Wallaroos captain Siokapesi Palu is eager to make up for lost time on return from injury.
Palu has been named at number eight to face England on Sunday (AEST) in Brighton after a nasty ankle injury left her campaign in doubt.
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The Brumbies skipper suffered the knock during the O’Reilly Cup series in July, falling awkwardly over the back of it as she saved a try.
It left her racing the clock to be fit, cleared to return for her World Cup debut after spending the 2022 tournament as an unused squad member.
“It was a very special moment for me,” she told the media.
"My heart was full of gratitude and thanks and God first and foremost of everything. All my thanks is to him but you need a village and I always talk about it.
"I'm just really grateful because I feel like I'm in a good place to perform first and foremost and then just to give back to those who have decided to put all this time into me."
Palu’s original plan was to return against the USA, but ultimately, the captain selflessly had to think about what was best for the group.
“I had to take a team-first mentality that I'm not ready yet and just taking a foot back and understanding that," she admits.
“If you've seen the backrow, it's like any one of us could play and that kind of confidence allows me to take that step back…Rugby is one of those sports where you create lifetime teammates and those in the back row position I actually have really good relationships with.
“'Boo’s' [Tabua Tuinakauvadra] probably one of my besties there and seeing Piper [Duck] come back, when you see people ultimately perform you only want what's best for them.”
Wallaroos coach Jo Yapp was thrilled to get the inspirational leader back in time for England and a potential quarter-final clash with either Canada or Scotland.
“It's amazing to have Pesi back,” she said.
“I think in those warm-up games, obviously they're really important and they're critical to our preparation, but when you see a player go down injured, at that point it's really hard, especially when it's your captain and I think the whole squad felt it when we had those two injuries in that game.
“To see how hard she has worked to get to this point is a credit to Pesi and the type of person and leader that she is."
