Soccer Red Cards to World Cup: Brianna Clark's Rugby Switch

Brianna Clark kept getting kicked out of soccer games for hits that were too hard, and she finally realized she was playing the wrong sport.

The New Zealand athlete followed her sister into soccer and even played college ball in Iowa. But her love for the game faded as referees kept punishing her natural physicality with red cards.

Everything changed during a channel surf session back in Australia. Clark stumbled onto a Kiwi Ferns vs Jillaroos rugby league match and saw players delivering the same crushing hits that got her in trouble on the soccer field.

"I seen some big hits on there and it was like in my head I was like, 'oh yeah, that's something I could get around,'" Clark said. She joined her local rugby league club in Mackay the next day.

The transition felt natural. Clark grew up in Sarina, a tiny Australian town of 5,000 people, as the only girl among four siblings. Her three brothers all played rugby league, and the rough-and-tumble household prepared her perfectly for the contact sport.

"I was always in trouble for big hits in soccer. So I was definitely in the wrong sport. I was pretty known for a shoulder charge in soccer and it got me a few red cards," she said.

Why This Inspires

Clark's journey proves it's never too late to find where you truly belong. Despite being a "late starter" to rugby league, she's now competing at the highest level of the sport.

She chose to represent New Zealand over Australia to honor her Kiwi grandmother and mother. "To get an opportunity to put on a jersey for my nan and my mum is really special. I just want to make them proud," Clark said.

Her hometown of Sarina has produced several rugby stars, including NRL players Daly Cherry-Evans and Wendell Sailor. Clark proudly holds bragging rights as the only NRL player in her family, something she jokingly lords over her brothers.

Fresh off playing in an NRLW final with the Brisbane Broncos, Clark is now preparing for her second World Cup campaign with the Kiwi Ferns. After losing the 2022 World Cup final, she's hungry for redemption.

"That is the ultimate goal, beating anyone that gets in our way to win this World Cup," Clark said. "I believe that we've got the heart to do it and we've got the physicality."

Sometimes the path to success means leaving behind what doesn't fit to find what does.