The USA Women’s National Team has already unleashed a very physical, hard-nosed defense, but is that enough?

As the team moves from Granville in Normandy to just South of Paris, questions remain about their offensive output. Players who talked to Goff Rugby Report say, just watch the next game.

“We have a few things we’ve put in,” said captain Shaia Turley. “And you’re
“Everyone knows that defensively we pack a powerful punch,” said captain Shaina Turley. “And offensively we’re ramping up with a couple of new things as well. It’s going to be exciting - it’s going to be our style of rugby.”

But the Eagles know they need to score points as well as prevent them. To get to the top four, they have to be sure to garner bonus points, and a good points difference.

“We have to get through Ireland and get that bonus point,” said back-rower Kate Daley. “There’s no point in thinking about New Zealand or anyone else until we get through Ireland.”

And against Ireland? The plan is simple:

“We need to score in the first 20 minutes, score in the second 20 minutes, in the third 20 minutes and the fourth 20 minutes,” said Daley. And she’s talking tries, not penalty goals.

Daley said she and the forward pack are confident, and it does seem as if the forwards are pretty set. What about the backs? According to Bui Baravilala, they are coming along just fine.

“The backline is going well,” said Baravilala. “Most of us have played 7s together. We kind of know how each other plays and we play well off each other. We have Nathalie [Marchino} and Vanesha [McGee} out on the wing, and a lot of talent everywhere.”

Emilie Bydwell has emerged as probably the central leader in the backline, but all have to execute. It’s fair to say most observers haven’t seen what the Eagles can do on attack. Baravilala, who is very much of a wild card as an attacking threat, is eager to show them.

“For me it’s exciting to come from 7s and jump right into 15s,” said Baravilala. “I’ve been gone for a bit and I’m excited. There’s definitely a challenge is having to move around more people. In 7s we have more space. But there are some opportunities where the style of play we have when I see the space it’s like 7s.

“We now it’s going to be a real physical game, but you also might see some surprises from us.”

The USA plays Ireland August 1 at 5pm local time, 11am EDT, 8am PDT.

Universal Sports’ coverage of the game begins 10:30am EDT.