Rugby sevens skipper ‘just a Hedland girl’

New Australian women’s rugby sevens captain Rebecca Tavo has said she was both shocked and honoured at her appointment.

Tavo, who hails from South Hedland, was officially named as skipper of the reigning World Cup champions on Friday.

Her elevation comes just three weeks before she returns to Dubai, where she held aloft the inaugural women’s Sevens World Cup in 2009.

“I actually asked Chris Lane (women’s sevens coach) if he was sure he wanted me,” she said.

“But seriously, I was blown away. It is a huge honour and I’m very proud to be given the chance.”

Lane described Tavo as the ultimate professional and said she was an “outstanding player who has the respect of all the girls and truly leads by example”.

The self professed “girl from Hedland” said her determination to prove she could succeed, despite coming from a rural North West setting, was the driving force behind her meteoric rise.

“I’m very proud obviously, I think it’s good because I’m just a girl from South Hedland at the end of the day — when you grow up you don’t think things like this are even possible,” she said.

“A lot of people have told me what I can’t do; there was a lot of that when I was young in Hedland.

“People said I couldn’t play touch because I was too young but I didn’t listen to what they said, and did what I wanted. If I had stopped when someone said I couldn’t play for WA, Queensland and then Australia then I would probably be still sitting at home with everyone I grew up with.”

Her appointment is all the more remarkable considering she combines her rugby commitments on the East Coast in Queensland with her fly-in, fly-out train-driving job with BHP Billiton in the Pilbara.

She said she is eagerly anticipating a number of major tournaments in the coming years, such as next year’s World Cup, the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2016 Olympics, in which sevens rugby has been ratified for the first time.

“I’m really excited for Dubai and especially to have such an awesome team behind me as we run out,” she said.

“Obviously the World Cup is the biggest tournament coming up next year and the Olympics in 2016 … these sevens tournaments are a chance to test ourselves.

“They’re a good opportunity for the girls to gel and we’re looking forward to them.”