Pamela Santos: 'I kept working and believing that I would get there'

How many times would you be willing to go to a national team camp, not get selected to play, go back home and wait for another chance? Most would say a handful of times; a few potentially would say for a couple of years, but no one would be available to go for it for over half a decade.

Well, almost not everyone, with Brazilian prop Pâmela dos Santos Soares being the exception. After enduring six years of unsuccessful attempts, she finally made the cut and became a full-fledged Yara.

While for most, the experience could turn rugby into a sour affair, for Santos, it was the opposite.

“We have a saying that perfectly encapsulates what happened to me, which is ‘a bola bateu na trave’ [the shot hit the post]. I was called to several national team camps, but I never made the final cut. 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. The years would go by, I would go to camp and then bang, reality would strike back at me. But I kept working and believing that I would get there.”

But before we dive deeper into that chapter of her life, let’s take a few steps back to understand who Santos is better. Born and raised in the city of Santo André, São Paulo, she would move to the city of Rio Grande in the state of Rio Grande do Sul to pursue a degree in accounting.

Despite being a fan of sport, she never connected with any until a day in March 2015, when a group of students were enlisting new players to their rugby team.

“One day I came across a rugby programme run by other students. I had no idea what it was, but I said to myself, ‘Let’s try it out’. And because of that ‘let’s try it out’, my life would change.”

Santos was 22 at the time, and although she had never come across an oval ball prior to that day, she immediately connected with rugby.

“The team embraced me like I was already one of them, even if it was my first time. I felt at home. At the same time, everything was a new and enticing challenge for me. Be it the tackling and passing drills, I just wanted to be better. I couldn’t get enough of it.”

From her first practices at the University of Rio Grande do Sul to enlisting in the club based in the state capital, it was just a matter of weeks.

“The university had a partnership with Atlântico Sul Rugby, which it would become my first club. One minor caveat: the team was playing sevens when I joined in. But I didn’t back from it, as I just wanted to play rugby.”

Over time, Santos began to forge new dreams: to grow as a player, to play more games for her club and to become a Brazil international. Something she never expected to be possible while growing up.

After a couple of years of great performances for her club, the prop was invited to join a few training sessions of the national team, with Santos calling it an obsession.

However, the obsession with becoming a Yara had its risks, as Santos was denied the opportunity to debut with the Amarelinha [alluding to the yellow colour of the Brazilian national team jersey] time and time again, and had to keep fighting when things didn’t seem to work out.

“The main issue was that I lived in a different state from where the Brazilian national team is seeded. I would come from Rio Grande do Sul to São Paulo for a few days, practice with them and go back to my job as an accountant. But in 2024, everything changed.”

In December of 2023, Emiliano Caffera was hired by the Brazilian Rugby Union as the new head coach for the men’s and women’s teams, which ended up changing Santos life.

“Emiliano Caffera gave me a real shot to become a Yara. I stayed in São Paulo for one month and, despite not being selected to the team that would face Colombia to qualify for the World Cup, I felt that the door was slowly opening.”

Brazil defeated Colombia and secured its place in Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, prompting the staff to focus on building depth in the squad, with Santos among the players granted a full-time contract.

However, she was working as an accountant and had built a good life for herself in Rio Grande do Sul, which meant that at 31, she would have to make an almost complete reset if she wanted to go and become a Yara. So, what was her decision?

“The Brazil Rugby Union sent me the proposal in July of 2024. I thought about it for a moment and said yes in the next one. In September of that year, I had moved out of my adopted state of Rio Grande do Sul to go back to São Paulo.”

Santos’ mental strength to keep going, trying, and accepting rejection, while taking the risk of moving stats, can’t go unnoticed, with the prop explaining her mindset and how she survived in those moments.

“I refused to accept that I wasn’t going to be a member of the mighty Yaras; that was my mindset to stay on course. At the same time, I couldn’t let down my friends and teammates in my team in Rio Grande do Sul. And, in the end, we won.”

While most would be shocked by her decision to leave a stable life behind, Santos explains her reasoning and why she took the step to change her destiny.

“I could say I miss my accountant paycheque, but being a Yara was and is more important than that. We are members of something greater than ourselves, something that represents my family, my friends, my roots and my history. Being a Yara is more valuable than winning a few more reais.”

In 2024, she would go on to make her debut as a representative and Test match player, with her first cap as a Yara still holding the no.1 spot in her heart.

“I would be lying if I didn’t pick my first cap for Brazil as the most special game of my career.”the 34-year-old front-rower said.

“I had just moved to São Paulo, and we were going to face a representative team from the US. The moment the game ended, I started crying internally. However, someone from my former club was there to support me, Maria Roberta. I rushed to her and embraced her, as she was one of the reasons I was there.”

For her, Maria Roberta was instrumental in her life, acting like her rugby mother who nurtured and helped Santos all the way until that match in late 2024.

“She was a Yara in her time, so she understood us and what it takes to get to that point. That’s why rugby is much more than a sport to me, as I am representing not just myself but a whole community that fights every day to make dreams come true.”

After overcoming the trials of that period between 2018 and 2024, Santos had earned her place in the Yaras squad, with the next obstacle already on the horizon: Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025. Caffera selected six props, with Santos among them.

“The 2025 World Cup sparks so many emotions within me. I remember being at the team’s official presentation and hearing my name announced; it was a unique moment in my life. I kept thinking about the effort that every single Yara poured into clinching that dream, and I was there living in it with my fellow World Cup Yaras, making history at every step.”

For her, the World Cup was an once-in-a-lifetime experience with their inaugural game against South Africa being her favourite moment of the campaign.

“I can still hear people shouting ‘Brazil, Brazil, Brazil’ in our opening match against South Africa. It was an unforgettable moment, and I wasn’t even playing! I felt proud, emotional and privileged to have that chance of enjoying that moment.”

Despite not playing in the opening match, Santos was called for the second and third outings of the Yaras, with the front-rower making a monumental revelation.

“I never told this to the public, but I picked up an injury a few weeks before the World Cup, and there was a chance I’d miss it,” she said. “With everyone’s help, I overcame it and had the chance to play in two games.

“I was deeply emotional in the hours before our match against France, as I kept remembering my journey up to that point.”

Even though Brazil came empty-handed from their first-ever World Cup experience, Santos can’t help but feel proud of what they had done, as they had put the Yaras on the map in the women’s 15-a-side game.

“Everyone wants to win games, but for us, to just be there and compete with top-level teams at the grandest tournament of all was more valuable than anything. Brazilian football fans flocked to our games, and people kept asking to meet us. We were already making an impact on the Brazilian women’s rugby community.”

For her, the Yaras’ energy and spirit resonated far beyond the pitch, showing the world that Brazil had what it takes, with Santos easily picking a word to sum up their fighting spirit.

“Kirimbawasa. It is a native Brazilian word that we shout when we get together, which encapsulates all the adjectives of a warrior. It is the definition of who the Yaras are.”

With 2025 firmly in the rearview mirror, the seven-cap prop looks ahead to the challenge that is coming in September.

“For us, the WXV Global Series Challenger will be crucial for our development, as we need more games and more exposure so we can build up from what we accomplished in the World Cup. I am eager for September to come and to show once again who the Yaras are.”

As she is locked and loaded to unleash her scrummaging prowess in two months, Santos leaves a final message for those who, like her, have faced adversity.

“Rugby has the power to transform you. It can give you confidence, make you better, unlock your potential, and give you a family. It is a sport that inspires you to do that last burpee, to make another tackle, to carry the ball for the umpteenth time and to fight for your teammate until the last second. Never give up. Believe.”