Larissa Fernanda Lima Silva Henwood was not going to let anything stop her realising her Rugby World Cup dream with Brazil, even if it meant upping sticks from South Auckland to São Paulo with her baby on her back.

The 31-year-old flanker was born in Brazil but left for Portugal with her family aged eight, where she picked up the oval-ball game  – even representing her adopted nation at sevens.

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After meeting her partner Sam Henwood when they both played at Técnico rugby club in Lisbon, Larissa feared they would part ways when the Kiwi was offered a place on the Chiefs’ Super Rugby roster back home in 2016.

Larissa Lima Henwood (Getty Images)

“He said I’ve got a contract and I’ve got to go back to New Zealand – this is a bit of goss(ip) but I thought we were going to break up but then he was like, ‘Do you want to come with me?”

So aged just 21, she took a massive leap of faith and moved to the other side of the world where the pair have since married and had daughter Skye, who is 20 months old.

The Henwoods, who are both flankers, have settled in South Auckland but Sam’s playing career has taken him to Japan where he is currently with the Kamaishi Seawaves in the second division.

To achieve her goal of representing the Yaras, Larissa was forced to move to Sao Paolo in Brazil for four months with her baby daughter in a bid to progress through the training camp which saw 47 players cut down to 32 for the final squad for the tournament in England.

Brazilian fans brought plenty of passion and colour to proceedings at Franklin’s Gardens (Getty Images)

“For me that was a big sacrifice,” she explains. “I had to organise it and get family support to be able to go to training every day and then come to England (for the tournament) also with her.”

Luckily Sam had it written into his new Seawaves deal that he could have some time off to look after his daughter and support his wife in her own rugby endeavours. After all, it’s Larissa who has had to put her life on hold to allow him to chase his dreams.

“He’s coming next week,” Larissa said after playing 62 minutes in Brazil’s maiden World Cup match, which they lost 66-6 to South Africa in Northampton on Sunday. “Every time I get nervous or I can’t organise a schedule, he’s my biggest support. I’m really happy at the moment because I’ve given up so much from my life to support his rugby and at the moment it’s going the opposite (way). He’s giving up some of his rugby over there to come and support me which is so special.”

The Yaras were never meant to be at this World Cup.  They have now played just 17 Tests, their first win coming over Portugal in 2023. Six times previously they have lost to Colombia in the qualifying play-off but this time it was different and now they are the tournament’s lowest-ranked side at No 25 in the world.

Although there were moments of promise and they received plenty of support, ultimately the difference in quality told with just two penalties from fly-half Raquel Kochhann, who herself has battled back from breast cancer and converted from sevens to make the team, to show for Brazil’s first foray into the big time.

While there is no shortage of Brazilian players who have had to make sacrifices to make things work, Larissa is the only mother in the squad. And although it’s a role she relishes, she admits she enjoys the escapism that rugby provides on the pitch while she also wants to prove to her colleagues that starting a family should by no means have to be the end of your playing career.

She adds: “It’s the most important thing to me. If I can inspire any other players to be mums and then go back to rugby. For me, being on the field, i can be myself and I’m not a mum anymore. Unfortunately, in Brazil especially, the players think that you have to finish your career to be a mum.”

Typically for a South African side, the Springbok women brought some relentless physicality and sent Brazil’s defensive workload through the roof – The Yaras made 168 tackles and their fans chanted “Ooh Defesa” during long periods of play with their backs to the wall before the toll eventually told as their opponents racked up ten tries in total to secure what was their first World Cup win since 2010.

“The whole game was just defence. So I’m waiting for the next game to show some attack as we have so much energy for that. Defending tires you out so even when we had the ball we were tired in attack but hopefully we’ll get more ball in attack.”

While Brazil and beautiful football, known as Joga Bonito, are synonymous, are the Yaras looking to channel a similar ethos into their style of rugby?

Larissa adds: “Everyone knows Brazil’s football and it’s pretty similar for us. I think we’ve got the same swagger especially in attack but we couldn’t show it today and hopefully in the next games we can show that energy.”

The task doesn’t get any easier for Brazil with Six Nations powerhouses France then Italy in wait. Whatever happens, like Larissa, they’ve already exceeded expectations and come on quite the journey.

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