Eagle Women Turn It Around In Quarterfinals
Eagle Women Turn It Around In Quarterfinals
Well, the HSBC SNVS series is weird.
The USA women looked very shaky through pool play finishing off with a loss to New Zealand in which their passing left a lot to be desired, and even when they were close to scoring, they’d see the Black Ferns steal the ball and run the length of the field.
The 24-7 loss could have been worse save for the USA team battling through, and save for a late try from Jaz Gray in which she did a nice inside-out shimmy to take the edge.
With that try the moved up a notch from 8th seed in the top eight to 7th seed. That was a be careful what you wish for moment, as it pitted the Eagles against France.
So what happened? Head Coach Emilie Bydwell started Alev Kelter for the first time on the weekend and what Kelter brought was strength in contact and confidence. The passing was suddenly way, way better, and the result was a dominant showing.
The Eagles gave up a soft try when no one was there to form a ruck when Naya Tapper was tackled—France’s Carla Neisen picked up the ball and ran in for a try.
But after that it was all USA. The result was a long-range try for Sam Sullivan, who has been largely silent in Perth and looked a little bit frustrated in not having space and possession to work with. Kelter’s power running meant when the Eagles ran a move with her she broke out of tackles. She scored that way, and then was at the end of a series of runs and offloads for another. Converting all three, Kelter scored 16 of her team’s 21 points in the 21-5 win.
So, improbably, after looking like they were in real trouble, the USA women’s team is into the semifinals. If they can keep their passing as accurate and sympathetic as they had it against the French, they could do something. Next up, Australia at 11:46 tonight Eastern Time.
Australia defeated New Zealand in their quarterfinal, leaving the Black Ferns 3-0 in pool play but now playing for 5th, while the USA was 1-2 in the same pool and is now still in with a shot at the Cup.
Regardless of how the final day shakes out, the USA will move up in the standings. Ranked just ahead of them going into this weekend were Fiji and Canada, and they play each other for 7th. So one of those teams will end up with 8 points and one with 6 points. The USA will get at least 14, and even with that will go past both Fiji and Canada into 4th. Ireland is also in the semis—they play Great Britain. Team GB's performance will lift them into the top eight in the standings (crucial for qualifying for the championship tournament), while 7th-place Ireland should move past one or possibly both of Fiji and Canada. They could even catch the USA.
