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Bianca Silva: Brazil’s warrior captain striving to put Yaras on rugby map
“Rugby changed my life. I am always happy to speak about it and what it has given me. It has opened the world’s doors to me.”
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Short and simple. Bianca Silva, Brazil sevens skipper and one of the most talented players in the World Series opened São Paulo’s Núcleo de Alto Rendimento before giving a bit of her time to talk with RugbyPass about all things women’s rugby.
We started with the upcoming Women’s Rugby World Cup. Is England 2025 already on her mind?
“Yeah, I am already thinking about it, but I am more focused right now on the SVNS World Series,” she said. “It is my main priority until May, as we want to keep our status as a core team and to accomplish that goal, we have to continue to pour our soul and body into it.
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“However, I would be lying if I said that we hadn’t started wondering about the women’s World Cup. We have a plan to make a switch from sevens to XVs as quickly as possible and have already started to learn about how to tackle our opposition.
“We want to be ready for what will be a historic moment for Brazilian sports.”
Brazil qualified for the first time for the illustrious tournament, defeating Colombia in the South America qualifier. Silva didn’t feature in that match, as she was getting ready for the Paris Olympics, but she was ecstatic with what her teammates had just accomplished.
“I didn’t have the pleasure to play in the match that got us into the women’s World Cup, as I was with the sevens team getting ready for the Paris Olympics, but I followed the whole preparation,” Silva says.
“I was so proud of what they achieved against Colombia. The team was 100 per cent focused on creating something special, and since then our players have evolved and acquired new skills.
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“For example, we are focused on working our conditioning and the physical side of the game, as it will allow us to cope better against the strongest teams.”
Silva’s rugby origins started 15 years ago, playing XV-a-side before migrating fully to sevens.
“When I first started playing rugby, I had to practise with boys as there were almost just a few girls in the team,” she revealed. “My first ever experience was playing XVs but after one year I started working with a women’s sevens side.
“This means that the Women’s Rugby World Cup will be my first major XVs tournament in a long time, making everything even more special and enticing. I haven’t thought much about it, but the physicality is the biggest change from one code to another.
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“The average player in the XVs is bigger and stronger, so you need to find a way to counter it or get to the same level. Of course, the strategy in XVs is another crucial difference, but the physical detail is the first thing that popped into my head.”
With the World Cup looming on the horizon, Silva is still 100 per cent focused on helping Brazil have a peaceful year in the World Series, after years of fighting to avoid relegation.
In her opinion, has the team progressed in the last 10 years?
“We went through several changes and evolutions since our first time in the World Series. Nowadays we see the game differently,” she said.
“We have gone from playing a slower and more boxed kind of game to trying to widen our scope, expanding our passing and risking a bit more. Will Broderick [former Brazil sevens head coach] sorted our defence and made it one of our team’s strengths, allowing us to become a real team.
“In the past, we relied too much on what we could do individually. We have successfully become a team with a capital ‘T’. We have bagged more than a couple of wins and a more consistent way of playing the game.”
The women’s game in Brazil underwent several growth spurts and changes in the last 15 years, and Silva remembers how crucial the first players and staff were.
“I had the privilege to play with the ‘founding mothers’ of the Brazilian women’s rugby game. We are in the sevens World Series and the Women’s Rugby World Cup because of them,” Silva added.
“Now it’s my generation’s turn to take the lead. We don’t only want to get a few good results, as our goal is to continue to build from what was given to us. We want to inspire future generations and show they can be part of this journey if they work and show talent and passion.
“We want to take the Yaras to the highest level possible and show what Brazil can do as a rugby and sports nation.”
But have Brazil progressed as a team?
“There has been a clear evolution in the Yaras in the last 10 years. We have gone from winning no games to fighting for the top six or top eight in some stages. We have to feel a sense of accomplishment for what we have done in the last 10 years.
“It doesn’t mean we are finished, but it will drive us forward to keep knocking down hurdles and get us closer to the nations at the top.”
The Brazilian women’s setups are called the Yaras (an homage to a warrior demi-goddess who fought for her survival), something that is much more than a simple nickname, as Silva herself explains.
“A Yara is someone who will every day show its best side,” she said. “As a Brazilian, we fight every day to survive. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have the best resources and tools, what matters is that you make the best out of every opportunity.
“That’s a Yara. I don’t want to spend time wondering about the stuff I don’t have; I want to work to get those things. And we Yaras go in pursuit of what we desire the most without any ifs or buts.”
Noticing how important the Yaras have been for her life, we go back in time to find out how it all started and when she fell in love with rugby.
“Rugby came into my life when I was 11. My family moved back to São Paulo in 2009, and we didn’t make it in time to get into a school. So, in the meantime, I had to do something, and some friends invited me to join them at a rugby practice session,” Silva says.
