TUTUKAKA, NZL – Still smarting from their loss to Italy, the USA is looking ahead to Japan for Round 2 of the Women's Rugby World Cup.
The Eagles will need a big win to keep them in the hunt for a quarterfinal spot. USA vs Japan kicks off Saturday October 15 at 12:30AM ET (Friday night for the remaining USA time zones), streaming live on Peacock and a delayed broadcast on CNBC at 10:00AM ET, Saturday October 15.
Following the Italy match, Head Coach Rob Cain and Captain Kate Zackary identified some major issues—the lineout and finished in the red zone chief among them.
“It is about creating momentum, finding momentum and keeping it," said Zackary. "A few times we got it right, a few times we got it wrong, but the biggest thing is you have to learn from those mistakes and grow .. is most important."
Historically, the USA and Japan have only paired up once, a 121-0 Eagles win during the 1994 Rugby World Cup, so this fixture brings a lot of excitement for both unions as each are rising nations on the World Rugby stage. Japan fell to Canada in the opening round and will similarly be hungry for a bounce-back result. Cain has made a few adjustments to the starting squad and reserves, both from a tactical and injury perspective. Meya Bizer starts at fullback as one of seven changes to the starting fifteen from last weekend’s match. Tess Feury, