Football is a way of life in South America, countries like Brazil and Argentina revering it as their national sport, an obsession for men and women, young and old alike.
Rugby is very much the junior partner. There is no doubt that the Pumas’ exploits at last year’s Rugby World Cup did much to start changing that and Brazil’s men have also enjoyed success, albeit on a smaller scale in defending their South American B Championship in November. But on the sandy beaches of Rio and throughout the capital Sao Paolo it is the women’s side that is arguably turning more people to the game in Brazil.
Flavio Santos’ charges have won the last three South American Sevens Championships and a fourth title this weekend in the Uruguayan resort of Punta del Este will bring with it the added bonus of qualification for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2009 in Dubai.
It is this qualification which Santos believes would be a significant step in growing rugby’s popularity even more in Brazil, but it is also something neither he nor his players will be taking for granted at the CONSUR regional qualifier.
“Since we started to play rugby in Brazil, this is the first chance we’ve had of participating on the World Cup [stage] in Sevens at least, and we’re close to it seeing as we’ve won the last three championships in South America,” Santos told Total Rugby.
Success key to boosting profile
“We think that the girls could actually take the lead in growing rugby in the country.
“We’re confident but we’re not 100 percent sure. We need to play well, as we did at the last three [South American] tournaments, but we’re not guaranteed [the title], so we’ve been working hard since October, knowing this tournament is very, very important for the growth and development of rugby in the whole country. The girls know that and we are trying to achieve it.”
Experienced team member Emily Barker added: “I think it is very important for the country itself because rugby is under-developed and it is not a sport that is national like football and it [qualification] would give the sport a boost and then Brazil will start noticing how important rugby is.
“I’m pretty confident because we’ve been training a lot. We’ve won it the last three years, but we’re trying to be as humble as possible about it and if it comes to the end and we haven’t won, we are going to love the opportunity of playing against a better team.
“We aim to win this, we think we are going to win this, but let’s see.”
Baxter, who is half Brazilian and half English, has along with her team-mates the honour of opening the first RWC Sevens 2009 qualifier against Chile on Friday – just as their men do against Argentina straight afterwards on the same pitch.
The ultimate testing ground
They then face Paraguay and Chile and will be hoping to finish top of Pool A to avoid the winner of the other Pool that features Colombia, Venezuela, hosts Uruguay and Peru on Saturday when the first ever qualifier for a women’s RWC Sevens competition.
That prospect is something that is driving Baxter and her team-mates on, a chance to play for their country outside of South America and test themselves against more experienced teams to find out just how much potential Brazil’s women truly possess.
“I think to have this chance if we qualify to represent our country somewhere else, rather than in just South America will be outstanding. It is going to be something totally different to what we have ever had and I just don’t have the words not to explain how we are going to feel, we just have to go there and get it done,” Baxter said.
“I get quite emotional about it because obviously we want this really, really bad and it is just going to be absolutely amazing to meet girls from countries that do actually value rugby as a real sport. In Brazil nobody really knows about it. They are starting to get better though, it is starting to be talked about and it is just going to be amazing.
“We are planning to go to Europe or to America, qualifying or not, but just to measure ourselves up and see what it is like to play bigger, well-known teams because we have not really been facing these stronger teams. We have no idea what our rugby is like to be honest, we know we can play, we know we are very fit, but we have got to see.”