Rugby message lifts US youth player

Before Eseta Moala found rugby sevens, getting dressed for sports could make her feel she did not belong.

As one of the “bigger children,” Moala said she felt uncomfortable in fitted outfits for ballet and karate.

Until, at 11, she discovered girls and boys her size or bigger in the world of rugby.

Eseta Moala, right, of the US runs the ball during their women’s rugby sevens match against Senegal at CID Stadium at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar on Tuesday.

Photo: AP

“I was able to fit in and finally use my body to my advantage,” Moala said.

That sense of belonging carried her to the Youth Olympic Games for under-18 athletes in Senegal, where Moala represented the US with her sister Luisa.

A cocaptain of the women’s rugby sevens team, Luisa Moala also carried the US flag at the opening ceremony.

Sisters Luisa, left, and Eseta Moala celebrate following their women’s rugby sevens match against Spain at CID Stadium at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar on Tuesday.

Photo: AP

For Eseta Moala, the journey has been encouraged by another US rugby player: Ilona Maher, who helped the US win bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics and brought new attention to the sport at home.

Maher is the world’s most followed rugby player on social media with nearly 9 million followers. Typical of her messages was a post on Instagram before the Paris Games that read: “All body types are worthy from the smallest gymnast to the tallest volleyball player, from a rugby player to a shot-putter and a sprinter.”

Maher encourages young girls to “see themselves” in the athletes.

Eseta Moala said that Maher’s success on the field and embrace of her muscular build has helped her appreciate her own body.

“She uses her body as a source of confidence, I felt like I could do the same thing,” Eseta Moala said. “I got to see other girls do it, too, that are my size or even bigger than me.”

The Moala sisters were part of a US team who finished sixth in Dakar, where Africa is hosting an Olympic event for the first time.

Despite losing their first two games against Madagascar and the Czech Republic by close margins, the team finished on a high with two wins in three games on Tuesday, the last day of the competition — with Kenya claiming gold, Australia taking silver and Madagascar winning the bronze medal.

Both sisters scored tries.

Representing the US also meant carrying their family and Tongan heritage onto an international stage, the sisters said.

“In our [Tongan] culture, everyone’s family and no one’s above the other,” Luisa Moala said.

Being a flag bearer gave her the chance to meet athletes from other countries, to laugh as they tried to communicate when they did not share the same language.

However, Luisa Moala also missed her sister during that brief moment and told coach Irene Gardner that it was the longest the two had ever been apart.

“They’re fantastic at playing off of each other and being able to read each other’s movements,” Gardner said.

The coach said that she has seen more girls in the US expressing an interest to play rugby since the Paris Olympics, and credits coaches and communities with creating opportunities.

World Rugby has also been making a concerted push to improve rugby’s visibility in the US after awarding the country the men’s Rugby World Cup in 2031 and the women’s tournament in 2033.

Challenges remain for young players, particularly the limited time the US national youth program can offer as there is only one camp and one or two competitions a year, Gardner said.

For Eseta Moala, rugby has already changed the way she thinks about a body that once made her feel out of place.

The sport has introduced her to others her age who look like her, while Maher offers an example of someone who relishes that strength in public, she said.

That connection even became personal.

During a jersey presentation ceremony at the US embassy in Dakar, the Youth Olympic players received personalized video messages from players from the senior US rugby teams.

Maher recorded one of those individual videos for Eseta Moala.