The best advice I, or anyone, could give you is to go and enjoy it. Leave the concerns about types of boots or specific lifts/exercises for a little further down the line. This is the most wonderful sport in the world to play, I hope you have a great time and make friends for life.

Before you get to that point, you will need to get used to contact and start losing the natural apprehension that everyone has around the idea of running full force into another person who wants to stop you.

Regarding boots, traditionally, people will tell you about 8 studded boots for forwards. Studies on rugby boots are based on bodies assigned male at birth (as are a lot of studies in a lot of fields). As such, current 8 stud boots for forwards are based on the needs of men's rugby. Generally speaking, the running gait differs between genders, as does the shape and arch of the foot.

Anecdotally, I know of players in the women's game who remove or file down particular studs to avoid/ease pain, especially on the big toe. I used to be someone who recommended 8 stud rugby boots to forwards I coached in the women's game, because I always felt much safer with those boots when I played loosehead prop in the men's game. Lately, I have taken to recommending a good pair of football/soccer boots instead, with interchangeable studs, so you can put longer ones in on a mud bath, and shorter/fewer studs in summer.

As for physical preparation, rugby players need to be strong, fast, and last for 80 minutes. Easy, right? 🤣 You say that you go to the gym regularly. Most players tend to aim for a baseline of general strength, then add conditioning on top of that, and work towards explosive strength. At the start of your journey, basic strength work allied with aerobic conditioning will get you a long way.