Growing up in a household with three brothers who lived and breathed rugby, Chioma Enyi was left with little choice but to join in on their weekly backyard games of footy.
It was there one of the newest Wallaroos squad members learned the aggressive side of contact sport, and how not even her trio of siblings were willing to take it easy on her.
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“I fell in love with it, I loved the physicality and to showcase how strong I was as a kid,” Enyi says.
“We’d always play on the nature strip. I perpetuated more than the boys and got deemed a bully because I’d run into people and not spaces.”
Born and raised in Canberra, Enyi’s cultural heritage represents Australia, Nigeria and the Caribbean, which is also how she and her brothers Amaeze, Ikenna and Ekwueme were named.
Enyi found a passion for running and by high school became a national sprint champion in the 100m, 200m, long jump and triple jump events, while also taking up boxing.
High school was where the ACT Brumbies forward found rugby though and the 24-year-old is now ready to make it her main priority after being selected in the Wallaroos extended squad for the first time.
“I started playing properly in 2015 when Canberra was introducing the junior girls competition,” Enyi said.
“I’ve always done multiple sports like athletics, netball, boxing and track, but this is the first time I’ve turned my focused on the one sport.”
Enyi signed her first national contract with the Wallaroos in November and attended a training camp before Christmas as the new-look national squad begins preparations for the 2026 Test season.
It was six months in the making for the tall back-rower, who was on the radar of national selectors in May before undergoing knee surgery that ruled her out of World Cup contention.
“I felt on the cusp at the end of Super W this year and being in talks with the Wallaroos coaches back then they were keen to get me in for pre-World Cup camps to see how I went,” Enyi said.
“But then having surgery pushed that all back. It was disappointing but coming in now at the start of a new World Cup cycle I know I’ve got the maximum amount of time to prepare myself and show that I deserve to be there in 2029.
“I was so excited to be able to sign for 2026 and hopefully show what I can do. This is only the beginning for me.”
