'Inspiring' & 'tough' - World Cup debutants Brazil

"Joga bonito" is a phrase used by Brazilians to describe how the game of football should be played.

"Joga" is the verb "to play" in Portuguese, while "bonito" means "beautiful". The philosophy revolves around individual skill, creativity and a mindset to attack.

Football is not just a game in Brazil, it is ingrained in culture, with more than two million registered players.

Rugby, on the other hand, still remains an unknown sport among the majority of the people from the South American country, even with Brazil making their debut at the Women's Rugby World Cup against South Africa on Sunday.

Brazil, who are the lowest-ranked team at the World Cup in 25th, have only played 16 Tests of XV-a-side rugby and celebrated their first win in 2023 over Portugal.

Despite the vast difference in player pool, resources and global triumphs, the rugby-playing mindset remains the same as that in football.

"They have absolute speed and are at their absolute best when they are decisive and read what is happening in front of them and react in the moment," Brazil women's sevens coach Crystal Kaua told BBC Sport.

"I always say it is like driving in Sao Paulo [which has 12 million inhabitants]. With the motorbikes, if you see space then you have to take it. They aren't big so they must make smart and fast decisions."

To qualify for the World Cup, Brazil had to defeat Colombia in the South American play-off - a hurdle they had failed at six times previously.

With the women's sevens team thriving on the World Series, the decision was made to push for qualification by bringing in their sevens stars for the play-off game, resulting in a comfortable 34-13 victory.

Among the 32 players selected for the World Cup, 11 have competed in at least one Olympic Games.

Fly-half Raquel Kochhann, who has only six caps in XVs, was one of those players that head coach Emiliano Caffera approached to help seal qualification.

Like the vast majority of teenagers in Brazil, Kochhann's dream was to play professional football, but injury ended her hopes.

The 32-year-old opted to study physical education at university and was recommended to play rugby for the first time because of her physicality.

"They cut my women's football team but I still had my dream to represent my country so I tried another way," Kochhann told BBC Sport.

"I played my first game of rugby for my club in 2011 and it was the first time they won the state games. I was MVP (most valuable player) from the tournament.

"Another team invited me to play with them, it was an international tournament in Uruguay where clubs play national teams. We played against Brazil and I saw them for the first time and said 'wow I want to be part of this team.'"

Her footballing background offered a point of difference and helped seal a spot in the national sevens squad by 2012.

The rapid rise continued, with Kochhann playing sevens at the Rio Olympics after Brazil's inclusion as the host nation, followed by involvement at last the two Games.

She was also the Brazil flag bearer for last summer's Olympics in Paris, following a remarkable return to the sport after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2022.

To make her return after 18 months even more astounding, Kochhann had also suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

"I told the team I need to step back and get treatment as I need to do chemotherapy and radiotherapy," she added. "The reaction of my team was head down and sad. I said I don't want this energy.

"It is just a normal injury and after this time I will come back to play with you. One of the girls said 'after you take out the boobs are you going to run faster?' Everyone laughed and I said 'this is the energy I want to make the treatment easier'.

"It was important for me to show that for everyone that cancer is not always the end of your life and it is just one restart and you can come back and achieve really big things."

Defeating the odds is not just Kochhann's story, but also Brazilian rugby's.

Spain, ranked 13th in the world, defeated Brazil 41-12 in the lead-up to the tournament after seven games, including two non-Tests, were put in the diary this year to improve their competitiveness in XVs.

For their tournament debut, the players will wear a new kit incorporating symbols to represent the strength and ancestry of the players.

"The hard in Brazil is a different hard. The challenges I have seen are different to anywhere I have seen in the world," Kaua added, having coached a large portion of the squad at sevens.

"These girls are tough, courageous and brave. Until you've been here you can't imagine the magnitude of where our players come from.

"Half of the sevens girls are from those [tough favela] backgrounds, a large portion - maybe more than half. They are inspiring the next generation.

"People in those spaces are starting to see rugby as a genuine option to change their life."

Brazil face South Africa, Italy and France in their pool, all of which are big rugby-playing nations, offering an ideal platform to catch the public imagination.

"It is going to be tough but I have no doubt that we are going to make some noise in one or two games," said head coach Caffera.

Goal-kicking is a rarity in Brazil but is a skill that suits natural footballers.

Kochhann has turned to Youtube and Instagram to learn, having only drop-kicked conversions in sevens.

However, confidence with a ball is not something Brazilians lack.

"I am excited to show how Brazilian kickers can do," said Kochhann, who only started practising goal-kicking off a tee in the last three months.

"My kick is different as it is a mix between a traditional rugby kick and soccer kick. I have my own way."

And Brazilians only know one way to play.