KITAKYUSHU, JAPAN—The USA Women’s Eagles arrived in Japan this week for a two-test series against the hosts, as Tess Feury captains the squad into their first test match against Japan since Rugby World Cup 2021 (played in 2022).
While this team cannot be called a youth movement, it is, in general, younger than the rosters we've seen of late. When faced with a choice, Head Coach Sione Fukofuka has clearly settled on a somewhat younger player. And with the WXV coming up this makes sense.
Alivia Leatherman starts as the loosehead prop, with vice captain Kathryn Treder and Charli Jacoby joining in on the front row. McKenzie Hawkins starts as flyhalf as she steps into a vice captain role for the Japan tour. Summer Harris-Jones also returns to USA residency and her first starting position since 2024 Pacific Four Series last spring.
Notable also is Hallie Taufoou, who was so cruelly injured during the last World Cup but who brings a massive work rate and mobility in the second row. Freda Tafuna, the 2024 MA Sorensen Award-winner as the top women's collegiate player in the country, comes in at No. 8.
Freda Tafuna Wins the 2024 MA Sorensen Award from Goff Rugby Report on Vimeo.
Tafuna is one of three Sorensen winners on the roster, with Hawkins and Emily Henrich the other two.
On bench, Maya Learned returns to an Eagles roster for the first time since the 2023 Pacific Four Series over a year ago. Emerson Allen, Sophie Pyrz, and Sariah Ibarra have an opportunity to earn their first Eagles cap coming off bench. Ibarra is an interesting pick as she emerged as a major star and leader of the Belmont Shore program. She played for the U18s in 2022 but then went to New Zealand to work with their 7s program. She was tabbed as a potential Silver Fern (she qualified for both countries) before returning to the USA.
Her getting a cap against Japan will establish her as a USA player.
Allen and Pyrz have been in the pathway and competing with the Rhinos Rugby Academy, a USA Rugby National Development Program.
Having played Japan only twice in program history, both during the Rugby World Cup, the 11th ranked Japanese team should be a great series of fixtures ahead of the first venture into WXV1 for the United States. The tour will be a two-match series, with matches on August 11 and the second August 17, both streaming live in the US on RugbyPass TV.
Game 1: USA vs Japan KO 5AM ET Sunday, August 11>>
Game 2: USA vs Japan KO 5AM ET Saturday, August 17>>
“The team has settled in well and has adjusted well to the short prep and heat here in Fukuoka," said Fukofuka. "We have had two on-field sessions where we have worked hard at connecting after being apart since PAC4, and aligning our standards across the squad with a number of new faces coming in.
"It's exciting to be able to provide the opportunity for the new faces in the roster to add their value to the jersey. I’m happy to see the hard work that Emerson Allen and Sophie Pyrz have put in over the past six months has paid off. It’s great to see Maya Learned and Summer Harris-Jones back in the USA match day roster and we are excited to see Sariah Ibarra express herself on the field. Building depth and competition across the squad is a key focus and this series against a very good Japan team is a great opportunity to provide that opportunity.”
