The 2016 Olympics is finally a reality for the USA Women 7s team, and with that event penciled in the calendar, attention can now be shared with the Eagle 15s team. The upcoming Women’s Rugby World Cup is in a three-year cycle, to better align with the Olympics and 7s World Cup, and will be contested in 2017 as opposed to 2018. The women’s 15s World Cup will return to a four-year cycle after the 2017 event in Ireland.

The USA has some good, young talent shooting up the ranks (like 18-year-old Richelle Stephens at the NACRA 7s), and USA Women 15s coach Pete Steinberg sampled as much at the National All Star Competition, which brought 200+ players from the U20 through senior ranks together at one location. From that assembly, seven collegians earned their spot at the Super Series, which marks the USA’s first test matches since the 2014 World Cup. Over nine days in June and July, the USA will play Canada, England, and New Zealand in British Columbia.

During the run-up to the Super Series, we’ll take a more in-depth look at the players selected, but here’s some more insight into what Steinberg saw in the collegiate players he chose:

The one exception to the college rookie ranks is Hope Rogers. The World Cup prop was a fifth-year senior at Penn State this season.

“She’s a veteran,” Steinberg confirmed. “We’re excited to have her step up and lead in Canada.”

Rogers’ counterpart – Catie Benson – helped make Penn State the most powerful scrum in the college game. A former All American, Benson was a fifth-year senior as well.

“Catie is the product of our selection approach for the Super Series, which was to emphasize dynamic players,” Steinberg said. “She’s a very athletic prop who is impactful around pitch.”

Elizabeth Cairns rounds out the Penn State trifecta. During the senior flanker’s four years with the team, the Nittany Lions have won four-straight DI national championships. The captain is a former All American as well.

“She was considered for the MVP of the final four,” Steinberg said. “A big step up, but she grew into the matches throughout the NASC. She’s also a product of the [player development] pathway.”

BYU’s Jordan Gray was arguably the most predominant pathway product during the week-long NASC.

“Jordan was hugely impressive at the NASC,” the coach said. “Her work rate and physicality really stood out. She is a very physical tackler and ballcarrier, and we are excited to see what she can do in the international arena.”

Gray will likely play in the loose forwards with Cairns, and they’ll become acquainted with newcomer Sara Parsons, who hails from UN Reno. Women’s National Team scout Jaime Burke spotted the power player at the DII college regional championships, and was impressed that the then-fullback/center had less than a year’s experience.

“She is one of the finds of the season,” Steinberg said. “She’s a former softball centerfielder, and played her first-ever game at No. 8 and flanker during the week [at NASCs]. She runs hard and hits hard. We need to manage her integration into the high level of play, but with Jordan and Bitsy [Cairns], that could develop into an elite back row.”

The Super Series backline is led by experienced halfbacks – Kimber Rozier, Deven Owsiany, Jenny Lui – but their teammates outside of them are untested. It leaves a lot of room for experimentation, and Cheta Emba and Nicole Heavirland will be looking to distinguish themselves.

Emba just graduated from Harvard and leaves with two-and-a-half years of rugby experience on her resume. She had been recruited as a soccer goalkeeper.

“She is a big athletic wing, and her soccer background means she has the ability to kick,” Steinberg indicated. “Cheta demonstrated her finishing ability in the second match [at NASC], where she took every chance she could.”

Heavirland just finished her first year at West Point, where she was recruited to play basketball. She turned to the rugby team in the spring and was the undeniable MVP of Army’s ACRA 7s Championship. Heavirland has been on the radar for a few years now, having played at the U20 Nations Cup in England (along with Cairns and Gray) when she was still in high school.

“She’s another player who grew during the week at JMU,” the coach said. “She showed her athleticism in the first game, but in the second game she showed her rugby ability. She can kick and can cover multiple positions.”

There will be many new faces taking the pitches in British Columbia, but this cast of players will lend a glimpse into what’s happening at the college level. The country is eager to see what its young talent is capable of.

What do the other Super Series teams' rosters look like? Read more.