Kaitlin Shave's Rugby Comeback: From Injury to World Championship Glory

For an athlete still in the early stages of her professional career, Kaitlin Shave has already experienced the highs and lows of sport.

The lowest point is still etched in Shave's memory, when her Olympic debut came to an abrupt end only moments after it had begun.

While Shave had dreamt of being an Olympic sprinter or gymnast in her youth, she arrived at the 2024 Paris Olympics as a member of Australia's rugby 7s squad.

But just minutes into Australia's opening match against South Africa, Shave sustained a gruesome anterior cruciate ligament injury that forced her out.

Surgery was required, and a lengthy rehabilitation process followed.

The Queenslander missed the 2024/25 season but made her return in Australia's most recent World Series campaign.

"Coming back, I don't really take anything for granted," Shave told ABC Sport from France.

"Just to represent my country, I'm 10 times more grateful than I was before.

"The injury really puts things into perspective, and I think it's made me a better player on and off the field.

"You learn a lot in rehab. It's a lonely process sometimes."

After facing the depths of despair, Shave is on a high.

She is fresh off helping Australia win the second leg of the World Championship in Valladolid, Spain, last weekend.

The 25-year-old showed she had lost none of her speed when she sprinted 55 metres to score the match-levelling try in Australia's semifinal against New Zealand.

Tia Hinds converted Shave's try to ice the come-from-behind 28-26 victory, before Australia defeated USA 27-14 in the final.

Shave was an elite sprinter in her teens, winning gold at the national junior championships.

Unsurprisingly, her instincts kicked in when she found space against New Zealand with just over a minute remaining in the semifinal.

"It was kind of automatic," Shave said.

"I just started sprinting, and I think once I was close to the line, I realised this was the moment that was able to put us in a really good position to win it."

Shave's 'unfinished business'

Shave's immediate focus is Australia's tilt at clinching the World Championship at the final leg in Bordeaux, France.

Australia, which leapfrogged New Zealand on the overall standings with its win in Spain, begins this weekend's tournament with pool matches against Brazil, Fiji and Japan.

New Zealand will no doubt be lurking in the sudden-death stages, hoping to knock off the Australians, who lead their trans-Tasman rivals by just two points.

But beyond the World Championship, the 2028 Olympics loom large on the horizon for Shave.

She is determined to make the Los Angeles Games to help erase the disappointment of her first Olympic experience in Paris.

"I definitely feel as though I have a lot of unfinished business," Shave said.

I know it's a long time away, but that is definitely one of my main goals."