The USA Women’s Eagles ended in overtime in the 3rd Place Play-Off against Canada seeing the North Americans secure the golden try on kick off receipt at the HSBC Singapore SVNS.
After dramatic pool play with an momentous comeback against Japan, an overtime win over Fiji and a near draw just edged out at the final minute against Australia, the Eagles faced off to New Zealand in the Cup Semi Final before taking their shot at the bronze in Singapore against Canada.
The new look squad showed their energetic style while inducting new Eagle talent, Vasiti Turagavou who made her debut against Australia.
Head Coach Emilie Bydwell commented on the bittersweet finish for her team;
"Getting an opportunity to win a medal, and not leaving the field with one - especially having a comeback, and then going to Golden Point. It's a bittersweet ending. We're a little disappointed, but I said to the players afterwards, I'm so proud of how the weekend went. We've got so much learning and growing to do as a rugby team, in terms of how we want to play, and the different decisions that we make in those situations.”
“The biggest things now are focussing on 5% things that can be a little bit better. We've had pretty specific focus points for the block as a whole. And so, with where we are in the year and the fact that we're trying to build through these first six tournaments, we don't need to chase our tails. We don't need to go finding things to work on. We can just zero in on the things that were the priorities for this block and see if we can make them 5% better next weekend in Perth.”
USA opened pool play with a brilliant second half comeback win against Japan. The Sakura came out strong and held the Eagles 0-19 at half time. From the restart though, Spiff Sedrick kicked the intensity up a level getting the ball out to Kaylen Thomas who flew into the tryline. Su Adegoke followed up quickly before Thomas took another of her own putting the team back in it within 2 points. Ramsey responded to the challenge at hand and ran the ball down the pitch before offloading to Adegoke to secure the Women’s Eagles first ever win in pool play in Singapore.
Next up, USA took on Fiji who lit up the score board first but Ariana Ramsey turned on the speed and ran in the Eagles first try down the wing putting the Eagles within range at 5-7 at half time. Finding the inside line off Adegoke, Ramsey barged through the defense and touched down for her second try. Fijiana responded and leveled 12-12 with the buzzer sounding and extra time added to the clock. Fiji kicked off and the Eagles nabbed possession putting them in place for the golden try. The Eagles held on to possession maintaining composure through the phases before Sariah Ibarra touched down to clinch the win,
In the final Pool A match, early dominance from Australia put the Wallaroos in a 12-0 lead. But in typical Eagles grit, Kaylen Thomas found her moment and scored under the posts following a quick penalty tap to bring the score to 12-7. Thomas then opened the second half with another long-range try to level while Vasiti Turagavou made her Eagles debut. A Maddison Levi hat-trick put Australia back in front, but the USA equalized again at 19-19 after being awarded a penalty try for a high tackle. With the Eagles looking to head yet again into overtime, Australia emptied the bench and fresh pace sealed the Australians win with an 80 meter sprint.
Going 2 for 3, the Eagles secured their place in the Semi Final taking on New Zealand for their opening match on day 2.
The Black Ferns opened strong and built a strong lead going into the half that they continued to expand as the match went on. Ramsey put points on the board for the Eagles just ahead of the final buzzer and will advance to the 3rd Place Play Off.
The USA faced off against Canada who dotted down first. Captain Kristi Kirshe showed her response but the Canadians ran two more in ahead of half time. Kaylen Thomas turned on the speed to fend off defense running in her 5th try of the weekend before Ramsey ran in a try to level the score 19-19 with the conversion from Ashley Cowdrey bringing the match into extra time. Canada won the kick off and immediately ran the ball down securing the golden try and taking the win for the Canadians 24 to 19.
The USA Women’s Eagles will now travel to Perth to take on the fourth stop of the HSBC SVNS Series. Matches will be live for USA fans on Paramount+.
The USA Women’s Eagles will be coming home to play on US soil for the final stop of the HSBC SVNS Series on March 14-15 in NYC.. Tickets are on sale now at https://sitickets.com/group/team/hsbc-svns-new-york
| Player # | Player | Sevens Caps |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ariana Ramsey | 17 |
| 2 | Erica Coulibaly | 3 |
| 3 | Tahna Wifley | 3 |
| 5 | Vasiti Turagavou* | 1 |
| 8 | Spiff Sedrick | 24 |
| 12 | Kristi Kirshe (C) | 33 |
| 15 | Rachel Strasdas | 10 |
| 19 | Kaylen Thomas | 7 |
| 22 | Sammy Sullivan | 18 |
| 24 | Su Adegoke | 10 |
| 26 | Ashley Cowdrey | 4 |
| 28 | Sariah Ibarra | 10 |
| 30 | Tessa Hann | 2 |
| 99 | Autumn Czaplicki | 5 |
*Debut
USA v Japan (W) | 22-19
Tries: Thomas (2), Adegoke (2)
Conv: Wilfley
USA v Fiji (W) | 17-12
Tries: Ramsey (2), Ibarra
Conv: Wilfley
USA v Australia (L) | 19-26
Tries: Thomas (2), Penalty Try
Conv: Ibarra
Cup Semi Final: USA v New Zealand (L) | 7-44
Tries: Ramsey
Conv: Cowdrey
3rd Place Play-Off: USA v Canada (L) | 19-24
Tries: Kirshe, Thomas, Ramsey
Conv: Cowdrey (2)
November 29 - 30 | Dubai - 5th Place
December 6 - 7 | Cape Town - 4th Place
January 31 - February 1 | Singapore - 4th Place
February 7 - 8 | Perth
March 7 - 8 | Vancouver
March 14 - 15 | NYC
April 17 - 19 | Hong Kong
May 29 -31 | Valladolid
June 5 - 7 | Bordeaux
Emilie Bydwell | Head Coach
Tony Roques | Assistant Coach
Charlie Purdon | Technical & IDP Skills Coach
Ben Pinkelman | Support Coach
Lauren Barber | Performance Analyst
Trey Ford | Head of Athletic Performance
Ashley Morataya | Assistant S&C
Nicole Titmas | Head of Athlete Health & Wellness - 7s / Women's 7s Head ATC
Meghan Chambers | Rehab Specialist
Jackie Rodriguez | Athletic Trainer
Jacque Scaramella | Dietician
Peter Haberl | Sport Psychologist
Liz Strohecker | Head of High Performance Operations - 7s
Maria Adams | High Performance Operations Coordinator - 7s
Jenni Burke | High Performance Communications Manager
