Lydia Kavoa

Last updated
Lydia Kavoa
Born (1993-11-08) 8 November 1993 (age 31)
Height170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Rugby union career
Position Prop
Super Rugby
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2023–2025 ACT Brumbies 14 (0)
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2024–2025 Australia 12 (5)

Lydia Kavoa (born 8 November 1993) is an Australian rugby union player. She competed for Australia at the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup. She announced her retirement from international rugby in October 2025.

Contents

Early life and career

Kavoa was born in New Zealand to Fijian and Tongan parents and was raised in Sydney. [1] [2] She loved watching rugby union and league, but played soccer as a youngster. [1]

She joined the Navy as a 20-year-old and is now a Leading seaman in the Navy People Branch. [3] She discovered rugby while she was in the Navy. [4] [5]

Rugby career

Kavoa started playing rugby in 2016. [1] [3] She played for Navy in the ADF Tri service competition at Ballymore Stadium. [1] She was named rookie of the year and female MVP despite her only playing rugby for three months. [1] [2]

In 2023, she made her Super Rugby Women's debut for ACT Brumbies against the Fijiana Drua in Nadi. [2]

She made her Wallaroos international debut against Fiji in July 2024 aged 30. [4] [6] Later that year, she featured for Australia when they won their maiden WXV 2 title in South Africa in September. [6] She initially made her debut at Flanker before playing her second test at Loosehead prop at the WXV 2 tournament. [4] [6]

In 2025, she was called into the Wallaroos side for the Women's Rugby World Cup in England. [7] [8] She featured in three matches during the tournament and made her last appearance for Australia against Canada in the knockout stage. [4] [6] On 15 October, she announced her retirement from international rugby. [4] [6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Sailor destined for rugby greatness". www.defence.gov.au. 2023-04-11. Retrieved 2025-10-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. 1 2 3 "Brumby #79 Kavoa calls time on rugby career". brumbies.rugby. 2025-10-15. Retrieved 2025-10-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. 1 2 Worthington, Sam (2024-07-04). "Ten year navy veteran picked for Test debut". Nine. Retrieved 2025-10-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Morton, Finn (2025-10-14). "Wallaroos duo Pomare and Kavoa retire from Test rugby after World Cup". www.rugbypass.com. Retrieved 2025-10-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ↑ Wenzel, Murray (2025-10-15). "Wallaroos trailblazer hangs up her Test boots". www.canberratimes.com.au. Retrieved 2025-10-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Wasiliev, Nick (2025-10-15). "'Honest and humble': Wallaroos trailblazers announce retirements following Rugby World Cup". wallaroos.rugby. Retrieved 2025-10-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ↑ "Wallaroos announce squad for Rugby World Cup 2025". Rugby Australia. 4 August 2025. Archived from the original on 4 August 2025. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  8. ↑ "Injury boosts as Australia names squad for Women's RWC 2025". Rugby World Cup 2025 England. 2025-04-08. Retrieved 2025-08-07.
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