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The USA Women's National Team XVs represents the United States in women's international rugby union. The team was officially formed in 1987 and is nicknamed the Eagles.
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2014) |
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| Nickname | Eagles | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Union | USA Rugby | ||
| Head coach | Sione Fukofuka[1] | ||
| Captain | Rachel Johnson | ||
| Most caps | Jamie Burke (51) | ||
| |||
| World Rugby ranking | |||
| Current | 9 (as of 28 October 2024) | ||
| First international | |||
 Canada 3–22 United States  (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; 14 November 1987) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
 Japan 0–121 United States (Melrose, Scotland; 15 April 1994) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 England 89–0 United States (Worcester, England; 21 November 2021) | |||
| World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 9 (First in 1991) | ||
| Best result | Champions 1991 | ||
| Rank | Change* | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | England | 97.56 |
| 2 | | Canada | 89.31 |
| 3 | |  New Zealand | 88.64 |
| 4 | |  France | 85.11 |
| 5 | |  Australia | 78.10 |
| 6 | |  Ireland | 78.03 |
| 7 | |  Scotland | 76.82 |
| 8 | |  Italy | 74.75 |
| 9 | | United States | 74.20 |
| 10 | |  Wales | 72.58 |
| 11 | | Japan | 66.41 |
| 12 | |  South Africa | 66.18 |
| 13 | |  Spain | 65.42 |
| 14 | |  Russia | 61.10 |
| 15 | |  Samoa | 60.56 |
| 16 | |  Netherlands | 60.20 |
| 17 | |  Fiji | 59.14 |
| 18 | |  Hong Kong | 56.20 |
| 19 | |  Kazakhstan | 55.23 |
| 20 | |  Sweden | 52.72 |
| *Change from the previous week | |||
An international powerhouse during the 1990s— the Eagles won the inaugural 1991 Women's World Cup and finished second in the two following World Cups in 1994 and 1998. The team finished fourth at the 2017 Rugby World Cup in Ireland.[3]
In May 2018, Rob Cain was appointed full-time Head Coach. Cain joined the Eagles after winning the inaugural Tyrell Premier 15s title in England with Saracens Women.
(Source: US Women's Rugby Foundation)
The history of women's rugby in the United States can be traced back to three teams that existed in 1972 – the Colorado State University Hookers at Fort Collins; the University of Colorado, at Boulder; and the University of Illinois, at Champaign. During the mid-1970s women's teams began to spring up on college campuses across the United States. As those players graduated they went on to set up teams near cities and urban centers. At that time there was only one division for all women's rugby. In 1975, United States Rugby Football Union was formed and contained four territories. At this time the women had their own Board of Directors and followed in parallel USARFU with four territories (East, Midwest, West and Pacific). In 1978, the first Women's National Championships was held. The Chicago Women's Rugby Club in Chicago, Illinois hosted this event. The winner of that championship was Portland, Maine.[citation needed]
1980s–1997
In 1985, the first semblance of a national team was formed. An ‘invitation-only’ team was put together and made up of, arguably, the top women playing the game at the time. The team was named WIVERN and toured throughout England and France. The team finished the tour undefeated. Many of these players went on to be selected for the 1991 World Cup Team.
In 1987 the USA women's national team was officially born with their first match against the Canadian women's national team. Although the women were not permitted to wear the Eagle logo, this match was sanctioned by Rugby Canada and USA Rugby. USA and Canada began holding an annual match, which became known as the CanAm series. For ten years the Women Eagles went undefeated in this test series.[citation needed]
In 1990, the women's national team, competing under the name “USA Presidents 15,” traveled to New Zealand to compete in the historic Women's World Rugby Festival. The WNT posted a record of 3–1 with their only loss coming at the hands of New Zealand. In 1991 the first Women's Rugby World Cup was held in Cardiff, Wales. Coached by Beantown's Kevin O’Brien, a Welshman himself, and Minnesota's Chris Leach, a South African the stage was set for the US women to bring home the Cup. Defeating New Zealand in semi-final play, the USA women advanced to the finals where they defeated England. Also in 1991 the first woman was elected to serve on the USARFU Board of Directors. Jamie Jordan was elected Treasurer for the Board.[citation needed]
In 1997, The U23 women's national team was formed. USA Women's National Team Head Coach Franck Boivert appointed Penn State Coach Peter Steinberg to be Head Coach for the U23 Women's National Team program. At an event in the CanAm Series the US Women's National Team celebrated their 10-year anniversary by cheering on the Women's U23 National Team in their first test against Canada.
