From A Backline Of Eva Karpani_S Sisters To Wallaroos_ Player Of The Year

If you have not watched a game of rugby where Eva Carpani is playing, you should watch her.

She is an absolute wrecking ball on the field.

In 2023, she was named the Wallaroos Player of the Year off the back of an incredible season with the Australian Wallaroos.

The highlight of her year came in their historic win over France in the WXV competition in October of 2023,

where she scored a hat-trick in the 29-20 win.

Eva is a gentle giant.

I said she's a beast on the rugby field, but she's the kind of person that every time you see her, she just makes you smile.

I absolutely loved this chat with Eva. I hope you enjoy it.

Eva, welcome to the Female Athlete Project.

Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Good to have you here.

I'm excited to chat about what you're up to, Wallaroos.

You're currently in camp, prepping for the Pac-4 series, but we always take it back to the start.

Can you describe Eva as a little kid?

Well, Eva as a little kid wasn't so little.

Quite overgrown.

One of the tallest in my small school in Adelaide.

But yeah, I was always attracted to sport.

I was one of them kids that, if anything was going on,

soccer, ball, cricket, I was always the first one to sign up.

I just couldn't sit still.

And that also transitioned into high school where I used to sign up to every single sport

so I wasn't sitting in a classroom.

Yeah, okay.

Yeah.

The old, use sport as an excuse to get out of school.

Yeah, absolutely.

The whole way through school?

Yep, until I was told, you're going to have to pick one one day.

And I was just indisciplined.

I was in disbelief until I literally had to pick one or the other.

What did you think the sport was going to be?

Like when you were a kid, was there one sport where you were like,

I think this is going to be it for me?

Yeah, the sport I really thought was going to be for me was netball.

Oh, I wasn't expecting that.

Yeah, I went straight into netball.

Well, consistently straight into netball before I was introduced to rugby.

And then it was actually AFL.

Like it was, so where I used to play netball,

I had a lot of friends that did AFL because it's so dominant in Adelaide.

So I'd do a Friday night game of netball and then rock up on a Saturday

or a Sunday and go play AFL.

Yeah.

What was your position in netball and in Aussie rules?

Netball, I was either, I was a goal attack if I was feeling fit.

Yeah.

I was a goal shooter if I wasn't.

How much sway did you have in that decision making process?

Oh, as soon as the bun was on the side and the hands were on the hips,

they're like, yeah, that girl needs to go into goal shooter.

Yeah.

But yeah, if the bun was standing strong and the hands weren't on the hips,

they're like, yeah, she's having a good quarter here.

She's ready.

Yeah, she's ready.

Yeah.

And then in AFL, definitely a full forward.

Yeah, right.

Just in the goal square?

Just in the goal square.

Yeah.

I like that.

Did not put me in midfield at all.

Not the big running meters.

How many snags did you kick?

Were you good at full forward?

Yeah.

Actually, that's how I know how to kick a ball.

Yeah.

Right.

Like a footy ball.

Like, yeah, like, I just love to kick goals.

And that's why when I did transition into rugby, people were like, wow, like, you know

how to kick.

Yeah.

You've got a good boot on you.

And I'd say, well, yeah.

Well, I'm not, I don't even go here.

I'm actually from Adelaide, so.

My first time seeing you play, it's like very clear in my memory, you were playing for Adelaide

in what used to be called the Aon Uni Sevens competition.

So it was like a national sevens comp.

Yeah.

I was playing for one of the Sydney teams and you were playing for Adelaide.

You were pretty much a winger running over the top of people in sevens, but that wasn't

your first exposure to rugby.

Was it 15 a side at club level before you did that?

Yeah.

My first exposure to like rugby was 15 a side and I was only 15 and my older siblings,

my two older sisters, they, I guess like they just found people who played rugby and said,

hey, come and play.

And they were struggling for numbers because it's not dominant in Adelaide.

Like there aren't people hanging around playing rugby, especially women.

So it was like maybe a couple of weeks in there.

Like, you know, if you know anyone else, like let us know, like the more the merrier.

