The USA Women's National Team played what was essentially a training scrimmage against England Wednesday, using all of their subs and using the game as a learning experience before Saturday's full test match between the two countries.

England and the USA have a long rivalry in women's rugby, dating back to the 1991 World Cup Final, won by the USA, and the 1994 World Cup Final, won by England. But with the growth of semi-pro women's rugby in England, the Roses have pulled away in recent years.

England now challenges New Zealand for supremacy in world rugby, and those two remain at the top. So playing England, and learning from those games, is crucial if the USA is to get back to being among the very best in the world, as opposed to just one of the top six or seven.

USA Head Coach Pete Steinberg said the practice game was useful. He used 27 players, and worked several new combinations. Overall, he said, the defense and the scrums were good, but the USA lineout, and, perhaps because of the lineout, the attack, were lacking.

The two teams meet up in a full test match July 6 in Surrey.

England then looks ahead to the Women's Rugby World Cup, where they meet Canada, Spain, and Samoa in Pool A. The USA will face off with Ireland, Kazakhstan, and New Zealand in Pool B.

There are three pools of four teams in the WRWC. After pool play, the top eight teams are re-seeded and play a quarterfinal-semifinal-final bracket, with consolation rounds as well. So a team must go at least 2-1 to be assured of a spot in the top eight. Finishing 3rd in your pool is not a guarantee of a quarterfinal berth, as one of those 3rd-place teams goes into the bottom bracket of four.

Points difference will be a crucial tiebreaker in the seeding, so Wednesday's issues with the offense come to the fore. If the USA defense holds and they can improve their offense, they of course can work a better points difference, and ensure a place on the quarterfinals. From there, anything can happen.