Head Coach Sione Fukofuka announced today the 23 players selected to represent the USA Women’s Eagles as they face Japan in their second round of a two-match series. USA v Japan is live Saturday, August 17, at 5am ET, on RugbyPass TV.
Following a 17-17 draw with the hosts last week, Fukofuka made a few changes as the team worked on improvements to their game plan. Set to appear in her 45th match, Catie Benson comes in as the starting #1 prop, while Keia Mae Sagapolu starts as #3. Taina Tukuafu comes in as the starting scrumhalf, and Katana Howard as center.
Captain Tess Feury is taking on a wing position this weekend, as Sariah Ibarra, who made her debut last week, starts as fullback.
On the finishers side, Gabby Cantorna is set to play in her 30th tournament. Tessa Hann, who joined camp earlier this week as an injury replacement to Sophie Lamphier, has an opportunity to earn her first cap with the USA Women’s Eagles.
“We have made some changes to the front row based on rewarding players that have worked hard to get their physical metrics up and performed during our preparation. Keia Mae Sagapolu and Catie Benson have both taken their feedback well and have pushed hard to earn selection. We are pleased in the depth of our front row that we are able to give opportunities across the two tests and be confident in our set piece platform.
This test match provides us with a chance to get players game time with some real points of difference. In the backs, Taina Tukuafu gives us a running game and a threat around the ruck, Katana Howard’s kicking game allows us to relieve the pressure across the field, Bulou Mataitoga comes in and adds real experience and impact on the edge. Sariah Ibarra showed last week that she is an exciting prospect and deserves more game time to show that, and learn from her experience leading into WXV and World Cup. Changes on the bench are a combination of rewarding performance and looking at balance across the 23.
We have focused on our own actions and controllables. We felt we hadn’t performed to the standards we set in PAC4 and let ourselves down. Japan put us under pressure and we didn’t respond to that pressure in the manner we have been working toward. We have worked hard this week on our collisions and our intent at the attack breakdown, as well as our detail in our set piece and attack shapes. We are fortunate to have the same opposition for two weeks in a row, which allows us to adapt some or our tactics to match the opportunities Japan presents.”
| Name | Club | Caps |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Catie Benson | Sale Sharks | 44 |
| 2. Kathryn Treder (VC) | Loughborough Lightning | 21 |
| 3. Keia Mae Sagapolu | Leicester Tigers | 10 |
| 4. Erica Jarrell | Sale Sharks | 10 |
| 5. Hallie Taufoou | Loughborough Lightning | 18 |
| 6. Rachel Ehrecke | Colorado Gray Wolves | 14 |
| 7. Tahlia Brody | Leicester Tigers | 11 |
| 8. Freda Tafuna | Lindenwood University | 9 |
| 9. Taina Tukuafu | Berkeley All Blues | 9 |
| 10. McKenzie Hawkins (VC) | Colorado Gray Wolves | 16 |
| 11. Tess Feury (C) | Leicester Tigers | 27 |
| 12. Katana Howard | Sale Sharks | 21 |
| 13. Emily Henrich | Leicester Tigers | 17 |
| 14. Bulou Mataitoga | Loughborough Lightning | 17 |
| 15. Sariah Ibarra | USA Sevens | 1 |
| 16. Paige Stathopoulos | Beantown RFC | 9 |
| 17. Alivia Leatherman | Life West | 4 |
| 18. Maya Learned | Colorado Gray Wolves | 12 |
| 19. Jenny Kronish | Beantown RFC | 15 |
| 20. Tessa Hann | Central Washington University | Yet to Debut |
| 21. Sophie Pyrz | Life West / Rhinos | 1 |
| 22. Gabby Cantorna | Exeter Chiefs | 29 |
| 23. Nana Fa'avesi | USA Sevens | 6 |
Head Coach | Sione Fukofuka
Assistant Coach | Mel Bosman
Assistant Coach | Sarah Chobot
Team Doctor | Derek Hatfield
Head Athletic Trainer | Emily Lauer
ATC | Sam Malette
Lead Physical Performance Coach | Sylvia Braaten
Analyst | Caitlin Singletary
Team Manager | Lindsay Wilson
USA vs Japan | 17-17 (D)
Watch on RugbyPass TV
USA vs Japan | Saturday, August 17 | 5am ET
ECOPA Stadium | Shizuoka, JPN
Watch live on RugbyPass TV
