United States women's national rugby union team

Not to be confused with United States women's national rugby league team.

This article is about the women's fifteens team. For the women's sevens team, see United States women's national rugby sevens team.

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.

United States

Nickname	Eagles
Union	USA Rugby
Head coach	Sione Fukofuka[1]
Captain	Rachel Johnson
Most caps	Jamie Burke (51)
First colours Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current	9 (as of October 28, 2024)
First international
Canada 3–22 United States  (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; November 14, 1987)
Biggest win
Japan 0–121 United States  (Melrose, Scotland; April 15, 1994)
Biggest defeat
England 89–0 United States  (Worcester, England; November 21, 2021)
World Cup
Appearances	9 (First in 1991)
Best result	Champions 1991

Women's
World Rugby Rankings

• v
• t
• e

Top 20 rankings as of 17 February 2025^[2]

Rank	Change*	Team	Points
1		England	097.56
2		Canada	089.31
3		New Zealand	088.64
4		France	085.11
5		Australia	078.10
6		Ireland	078.03
7		Scotland	076.82
8		Italy	074.75
9		United States	074.20
10		Wales	072.58
11		Japan	066.41
12		South Africa	066.18
13		Spain	065.42
14		Samoa	060.56
15		Netherlands	060.20
16		Fiji	059.14
17		Hong Kong	056.20
18		Kazakhstan	055.23
19		Russia	055.10
20		Sweden	052.72
*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.

History

(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.

Record

Overall

See List of United States women's national rugby union team matches

Full internationals only

Correct as of October 11, 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

Main article: United States women at the 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
Champion   Runner-up   Third place   Fourth place * Tied placing † Best placing Home venue

Players

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	(1991-03-21)March 21, 1991 (aged 33)	23	Loughborough Lightning
Alivia Leatherman	Prop	(2002-08-09)August 9, 2002 (aged 22)	5	Life West Gladiatrix
Atumata Hingano	Centre	(1998-08-02)August 2, 1998 (aged 25)	6	USA Sevens
Bulou Mataitoga	Fullback	(1994-04-08)April 8, 1994 (aged 30)	18	Loughborough Lightning
Cassidy Bargell	Scrum-half	(1999-12-28)December 28, 1999 (aged 24)	2	Beantown RFC
Catie Benson	Prop	(1992-02-10)February 10, 1992 (aged 32)	45	Sale Sharks
Charli Jacoby	Prop	(1989-10-09)October 9, 1989 (aged 34)	29	Exeter Chiefs
Cheta Emba	Fullback	(1993-07-16)July 16, 1993 (aged 31)	9	USA Sevens
Emerson Allen	??		1	Life West Gladiatrix
Emily Henrich	Centre	(1999-11-10)November 10, 1999 (aged 24)	18	Leicester Tigers
Erica Jarrell	Prop	(1999-02-25)February 25, 1999 (aged 25)	10	Sale Sharks
Gabby Cantorna	Fly-half	(1995-08-02)August 2, 1995 (aged 29)	30	Exeter Chiefs
Hallie Taufo'ou	Second row	(1994-05-26)May 26, 1994 (aged 30)	19	Loughborough Lightning
Hope Rogers	Prop	(1993-01-07)January 7, 1993 (aged 31)	47	Exeter Chiefs
Joanne Fa'avesi	??	(1992-02-05)February 5, 1992 (aged 32)	7	USA Sevens
Kate Zackary (c)	Number 8	(1989-07-26)July 26, 1989 (aged 35)	37	Ealing Trailfinders
Kathryn Treder	Hooker	(1996-03-13)March 13, 1996 (aged 28)	22	Loughborough Lightning
Keia Mae Sagapiolu	Prop	(2000-05-12)May 12, 2000 (aged 24)	11	Leicester Tigers
Kris Thomas	??	(1993-07-01)July 1, 1993 (aged 31)	11	USA Sevens
Maya Learned	Prop	(1996-01-01)January 1, 1996 (aged 28)	13	Colorado Gray Wolves
McKenzie Hawkins	Fly-half	(1997-01-08)January 8, 1997 (aged 27)	17	Colorado Grey Wolves
Paige Stathopoulos	Hooker	(1993-08-23)August 23, 1993 (aged 31)	10	Beantown RFC
Rachel Ehrecke	Flanker	(1999-12-06)December 6, 1999 (aged 24)	15	Colorado Grey Wolves
Rachel Johnson	Flanker	(1991-02-05)February 5, 1991 (aged 33)	29	Exeter Chiefs
Sophie Pyrz	??		2	Life West Gladiatrix / Rhinos
Summer Harris-Jones	??	(1996-06-27)June 27, 1996 (aged 28)	4	USA Sevens
Tahlia Brody	Back row	(1994-09-10)September 10, 1994 (aged 30)	12	Leicester Tigers
Taina Tukuafu	Scrum-half	(2001-08-18)August 18, 2001 (aged 23)	10	Berkeley All Blues
Tess Feury	Fullback	(1996-03-15)March 15, 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]

World Rugby Women's 15s Player of the Year Year Nominees Winners 2003 Kathy Flores Kathy Flores

Coaches

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

See also

• 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

References

1. "Milton Haig to lead Women's Eagles for WXV tests". Americas Rugby News. September 15, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
2. "Women's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
3. "RWC 2021 Spotlight: USA". www.rugbyworldcup.com. November 14, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
4. "USA Rugby appoints Emilie Bydwell as General Manager of Women's High Performance". USA Rugby. November 15, 2017. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
5. Dean, Taylor (September 13, 2024). "USA Women's Eagles Traveling Squad announced for WXV 1 in British Columbia". eagles.rugby. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
6. "Harlequin Patty Jervey Inducted into IRB Hall of Fame". AHWRFC. November 14, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
7. "Jervey: WRWC 1991 was "an experience of a lifetime"". www.rugbyworldcup.com. April 14, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
8. Zeigler, Cyd (November 14, 2017). "Phaidra Knight is second American athlete inducted into World Rugby Hall of Fame". Outsports. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
9. Pengelly, Martin (November 4, 2017). "Meet Phaidra Knight: free radical flanker in World Rugby Hall of Fame". the Guardian. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
10. "Awards Roll of Honour - World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved March 16, 2024.

External links

• Official website