“Until that moment I had no clue what rugby was about. But my whole life changed the moment I stepped onto the pitch and touched the oval ball for the very first time. I fell deeply in love when I carried the rugby egg for the first time. It was just a different sensation.”
After years of playing for her Leoas de Paraisópolis, she would make a breakthrough and was included in the national sevens setup when she was 15. Silva would have to wait two years before making her official debut, a memory she will never forget.
“I was 17 when I was called for the first time to play with the Brazil sevens setup. We played with some big teams, and I would get my debut against France,” Silva recalls.
“In my first run, I managed to sidestep a few players before scoring a try. It was a wild sensation. I recall feeling my heartbeat like a drum in a rock metal concert. Stadium full, a powerful French team and a debut with 17-years-old. What a mix.
“I felt like the best player in the world the second I placed the ball down.”
So, did it click right after that first game, or did it take some time before she decided to pursue a career as a professional rugby player?
“It was one year after my first game for Brazil, which can seem a bit weird,” Silva says. “I didn’t know if I wanted to fully devote myself to becoming a Yara. To become a high-performance athlete, you have to put in the hours, days, weeks, months and years. There are no shortcuts.
“Before making that decision, I had to reflect seriously and be honest with myself and, more importantly, with my fellow teammates. I was a normal player between 2016 and 2017, and I almost gave up on everything after not being called for the Rio Olympics.
“After three months away from playing or practising, Reuben Samuel, Brazil’s coach at the time, called me and asked me to reconsider and try again. It was the turning point for my rugby journey.
“It was the moment when I decided to become a full-fledged Yara.”
She continues to explain how rugby means so much to her, by saying: “I know from where I came and how hard of a road it was for me.
“Sports and rugby changed my life, and I am trying to inspire my sister to join our oval community. Rugby allowed me to pursue other options, make something for myself and find more about the world.
“If I can help others walk the same path as I did, I will do everything I can.”
With the remarkable growth in the women’s game, Brazil is slowly becoming a respected nation among its peers, but Bianca Silva set her sight on greater goals.
“I have a couple of dreams/goals that I would like to help Brazil achieve,” Silva reveals. “I would like to finish in the top three of the World Series.
“It will take time, and there’s a long road ahead, but I believe we can do it if we keep working as we have and continue to develop new generations, who will be better prepared for the challenges ahead.”
Having been around for the last 14 years, does she agree that the women’s game has progressed globally?
“I think women’s rugby progressed in the last years, yes. There’s a clear growth in the number of fans following the sport, and the investment poured into us,” she says.
“Our work has finally broken through, and people are finally aware of how women’s rugby can be a driving force moving forward.”
Silva adds: “Long before I joined the Brazil sevens programme, it was the players paying most expenses.
“They had experienced a different reality from what I and most of my teammates experienced: from travelling expenses to buying new sports attire, they paid all. Thanks to their effort we are now fully funded and can aim to reach a higher level of excellence.”
But the latest growth hasn’t been enough, and Bianca Silva expects more investment in the future.
“For me, it is vital that we further invest resources in the grassroots system, allowing for the youngest players to have the best conditions available,” she says.
“If we can promote the game better, and offer a stronger pathway for those new recruits, we will reap the rewards in the future. Imagine what we could do with future Yaras who have learned the game more thoroughly since their first training session!”
The Yaras sevens skipper has enjoyed two Olympic Games, several World Series and two sevens World Cups, having played in some of her country’s biggest victories.
But one of her proudest memories was made prior to her first Games, when rugby became her job.
“The Tokyo Olympics were one of the proudest moments of my life. Just before travelling to Japan, I was one of the first Brazilian sevens players to have signed a professional contract,” she says. “It was a wonderful feeling.
“It also allowed me to play in the Japanese league for the Nagato Blue Angels. I loved their culture, and how they worked sports-wise. I made friends for life, which was only possible because of rugby.
“We won the league in the end, which made everything even more special!”
So, how were the celebrations when you won the league?
“The trophy-winning ceremony left a mark,” Silva adds. “They invited not only the players’ families but also the investors, some fans and people who were involved with the Nagato Blue Angels setup.
“The way they cared for us was immense and it made me happy to just be there. It was formal, but it was fun at the same time.”
Before ending our long conversation, what would she have to say if a Premiership Women’s Rugby club approached her with a contract? Would she accept it?
“Yes, yes and yes,” comes her emphatic answer. “I would love to go to the Premiership Women’s Rugby. Rugby’s biggest stage.
“Rugby was born in England and to play in one of the biggest leagues in the world, it would be an honour. Any team would suit me, I am not picky!
“Give me a shot, and I’ll do my best.”
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