Brown has worked as a gas engineer, a commercial diver and fire-fighter, but says sport has always been the “biggest part” of her life.
She competed in the hammer for England in the Commonwealth Games and tried her hand at professional boxing before settling on the “physicality” of rugby.
“It just makes me happy inside to know that it’s a physical contest,” she said. “The beauty of rugby is that some people run around things and other people run through things.”
Women’s rugby is growing in England, and this season Saracens and Worcester Warriors have become the first Premier 15s clubs to pay their players match fees.
Brown says she is excited to “empower” her growing fanbase.
“I have always been aware that as long as I want to do something, I can put myself forward and do it – but some people don’t have that,” she said.
“They need to be shown, and I’m OK with that – whether it’s by playing rugby or going into a job that’s male dominated like gas engineering or commercial diving.
“If they can see it being done by a mixed-race female from south London – who doesn’t say all her ‘t’s and ‘th’s – then they can do it.”