Shuzoka, Japan (USA Rugby Release)—USA Women's 15s Head Coach Sione Fukofuka has announced his gameday 23 to face Japan in their second round of a two-match series.
You can watch USA v Japan live Saturday, August 17, at 5am ET, on RugbyPass TV.
Following a 17-17 draw with the hosts last week, Fukofuka made a few changes as the team worked on improvements to their game plan. Set to appear in her 45th match, Catie Benson comes in as the starting loosehead prop, while Keia Mae Sagapolu starts at tighthead. Taina Tukuafu comes in as the starting scrumhalf, and Katana Howard slides in at center.
Captain Tess Feury moves to wing position while Sariah Ibarra, who made her debut last week, starts at fullback.
On the finishers side, Gabby Cantorna is set to earn her 30th cap while Sagapulo's former Central Washington University teammate, Tessa Hann, who joined camp earlier this week as an injury replacement to Sophie Lamphier, has an opportunity to earn her first cap at flanker.
“We have made some changes to the front row based on rewarding players that have worked hard to get their physical metrics up and performed during our preparation," said Fukofuka. "Keia Mae Sagapolu and Catie Benson have both taken their feedback well and have pushed hard to earn selection. We are pleased in the depth of our front row that we are able to give opportunities across the two tests and be confident in our set piece platform.
"This test match provides us with a chance to get players game time with some real points of difference. In the backs, Taina Tukuafu gives us a running game and a threat around the ruck, Katana Howard’s kicking game allows us to relieve the pressure across the field, Bulou Mataitoga comes in and adds real experience and impact on the edge. Sariah Ibarra showed last week that she is an exciting prospect and deserves more game time to show that, and learn from her experience leading into WXV and World Cup. Changes on the bench are a combination of rewarding performance and looking at balance across the 23."
As for the game itself, Fukofuka has been looking at a 17-17 tie in which the fairly young USA team had scoring opportunities but couldn't convert in good time.
"We have focused on our own actions and controllables," the coach said. "We felt we hadn’t performed to the standards we set in PAC4 and let ourselves down. Japan put us under pressure and we didn’t respond to that pressure in the manner we have been working toward. We have worked hard this week on our collisions and our intent at the attack breakdown, as well as our detail in our set piece and attack shapes. We are fortunate to have the same opposition for two weeks in a row, which allows us to adapt some or our tactics to match the opportunities Japan presents.”
