A challenging start at Ellis Park for the USA Women’s Eagles opening match of their 2-Test South African Tour saw the Springbok Women take the win 34-21 as the Eagles found their momentum with 3 second half tries, including 2 from debutants Ashley Cowdrey and Elizabeth Cook.
USA fans will soon, be able to watch the match on replay on RugbyPassTV.
South Africa set the tone early holding position with unrelenting physical pressure.throughout the first half to lead 29 nil at the half time break.
On the restart, the USA Women settled into their systems and found some momentum with Freda Tafuna crashing over the line to put USA points on the board.
Relentless perseverance from the Eagles and a breakaway from Tessa Hann to collect a loose ball and run down the pitch, offloading to sevens teammate, saw Ashley Cowdrey score on her debut.
Also making their USA debut, and making her mark in the USA jersey, Elizabeth Cook scored the Eagles third try from a pick and go bringing the Eagles 34-21 thanks to conversions slotted on all three off the boot of Bella Vogel. Despite conceding no further tries, once the Eagles got going, the Springbok Women had already established a sufficient lead to carry the score to the final whistle.
With two debutants penning the start of their Eagles history, Kate Zackary added another milestone to her illustrious USA career, running out for her 50th cap for the USA.
Ultimately, the team disappointed and wanting more out of their performance, Head coach Jack Hanratty commented;
“It was a difficult day, we wanted to meet their ferocity and their collisions and we didn't, and we've got to take ownership of that. The second half, although we were chasing the game, but the debutants and some of the younger players with a serious lack of Test match experience did an incredible job. With the training week and review ahead, we can be accountable on how we move forward and continue to strive for one of our core values of excellence. And that's it, that's what we'll aim for.”
“Both debutants were excellent today. To play your first cap, and to get a try in Ellis Park, you probably couldn't have written it better; but what I appreciated, was afterwards, I know they were very much appreciative of getting their first cap, but they also were disappointed that we didn't achieve our team goal to win the test match.”
However, Hanratty acknowledged the moments they will celebrate and look to turn into learnings;
“So, we have a lot of learning there, but we also have to celebrate our big moments. Kate Zackary, got her 50th cap. We have to celebrate that while also being disappointed with the result. We got to celebrate Cookie's (Elizabeth Cook) first cap, Ashley’s first cap, and Reece and Telesi’s first start for the team.”
“But, we want to be better and we don't just want to be in these occasions, we want to win big moments on big occasions and get big results. And today, frankly, we weren't good enough.”
USA fans can watch the match on replay RugbyPassTV.
The USA remain in South Africa for a further week of training before a chance to rematch taking on the South Africans again next week in Pretoria’s Loftus Versfeld.
| 1 | Hope Rogers | 62 |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Kathryn Treder | 38 |
| 3 | Reece Woods | 4 |
| 4 | Rachel Ehrecke | 27 |
| 5 | Hallie Taufoou | 34 |
| 6 | Kate Zackary | 50 |
| 7 | Georgie Perris-Redding (C) | 22 |
| 8 | Freda Tafuna | 21 |
| 9 | Cass Bargell | 16 |
| 10 | Bella Vogel | 4 |
| 11 | Ashley Cowdrey* | 1 |
| 12 | Katana Howard | 26 |
| 13 | Telesi Uhatafe | 4 |
| 14 | Bulou Mataitoga | 32 |
| 15 | Alev Kelter | 37 |
| 16 | Paige Stathopoulos | 24 |
| 17 | Alivia Leatherman | 14 |
| 18 | Elizabeth Cook* | 1 |
| 19 | Kapoina Bailey | 5 |
| 20 | Tessa Hann | 6 |
| 21 | Hann Humphreys | 4 |
| 22 | Olivia Ortiz | 31 |
| 23 | Kristin Bitter | 11 |
Sat, July 4: USA vs. South Africa
7:30 am ET | Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Sat, July 11: USA vs. South Africa
7:30 am ET | Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
USA Women’s Eagles South Africa Tour Coaches & Staff
Jack Hanratty | Head Coach
Sarah Chobot | Assistant Coach
Lou Meadows | Assistant Coach
Jon Humphreys | Assistant Coach
Michael Deasy | Head of Athletic Performance
Sam Malette | Lead Athletic Trainer
Mia Pelton | Athletic Trainer
Abigail Hamilton | Team Physician
Hannah Reid | Team Manager
Rudy Betancourt | Videographer
USA vs Italy - 5:00pm
Saturday October 17th - Texas Health Mansfield Stadium, Mansfield, TX
USA vs Italy - 3:15pm
Saturday October 24th - GEODIS Park, Nashville, TN
USA vs England - 5:15pm
Friday October 30th - Sports Illustrated Stadium, Newark, NJ