Present
The USA Women's National Team XVs finished fourth at Rugby World Cup 2017 in Ireland which earned them automatic qualification to the next World Cup in New Zealand in 2021. In early 2018, the program hired former Women's National Team player Emilie Bydwell to serve as its General Manager of Women's High Performance.[4] Soon after in May, Rob Cain was appointed full-time Head Coach and has since helped lead the program in a new direction.
The Women's National Team Program fields a number of age-grade and development programs including the High School All-Americans (U18), Under-20s, Collegiate All-Americans and USA Selects. All age-grade and development programs are umbrellaed under the national team program and serve as a feeder to the senior Women's Eagles.
Overall
See List of United States women's national rugby union team matches
- Full internationals only
Correct as of 11 October 2024
| Opponent | First game | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 1997 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 75% |
| Canada | 1987 | 46 | 19 | 0 | 27 | 41.3% |
| England | 1991 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 4.76% |
| France | 1996 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 14.29% |
| Ireland | 1994 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 55.56% |
| Italy | 2012 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 50% |
| Japan | 1994 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 75% |
| Kazakhstan | 2010 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Netherlands | 1990 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| New Zealand | 1990 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 6.25% |
| Russia | 1998 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Samoa | 2023 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Scotland | 1998 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 71.43% |
| South Africa | 2009 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 83.33% |
 Soviet Union | 1990 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Spain | 1998 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Sweden | 1994 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Wales | 1993 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Total | 1987 | 153 | 67 | 2 | 84 | 43.79% |
Rugby World Cup
| Rugby World Cup | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | Squad | ||||
| 1991 |
Champions | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 79 | 6 | Squad | ||||
| 1994 |
Runners-up | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 387 | 53 | Squad | ||||
| 1998 |
Runners-up | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 200 | 76 | Squad | ||||
| 2002 |
7th place | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 124 | 43 | Squad | ||||
| 2006 |
5th place | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 87 | 47 | Squad | ||||
| 2010 |
5th place | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 136 | 82 | Squad | ||||
| 2014 |
6th place | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 95 | 139 | Squad | ||||
 2017 |
4th place | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 128 | 135 | Squad | ||||
| 2021 |
Quarter-final | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 65 | 100 | Squad | ||||
| 2025 |
Qualified | |||||||||||
| 2029 |
TBD | |||||||||||
| 2033 |
Automatically Qualified as Hosts | |||||||||||
| Total | Champions | 42 | 26 | 0 | 16 | 1301 | 681 | Squad | ||||
| ||||||||||||
Current squad
On September 14, Head Coach, Sione Fukofuka, announced the Eagles 30-player squad to travel to the WXV 1 competition.[5]