And like my sister, like just looked at me and then she was like, yeah, like we've signed

you up.

Like we just need the numbers.

And my first ever game, I was on the wing and I cried.

Like I literally cried because I had a prop running at me and I was like, like what?

Like I'm 15 and this prop is running at me.

And you were playing?

Like the women's league?

Yeah, it was open.

So I was like, have I even been cleared to play?

Like, is this a thing?

And then, yeah.

So that was the day where I was like, I don't know, after that game and understanding the

game and playing so young in an open women's like game, it was, it was really, it was actually

probably one of the best things that could have happened to me to fall in love with the

sport because I wasn't just playing with my age group, but I was playing with women.

And up to 30 plus and like, just, they were so helpful in their passion for the game and

it was a community and a family and I hadn't really gotten that from the previous sports

that I had played.

It's just, yeah.

And culturally, like kind of like seeing people my size in a rugby, in a rugby setting, I

was like, wow, like I belong.

Yeah.

It's really cool.

And I think my experience with rugby was really similar.

Like going down to the Warringah Rats, my first experience of rugby, like the community

around it is very, it's a very powerful thing.

But it's interesting, like you talked about the fact that you were big, a big kid in school,

in your small school.

Yeah.

And it's like one of the most beautiful things I think about rugby is it's for all shapes

and sizes.

Yeah.

I agree.

Like exactly what you said there.

It's a, it's a belonging and kind of opens up to a circle of security.

Like, um.

I think for me, like I wasn't just welcomed, but my family was welcomed and like having

so many siblings, like it was like nice to play.

Like at one point, cause I have like, I have a younger sister who now has made the switch

to NRLW, but there was one at one stage, they put us all in the back line.

Cause there was four of us.

They're like, have a crack.

Why not?

A back line of sisters?

Yeah.

There's, cause there's four of us.

So they're like, well, someone go 10, 12, 13, 14.

Why not?

That's so good.

I love it.

How did you guys go?

Yeah.

Like, um, we definitely didn't pass the ball and there was just no point.

There was no point.

Cause we all just wanted to run.

Like the, yeah, a few arguments, um, who was the better runner to pass the ball.

But yeah, no, it was, it was definitely good.

And like, um, just, I think you don't, you're not really able to do that in other sports.

Like.

We literally alongside each other.

So yeah, it's meaningful.

Very meaningful.

What is your relationship like with your siblings?

So my youngest sister, um, we're only a year and a couple of days apart and we like, we're

quite close.

Um, and yeah, like she, we definitely challenge each other, but now that she's gone to NRLW

and I've gone to rugby or I've stayed in rugby union, it's like, well, who's going to come

over?

Like you're going to come or yeah, it's really, really good.

And then my oldest, this is like, they now have their own families.

Um, so they still, one of them still plays rugby, but, um, yeah, they've got all girls.

So it's really nice.

Um, it's really nice to see the next generation come alongside and like our family and them

coming to my games or seeing me and my sister on TV.

It's really, really meaningful for us.

That's really special.

What is it like being an auntie?

It's so good.

Like, I love it.

It's just one of the best things that I could have asked for.

It's like, it's really like the eye opener of, man, I could really have kids.

And then you take your sister or your siblings' kids and you're like, okay, that was great

for a day.

And now it's time to give them back.

I changed my mind.

Yeah.

And now it's nice to come home and there's no noise.

I love coming home to silence.

Yeah.

I'm like, geez, this could be, this could be nice.

And then four hours of it, you're like, and this is why, this is why you're an auntie.

So you go from playing 15s with all your siblings at club level to representing Adelaide as a

university, but technically representing the state.

Yeah.

Playing in the sevens competition.

What was the switch from 15s to sevens like for you?

Um, the switch for me was.

It was interestingly good to be honest, because 15s is not much space.

You create space, but sevens, you had so much space.

So like for me, I was just told to catch and run, like catch and run.

And because I had speed.

So like, yeah, it was just, it was nice to be able to find my feet, but fall in love

with a different side of rugby.

