Mae Sagapolu talks World Cup, Loughborough and New Challenges

Keia Mae Sagapolu is a 25-year-old prop, playing for both USA and Loughborough Lightning. Born in Tacoma, Washington, Mae’s journey started later than most, picking up a rugby ball for the first time at age 18.

“A couple of friends and I decided to sit out of a sport one day and thought we’d give rugby a try,” Mae recalls. “To be completely honest, I had no clue what was going on. I thought it was lacrosse!”

From there, she fell in love with it. Shifting her sports perspective into rugby, she decided to go to university to pursue it. Embarking on her studies at Central Washington University, Mae played in their first division rugby team.

She went on to achieve All-American honours in 2022 and 2023 and was awarded the MA Sorensen Award, given to the top women’s rugby player in the nation. Mae made her international debut for the Eagles in 2023 in a fixture against Spain, now flaunting 19 caps.

“I have so many people who have helped me get to where I am today, but two stand out. There’s a girl back home who is so talented, but she had to stay home and take care of her family. She was the one who got a lot of the girls into sport and opened new doors for people.

“I’ve also got what we call my ‘rugby dad’, who’s the one that would push me to do things. He’s a really busy man but always makes time and invested a lot in me. I knew that it would be dumb not to do these things that people know I’m capable of.”

Mae joined Premiership Women’s Rugby in the 2023-24 season, when she joined Leicester Tigers. After a two-year stint with Tigers, she made the move to Loughborough Lightning ahead of the 2025-26 season.

“I got really good feedback about Nathan (Smith), particularly his set-piece coaching. I’m a forward and I need to be really clinical and tactical with my set-piece, so I knew I needed to go somewhere that invested in that aspect.

“You can see how hard the girls work here – their motivation and belief are incredible,” she says. “I have full belief that this team has the ability to be in the top four this season.”

Her signing was amongst a cluster of American signings and re-signings for Loughborough Lightning, including Tahlia Brody, Alex Kelter and Bulou Mataitoga.

Other than her fellow USA teammates, Mae discusses the people who helped the transition into her new club:

“CB (Christine Belisle) has been like my ‘rugby mom’. She made it so easy for me to slide into the set pieces and helps me know my role, where I’m supposed to be and when.

“Nellie (Helen Nelson) and Lilli (Ives Campion) have also been great, but it’s really all the girls who have been so welcoming and made the transition seamless for me.”

After the Christmas break, Lightning’s first game comes against the PWR title holders, Gloucester Hartpury. With three positions separating the sides, the midlands team will be hoping to cause upset.

“I’m so excited about every game we play because I know they’ll all be exciting to watch. Anytime we play, we really challenge the other teams and put up a good fight.

“The scary thing is that we’re not done growing. Nobody has seen what we can actually do, so the rest of the season is going to be really exciting.”

Mae represented the Eagles at the Rugby World Cup in England last year, where her team narrowly missed out on a spot in the quarterfinals. Although it was an earlier exit than planned, she discussed the incredible experience:

“It was crazy. Rugby is huge in England, so the audiences really matched that. We got to play the opening game against the Red Roses and thousands of fans filled the stadium!

“That alone was exciting enough, but although we had some disappointing results, I had a real feeling of accomplishment. We have so many veterans and key players who have been part of this journey, and not everyone gets to do this.”

Although her entry to rugby was later than most, Mae doesn’t regret anything and urges people to do the same.

“Just give it a go! Nothing can go wrong if you put your all into it and surround yourself with people who want you to do well. You need to find people that push you to work.

“But you’ve got to try. Don’t be scared, because what’s their to lose? You’ll lose a big opportunity to try something fun if you don’t.”

Do you want to see Loughborough Lightning in action against Gloucester Hartpury on Sunday 1st February – buy tickets here!