USA Women's Eagles fall behind strong second half from Canada in final fixture ahead of Rugby World Cup

In a final tune-up fixture ahead of the Rugby World Cup, the USA Women’s Eagles faced Canada in Ottawa this evening, falling to the home team 42-10.

While the USA was able to start with control at TD Place, the Canadian second half was the decider with 28 unanswered points put on the Americans. As Canada are currently #2 in the World Rugby rankings and tonight being one of two contests the Eagles have played with them this year, this final warm up match will be a crucial marker for focus points as the squad travels to England tomorrow for the biggest stage. The Eagle’s next match will be the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 opener against host England from Sunderland on August 22 at 2:30pm ET. Catch that match and the full tournament on Paramount+.

Head Coach Sione Fukofuka said post match, "We were really excited coming into the game. We spent three weeks working really hard through the Fiji campaign, and took some big strides forward. The first half showed a lot of that, we were competitive early and built a nice lead, putting ourselves in a good position. Obviously Canada came back in the last 10 minutes of the first half and got themselves in front, so the second half was always going to be a steep hill to climb. But, we were confident that if we executed our key areas that we've been working on in our attack breakdown, in our set piece and our ability to get the ball wide, that we would really stress and challenge Canada. Credit to them, they came out with a clear game plan on how to disrupt and take our time and space away. As it turned out, they capitalized in some of our areas, and our inability to transition out our defensive end."

"We go back into camp in five days, a key element will be our ability to be consistent in both halves. What we did well we'll keep reinforcing, and the areas where we came up short in the second half will be about making sure we go back to our process, go back to our execution and allow ourselves to create opportunities to score points."

Captain Kate Zackary said on the positive start to the match, “We talked about it after the first try and at half time, Canada is a top-two team and we showed them that we can score. They’re able to be beaten, we just have to put a game together. Hats off to our team for scoring in 90 seconds, I’m honestly very proud of them for that. This makes us more battle harden for the England game, which is going to be even louder and more physical, but we can’t wait for it.”

The USA was able to repeat from their Washington DC performance two weeks ago by putting points on the board in the first two minutes, as Freda Tafuna closed out a strong drive for a try. The USA did well to start aggressive and break tackles during that drive and take the early lead. Canada would storm back, but a kick out wide fell into touch and relieved the pressure. A couple miscues from Canada kept the USA with possession early, and confident control. The Eagles did well to keep pressure, not allowing Canada to organize and forcing five turnovers in the first 20 minutes.

Sophie de Goodie on her return, called for a croc roll, torqued Alev Kelter at the breakdown and picked up a yellow card, though the USA were unable to capitalize for points with the player advantage. The teams would then swap sin bin seats in the 28th minute as Hallie Taufoou was called offsides at the goal line and allowed Canada the penalty try. Alev Kelter continued to create opportunities for the USA, nearly chasing down a loose ball for a try, but it was called a knock on. USA still pick up three points from a McKenzie Hawkins penalty goal on that possession. Canada however stole momentum going into the break with a TMO awarded try.

We go to halftime, USA 10 - Canada 14.

Canada found their stride in the second half, striking early with try, holding possession and territory. They would look to have another in the 60' but a penalty at the breakdown pushing through the ruck called it back just before the water break. Both teams then went to the bench where the Canadian reserves connected for another try as Olivia Demerchant pushed over the tryline only a minute after coming on with fresh energy. Ultimately, Canada was able to find space and on the wings and finished the match in control, scoring 28 unanswered points for the 42-10 win.

The USA had flashes of strong defense, both early in their own territory and with physical tackles late in the game, they just weren’t able to stage an attack and keep up on the scoreboard. Discipline will also be on the review board for the USA who committed 20 penalties throughout the 80 minutes. While the result is a tough loss in a rivalry game, the match is a good indicator on where to improve and progress with the Rugby World Cup now officially on deck.

The Eagles will take off for England tomorrow, with a good stretch of training camp and alignment before the August 22 opener against England. The match is expecting 50,000+ fans for the match, an exciting spectacle and challenge the USA are eager to take head on.

Head Coach, Attack + Backs | Sione Fukofuka

Assistant Coach, Defense | Sarah Chobot

Assistant Coach, Forwards + Attack | Mel Bosman

Head of Athletic Performance | Charles Dudley

Analyst | Callum Howells

Lead Physiotherapist | Alice Mae

Athletic Trainer | Sam Malette

Team Doctor | Derek Hatfield

Performance Psychologist | Scott Goldman

Team Manager | Alana Gattinger

Team Services | Aiyana Gilliard

General Manager, High Performance | Tamara Sheppard

Media Manager | Jenni Burke

USA v England

August 22 | 2:30 pm ET | Stadium of Light, Sunderland

Paramount+

USA v Australia

August 30 | 2:30 pm ET | York Community Stadium, York

Paramount+

USA v Samoa

September 6 | 8:30 am ET | York Community Stadium, York

CBS, Paramount+

Quarterfinals Begin September 13