| Player | Position | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club/province |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alev Kelter | Centre | 21 March 1991 (aged 33) | 23 | Loughborough Lightning |
| Alivia Leatherman | Prop | 9 August 2002 (aged 22) | 5 | Life West Gladiatrix |
| Atumata Hingano | Centre | 2 August 1998 (aged 25) | 6 | USA Sevens |
| Bulou Mataitoga | Fullback | 8 April 1994 (aged 30) | 18 | Loughborough Lightning |
| Cassidy Bargell | Scrum-half | 28 December 1999 (aged 24) | 2 | Beantown RFC |
| Catie Benson | Prop | 10 February 1992 (aged 32) | 45 | Sale Sharks |
| Charli Jacoby | Prop | 9 October 1989 (aged 34) | 29 | Exeter Chiefs |
| Cheta Emba | Fullback | 16 July 1993 (aged 31) | 9 | USA Sevens |
| Emerson Allen | ?? | 1 | Life West Gladiatrix | |
| Emily Henrich | Centre | 10 November 1999 (aged 24) | 18 | Leicester Tigers |
| Erica Jarrell | Prop | 25 February 1999 (aged 25) | 10 | Sale Sharks |
| Gabby Cantorna | Fly-half | 2 August 1995 (aged 29) | 30 | Exeter Chiefs |
| Hallie Taufo'ou | Second row | 26 May 1994 (aged 30) | 19 | Loughborough Lightning |
| Hope Rogers | Prop | 7 January 1993 (aged 31) | 47 | Exeter Chiefs |
| Joanne Fa'avesi | ?? | 5 February 1992 (aged 32) | 7 | USA Sevens |
| Kate Zackary (c) | Number 8 | 26 July 1989 (aged 35) | 37 | Ealing Trailfinders |
| Kathryn Treder | Hooker | 13 March 1996 (aged 28) | 22 | Loughborough Lightning |
| Keia Mae Sagapiolu | Prop | 12 May 2000 (aged 24) | 11 | Leicester Tigers |
| Kris Thomas | ?? | 1 July 1993 (aged 31) | 11 | USA Sevens |
| Maya Learned | Prop | 1 January 1996 (aged 28) | 13 | Colorado Gray Wolves |
| McKenzie Hawkins | Fly-half | 8 January 1997 (aged 27) | 17 | Colorado Grey Wolves |
| Paige Stathopoulos | Hooker | 23 August 1993 (aged 31) | 10 | Beantown RFC |
| Rachel Ehrecke | Flanker | 6 December 1999 (aged 24) | 15 | Colorado Grey Wolves |
| Rachel Johnson | Flanker | 5 February 1991 (aged 33) | 29 | Exeter Chiefs |
| Sophie Pyrz | ?? | 2 | Life West Gladiatrix / Rhinos | |
| Summer Harris-Jones | ?? | 27 June 1996 (aged 28) | 4 | USA Sevens |
| Tahlia Brody | Back row | 10 September 1994 (aged 30) | 12 | Leicester Tigers |
| Taina Tukuafu | Scrum-half | 18 August 2001 (aged 23) | 10 | Berkeley All Blues |
| Tess Feury | Fullback | 15 March 1996 (aged 28) | 28 | Leicester Tigers |
| Tessa Hann | ?? | 1 | Colorado Gray Wolves |
Previous squads
Notable players
Two former Eagles have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame: Patty Jervey and Phaidra Knight.
Patty Jervey was inducted in 2014. She was the first player to play in five Women's Rugby World Cups. She won the inaugural tournament in 1991 and appeared in the 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006 editions. She made her Eagles debut in 1989 and has won 40 caps, and scored 178 points.[6][7]
Phaidra Knight was inducted in 2017. She has been capped 35 times for the Eagles and has appeared at three Women's Rugby World Cups – 2002, 2006 and 2010. She was named USA Rugby Player of the Decade in 2010. Knight also represented the USA Women's Sevens, from 2006 to 2009.[8][9]
Award winners
The following United States players have been recognized at the World Rugby Awards since 2001:[10]
|
 | This section needs to be updated. (April 2024) |
| Name | Years |
|---|---|
| Kevin O'Brien | 1991 |
| Franck Boivert | 1994 |
| Martin Gallagher | 2002 |
| Kathy Flores | 2002–2011 |
| Peter Steinberg | 2011–2017 |
| Rob Cain | 2018–2024 |
| Sione Fukofuka | 2024–Present |
- Women's Premier League Rugby
- Rugby union in the United States
- Women's international rugby – the most complete listing of all women's international results since 1982
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