Like.

Mm.

Similar code to 15s, but different.

So it was nice to be able to open up and see what I'm actually capable of and what my work

ons were.

Was that sevens version, was that goal attack or goalkeeper Eva?

Cause I feel like it needed to be goal attack Eva.

Yeah, it was definitely goal attack, um, Eva.

And back then, so when we do stay in, well, sorry, this is school girls.

Mm.

Um, they didn't have.

They didn't have Krispy Kremes in Adelaide.

I didn't know where this is going and I'm enjoying it.

Sorry, I'm just going with the giggles and I'm just.

This is, no, please.

I want the Krispy Kremes story.

So I don't know where you want to put this in.

So in school girls sevens, they didn't, back when I was playing in like 2012 or 2013, they

didn't have Krispy Kremes in Adelaide.

So when we would go to state, when we'd go to Queensland or Sydney, I'd go to the airport

and I'd buy two massive.

24 boxes and I'd just bring them home and like, yeah, I don't know where the story's

going.

I'm completely lost now.

I'm here for it.

I'm so here for Krispy Kreme getting a shout out in here.

Sponsor me.

Please sponsor me at Krispy Kreme if you're listening.

Yeah.

So how did it then happen that you went from playing in the sevens to being a part of the

New South Wales Waratahs team based in Sydney?

Yeah.

Well, the most successful teams we've seen, well, the most successful team we've now seen

in Super Rugby Women's.

Yeah.

So I got to a point where for me to challenge myself and go further in my career and take

rugby more serious, I needed to leave Adelaide.

There's not, it's just not strong and the opportunities were you either go to Sydney

or you go to Queensland and being from Adelaide, you know, there's such dominant states when

it comes to rugby.

So my sister actually left first.

Simone.

Yeah.

She left first and decided to go to Sydney for footy.

And then it was kind of playing in the back of my mind.

Do I want to take this serious or do I not?

Like, do I want to?

And then I actually saw Super W.

On TV in 2018, I was like, I could do that.

Like, that could be me.

But that could be me if I relocated.

And I wouldn't say so much say make a sacrifice.

It was a choice.

Like, do you want to fulfill something like that where you could probably be pretty good

at it?

Or do you want to stay in your comfort zone and not leave?

So it was in 2018.

I ended up moving.

And I actually did NRLW first.

And then I played for the Dragons.

And then I was like, oh, no.

Like, I think I got invited from Maddie to a preseason for New South Waratahs.

And I was like, yeah, I'm going to do it.

And yeah, haven't looked back.

Here I am five years later.

And what was your first conversation like with the coaching staff when you got to the

Waratahs?

Oh.

So I.

I had all intentions of going in.

So sevens, I was a forward, obviously, but I had played 15s like my whole career as a

winger or outside back.

So I'm going in thinking, yeah, I'm a back winger outside center, like not realizing

that when I did go in, like Maddie Everard took one look at me and he was like, forward

prop.

And then I just remember being like, oh, oh, no, no, like trying to have that conversation

with him that like I am clearly not a forward, let alone a tight head prop.

And then he basically gave me the Matt Maddie Everard look, looked at me up and down and

basically walked away.

And then, yeah, like that's what I got from it.

And I just remember like him saying, like, basically.

Yeah.

You're a prop.

And if you're going to take your career further, you're going to be a prop.

And I did go home and I had a long think about it.

And I was like, accept your fate.

Take it with both hands.

Did I cry?

Absolutely.

And then going back and it was it was a trot.

But I honestly, I wouldn't take it back for the world.

Like, yeah, traumatizing, but good.

I love that.

We've got I don't know how much the microphones in here pick up.

We've got an extra in the studio who can't stop laughing.

So Bez, who obviously does a huge amount of TFAP with us, co-hosts our weekly podcast,

The Wrap, runs all the operations and all the things.

But she's also the manager of your team at the New South Wales Waratahs.

What's it been like?

You talked about the community of rugby.

What's it been like being a part of a group that has really high performance standards,

but from an outside?

