In a thrilling opening to the 2024 SVNS series, the USA Women’s Sevens showcased their potential, starting their campaign in Dubai with a mix of seasoned leadership and exciting debut performances.
The tournament marked a milestone with Kayla’s 30th tournament appearance, while six players made their debut on the series circuit, including 2020 Olympian Nia Toliver, who made an instant impact with six tries—four in pool play and two more in the knockout stages.
Four debutants in total crossed the try line, underscoring the depth and talent emerging within the squad. As the Eagles faced off against top-tier competition, from Great Britain to France, their grit was tested at every turn. But despite a few setbacks, they delivered some standout performances, ultimately finishing the day with a strong fifth-place victory over Ireland.
On how the team performed this weekend and heading into Cape Town, Head Coach Emilie Bydwell said, “coming into this week was a little bit of uncertainty not really knowing how things would play out, especially not knowing how some of the other teams were going to be. For us, it was about optimizing where we are right now as a team–did we play to our potential? And the answer in the locker room was no. And that’s really exciting that even having a new, young team that finished fifth in a tournament all acknowledges that we didn’t play to our potential and we didn’t do the things that we talked about in the meeting room or on the field to put ourselves in the best position.
“Against Ireland, we still made errors. Things didn’t always go to plan, but the way we were trying to play–fast, dynamic, dictative–playing to space a little bit more, it allowed the players to play to their strengths and allowed us to play more of the street ball we want to play. We want to play to space more, and we move away from that idea and move into one-off carries, then we don’t feel as dynamic as we are. We had a really good defensive performance against Ireland. We conceded a try late in the second half but generally we were starting to understand how to put ourselves in positions to get turnovers and cover each other. Going into next weekend is just how we can build on that defensive platform that we exhibited against Ireland.”
The Eagles commenced their Dubai SVNS tour against Great Britain, who had the early attack. A yellow card to Ariana Ramsey for a deliberate knock down set up Great Britain for an easy first try. But Kaylen Thomas struck back quickly, staying on her feet to score under the posts. Ramsey back on the pitch, the USA found their confidence and played to the edge for Ramsey finished the play for a try. On attack, Great Britain held on to the ball to find the defensive gaps, tightening the USA’s lead at halftime. The Eagles worked to keep control in the second half, and the work paid off for debutant Nia Toliver who broke away to score under the posts. The squad turned around to run the ball back down to the try line, where Sarah Levy finished the play for another USA score. Great Britain were resilient though, and found some clever plays to score once more in the second half. But the Eagles were strong to start their campaign, making a statement win 26-15.
In their second pool matchup against Spain, USA put on the pressure to take control, setting Hann Humphreys up for her debut try. The Eagles kept up the momentum, using a scrum to draw in Spanish defenders and let Nia Toliver run around on the edge for another USA score before turning around for a second one after a physical fight with Spain. But Spain was determined to fight their way into USA territory, and took a breakaway try at the halftime whistle. At the restart, Spain showed some re-energization, but the Eagles earned a penalty, taking back control and giving Ariana Ramsey space to breakaway and score. The Eagles remained dominant, and a great support play got Autumn LoCicero over the line for her first SVNS try, giving the USA a 33-7 win.
With a quarterfinal secured, the Eagles met France with the goal of finishing 3-0 in pool play. France proved it would be the most challenging match of the day as they pushed through for the first points. The game slowed down with a scrum call but a penalty gave the USA a free kick, where Alena Olsen chipped through the ball midfield and Nia Toliver raced to the end of the field for a USA try. France displayed some fearsome defense that got the best of the Eagles, giving away the win to Les Bleues, 5-14.
It was a rematch against France for the quarterfinal, and France had full control at the start, striking first over the try line. The Eagles were scrappy on attack, and loose passes lost opportunities for the team. France, looking more connected than yesterday, certainly capitalized on USA handling errors. The USA finally found some cohesion off a line out, playing with some depth as Nia Toliver put on the gas for her fifth try of the weekend. The second half saw defensive communication errors for the Eagles, and France found their way around to increase their lead. But on attack they remained resilient, and Sariah Ibarra strode away for a try under the posts for her first series try. But France were stronger in this test, 38-12.
The USA saw Ireland for fifth place in their final match in Dubai. The Eagles started off strong with a good support attack, but a knock on gave away possession to Ireland. But Kaylen Thomas snatched the ball and ran down for the first try of the match. Her score lit up the Eagles, and the team turned around and spread the ball quickly to Ariana Ramsey’s score. The USA kept up their momentum in the second half, where Nia Toliver fended off tacklers to put up another try. Ireland got away for one try, but the USA kept up strong defense to hold on to the lead, taking the 17-7 win.
The Eagles have a lot to takeaway into next week as they travel to Cape Town for the next stop on the SVNS series. 2024 CPT SVNS kicks off Dec. 7, live on RugbyPass TV.
| NAME | SVNS Tournaments |
|---|---|
| 1. Ariana Ramsey | 8 |
| 3. Kayla Canett (C) | 30 |
| 6. Alena Olsen (C) | 25 |
| 13. Sarah Levy | 12 |
| 15. Rachel Strasdas | 2 |
| 16. Jess Lu | 2 |
| 19. Kaylen Thomas | 3 |
| 20. Autumn LoCicero | 1 |
| 24. Su Adegoke | 1 |
| 28. Sariah Ibarra | 1 |
| 29. Hann Humphreys | 1 |
| 32. Alyssa Porter | 1 |
| 33. Nia Toliver | 1 |
Emilie Bydwell | Head Coach
Zack Test | Assistant Coach
Trey Ford | Head of Athletic Performance
Nicole Titmas | Athletic Trainer
Liz Strohecker | Head of Operations - Sevens
Pool B
v Great Britain | 26-15 (W)
TRIES | K. Thomas, A. Ramsey, N. Toliver, S. Levy
CONV | K. Canett, S. Ibarra (2)
v Spain | 33-7 (W)
TRIES | H. Humphreys, N. Toliver (2), A. Ramsey, A. LoCicero
CONV | K. Canett (2), A. Olsen, S. Ibarra
v FRA | 5-14 (L)
TRIES | N. Toliver
Knockouts
Quarterfinal v France | 38-12 (L)
TRIES | N. Toliver, S. Ibarra
CONV | S. Ibarra
5th Place Playoff v Ireland | 17-7 (W)
TRIES | K. Thomas, A. Ramsey, N. Toliver
CONV | K. Canett
