The Super Series (June 27-July 5) marks the USA Women's first test series since the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup. Eagle head coach Pete Steinberg has selected a relatively inexperienced squad that will learn the ways of senior international rugby against World Cup finalists England and host Canada, and New Zealand. Below is some more detail on who's making the trip north:

World Cup-ers
There are actually six players with Women’s Rugby World Cup experience, and they root both the forwards and backs. Props Hope Rogers (Penn State) and Sarah Chobot (Glendale), and hooker Katy Augustyn (Berkeley) lead the front row. Stacey Bridges (Twin Cities), who can lock and flank, played in the 2010 World Cup, but the 27-year-old missed out on the 2014 iteration.

Once USA 7s residents, halfbacks Deven Owsiany (San Diego) and Kimber Rozier (D.C. Furies) are now Eagle 15s players. The former played rugby in Australia after the France tournament, while Rozier, who got more playing time at flyhalf, linked up with Atlantis for a couple of tours.

Veterans
Four additional players have remained in the Eagle pool after being considered for the last World Cup. Molly Kinsella (lock), who has played in Australia, England, and Canada to diversify her rugby education, made her Eagle debut in summer 2014; while Jenny Lui (scrumhalf/Chicago North Shore), Laura Miller (lock/Glendale), and  Sam Pankey (flanker & center/D.C. Furies) were identified at the 2011 Nations Cup in Canada.

Radar Returners
There are several players who’ve been in and around the Eagle pool, but are now getting a shot at a cap. Lauren Rhode (flyhalf/D.C. Furies) has been upping her game as a resident at the American Rugby Pro Training Center. Jess Wooden (fullback/Atlanta), Joanna Kitlinski (flanker/Glendale), and Jenn Sever (Life West), who was seen playing center for San Diego in the fall and flyhalf/center for Life West in the spring, all looked good during the WPL finals and even better in Virginia. Alycia Washington (lock) has been around as well, starting in the All Americans and traveling abroad with the Midwest Thunderbird.

College Town
If May was a good month for Penn State domestically, then June/July will be a highlight internationally. There are two seniors looking for their first cap: prop Catie Benson and flanker Elizabeth Cairns, who join fellow senior Rogers. Recent graduate Bianca Dalal takes a break from the OTC (along with Navy alum Jane Parr, also a 7s resident) for a run at wing. Throw in alums Lui and Owsiany, and Penn State has six representatives heading to Canada.

The college contingent is bolstered by a group of seniors and recent graduates, who are primed for the next step in their rugby careers. Jordan Gray (BYU) is easily the most experienced, and the Cougar center/back row has been in the All American system for years. There are two fresh faces in Cheta Emba (Harvard), who finished her career under the tutelage of Sue Parker, and Sara Parsons (UN Reno), a first-year player, who was discovered at the DII regional championship and noted for thumping tackles from fullback.

But the youngest player on tour, West Point freshman Nicole Heavirland (center), has a good amount of experience, too. The academy recruited the All American for basketball, but Heavirland joined the rugby team in the spring, continuing a career that has taken her to the OTC as well as England for the U20 Nations Cup.

Newcomers
And then there are a few senior players who are entering the Eagle pool for the first time. Sam Luther (lock/Beantown) was a Northeast U23 all-star before joining the now-DI club, which is readying for the national championship this Saturday. Kelsi Stockert (Seattle) picked up the game with Washington’s Budd Bay and then-coach Alex Goff. She took some time off before joining up with the Saracens, also heading to the DI national championship this weekend. Tiffany Faaee, a New Zealand transplant with Samoan heritage, injects some international flavor. The 32-year-old joined New York Rugby Club for the 2014 Women’s Premier League season and turned heads while playing No. 8 during the November championship. The forward has a diverse background that includes representing Samoa’s Rugby League national team.

Be sure to tune into the Super Series games later this month into July, as the Eagles begin the three-year build-up to the 2018 world cup.