Looking in, it's a pretty close knit group.

Yeah.

Like the group we have at Waratahs, it's really one of a kind.

Like, and it's like all I know, like, and they've set a standard where you have basically

the best competing for, like, just competing against the best.

So for me, I think it's really challenged me mentally and physically,

where I have players like, you know, M. Chance next to me,

who's like one of the hardest workers on the field, who has helped me, like, with repeat efforts.

And then, you know, you have people like, you know, Tassie Laffey, who's one of our strongest carriers.

It's just like, you have people like beside you who bring, like, bring great things to the game,

but are also some of the best.

They're the best athletes in rugby.

So it's inspiring as well.

Like for me, like having people to lean to left, right and centre, like it's, it's absolutely inspiring.

And it's something I take with both hands.

And it's, yeah, it's a great opportunity.

How has it been?

Because they, I guess, kind of become your family away from home.

How was it when you just jumped into the deep end and made the decision to move?

You obviously are super close with your family.

How has that process been for you?

It was, I was homeschooled.

I'm sick at first.

And it was hard, but it was like going from one rugby family to another.

And it was, I think that's something that really kept me sane.

Like, was being like, okay, like having a familiar feeling when I did go to my local rugby club, Randwick,

and then like did commence into the Waratahs.

I was like, you know, this is...

This is what rugby is about, community, making family, like, and some of the connections

that I have now with the girls from Waratahs, like, they're actually some of my closest friends.

So it's like, yeah, it's a blessing, really.

Do you remember receiving your first jersey to represent your country in the Wallaroos?

Yeah, I was actually, I debuted in Newcastle.

And I remember that half of Adelaide.

Adelaide came.

That's really cool.

Yeah, and I just, it was really emotional because being from a place that is AFL orientated,

like, and then being one of them players that made a choice to leave their comfort zone

to potentially pursue a cap for Australia, like, it was huge.

And I think that's when I really was like, if I, if I can do this,

being from a less dominant rugby state, like, imagine how I can inspire the next generation

to fulfil something like this and wanting to be able to create a pathway for themselves.

And yeah, like, very special.

Meet Pi on debut.

Yeah.

Oh, I remember that.

It was actually Liz Partout behind me and it was a pick and go and I just felt her behind me.

Yeah.

Like, we're on here.

Like, two strong bull runners.

Yeah, good luck stopping you two.

Yeah, I was just me running and then an extra powerful runner behind me.

I was like, yep, this is great.

Awesome.

Thank you.

How does the EVA back then compared to the EVA from the 2023 season?

Yeah, the EVA back then.

So my, my debut for the Waratahs and the Wallaroos, that was my first year being a tight prop or being a tight prop.

So I think the EVA back then to the EVA now has definitely come a long way and mentally and physically.

And I think, like, if I knew back then that this is where I was going to be in five years time, I'd be like, you're joking, like, you're joking, like, but yeah, like I, it's really rewarding to see what you do.

When you just put your head down and do the work and make the choice to want to be better.

But yeah, I think little EVA would be proud.

Yeah, it's really special.

2022 was a huge year for women's rugby with the World Cup over in New Zealand.

And then we also had WXV over in New Zealand.

Australia had a huge win.

The Wallaroos had a huge win over France, I think the first time in beating them in almost a decade.

And you were instrumental in that game.

Was it a hat?

I think it was a hat trick.

She's nodding unconvincingly.

Thanks.

You're one of those players that when you're on the ground, you have the ability to change the momentum of the game very quickly.

What's your headspace like in moments like that?

My headspace is like, just, it lights, like, like my eyes light up, like I'm like, ball in front of me, run, catch, run, get up, go again.

And, and for me, like my personal goals going into that game was just repeat efforts and knocking down that wall, just knocking it down.

Like it might not be perfect.

I might not break the line the first time, but just keep going, like, just keep knocking down the wall.

And then for me, if I'm doing my job and if I'm doing my role properly and world-class, the rest can come, like it helps.

That's the best thing I can do for the team.

