The championship USA women's teams of the 1990s were beautifully balanced, with hard-nosed forwards and brilliant backs.

It's hard to separate those backs from each other as they not only worked well as a unit, but seemed to mix their positions with no apparent loss of quality. A wing could be a center or a fullback. But somehow, when they were all put together, you ended up with Candi Orsini in a #13 jersey making crunching tackles and scoring tries.

For Candi Orsini - Skill Is Not A Stunt - Tampa Bay Times 1994

The US Rugby Hall of Famer and stunt performer, coach, and announcer off the field, Orsini was simply brilliant.

She started at outside center for the first ever USA women's team (November 14, 1987, in Victoria, BC; a 22-3 win for the Americans), and was a fixture from then on. She didn't cross the line in that opening match, but did score twice in the rematch nine months later in Saranac Lake, and repeated that feat a year later in Edmonton.

Small but fast, and most certainly fearless, Orsini started every game for the Eagles in their run to the 1991 Women's Rugby World Cup, and was again in the middle of the action as the USA returned to the final in 1994. Her final outing for the USA was in the 1998 World Cup, where again the USA made the final.

Domestically, she was a star for the Florida State University team that played in the women's club competition. That team was undoubtedly one of the very best in the nation, making ten national finals in a 13-year span. Seeing as the team operated as a senior club, Orsini actually played for Florida State for 23 years. 

All told, Orsini played 19 times for the USA, scoring 13 tries, and setting up countless more for her teammates. In her 19 internationals, the USA went 16-3, losing only to England and New Zealand (twice), and threequarters playing with Orsini scored 61 tries in those games. That's no coincidence.

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