one that includes plans for the top-flight women's game in England to be fully professional in 10 years.
Having emerged on the international stage aged 18 - when no professional contracts of any sort were in the offering - the Leicester-born centre has been among the most influential trailblazers in the English game over the past 14 years.
"I wouldn't change the process I went through for the world because it gives you a real grounding, a real understanding of where the game has been," Scarratt says.
"It will be different for them - and I mean this in the nicest way - it will be a lot easier.
"They come in and there are professional contracts already on the table. There are opportunities for them."
Like Scarratt and Hunter, Kabeya and Talling both see their roles as England internationals and top-flight players as important for not only trying to deliver trophies, but also growing the game.
Already Kabeya recognises the influence she has when meeting the "mini-mes" when out in the community.
"Being a black woman in rugby at 20 and being at the top of the game where we are not in such a diverse sport, I feel like I have a lot of responsibility," says Kabeya.
"I feel like I'm quite accessible being young as well. I still relate to young girls coming through because I was in their position just three or four years ago.
"It's something I'm passionate about, being a role model, being that face for any black girls coming through the sport and wanting to see someone they can aspire to be like."
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