The best thing I can do for the team is know my role and be the best at my role.

And I think that's what, like, gave me confidence going, like, as the minutes went by, like, I just, we were just, I don't know what it was, but it was like, everyone was doing their role and it was just working.

Like, it was like, we were in rhythm.

Yeah.

It was great.

Like that France game, like, we were calm.

We knew our role.

We had clarity on what we were doing.

And...

Yeah, it was really special.

It was definitely a game that I couldn't forget.

And especially, like, as a whole, like, feeling like it was, yeah, it's hard to explain, but it's like, I can remember that game like no tomorrow.

Yeah.

Off the back of your performances that year, you were named Wallaroos Player of the Year in 2023.

What does recognition like that mean to you?

For me, like, to get that recognition...

It's humbling, absolutely.

But I think it challenges me in what's next.

What do you want to be like on the world stage?

Where do you want to be now?

How much more work are you going to put in to be better than that?

Like, it was just kind of like, okay, you've set the standard for 2023.

What are you going to do in 2024?

And how can you better the game?

I love that.

In 2024, you guys have the opportunity to play the Pacific.

Four series, so games against Canada, US, and then the Black Ferns to finish off.

What's the importance of having more opportunities for you guys to play tests and play international rugby?

Yeah, it's so important.

It's like super crucial for us as players because it's a pre-World Cup year and we want to be prepared and we want to have the best of the best athletes around us.

So these opportunities, especially in Pacific.

Four, like we're in, we've got Canada, USA, and New Zealand.

So we've got, you know, three great teams to see where we're at with the new coaching staff and the new players.

And then it's just, for us, it's like, this is where we're at.

And now let's keep on going and moving forward, like keep moving forward.

And yeah, like I'm really excited to where we're going to be and where we're heading.

New coach, Jo Yap.

Former England international has come in as a head coach.

First full-time head coach of the Wallaroos.

And we've also seen progress in player salaries as well.

We'll get to that in a sec.

But what's it been like working with Jo Yap so far?

Yeah, she's great.

Like she's, well, she's the first female head coach for Wallaroos.

So it's a different perspective.

And, you know, this is our first camp and first week with her.

And it's been really, really good.

Like just coming to her and being able to.

To have a different point of view and her also being a player herself and being from England.

So it's a different country.

So for me, having her perspective on things is really like, it's an eye opener.

Like it's great.

What does it mean to you as a playing group that you're starting to see some financial reward

and more ability to be a full-time athlete?

Off the back of a letter, lots of people, lots of our followers engaged quite heavily

with the public.

What does it mean to you as a player that you're starting to see some financial reward

and more ability to be a full-time athlete?

What does it mean to you as a player that you're starting to see some financial reward

that the Wallaroos put out off the back of the FIFA Women's World Cup calling for better

standards and better conditions for the group?

Yeah, I think where we've, we've asked for more and we've been heard in some sort of

way and we have gotten more and it may not be where we want it to be, but we have been

heard.

And I think now that we've been able to go a bit more full-time.

Now it's up to us to be, to put in the work.

It's like, okay, now you have more leniency to put more effort and more time into your

trainings away from allocated training days.

Um, so for me, like my perspective in the chat, it's like with the girls, it's like, okay,

we've been heard.

This is an opportunity to take with both hands and you know, Tuesday, you're usually at work,

but you've got Tuesday off now.

So let's go do some top ups.

Let's go do our recovery.

Like, you know, let's go through our plays, what we need to.

So for me, it's just the next step to something great.

You talked about it being a pre-World Cup year.

So you'll have the 2025 World Cup, but looking ahead to 2029, the Rugby World Cup will be

on home soil in Australia.

What does it mean to have the opportunity to play a World Cup at home?

It's a dream to be honest, like to have a World Cup, well, for any athlete to have a

World Cup on home soil.

Like it's, it's a blessing, but it's also like, it's a feeling of feeling home and feeling

whole.

And for me, it's like, sorry, for me, I'm just like, if I were to have a prayer, my

prayers would be answered.

I love that.

That's really cool.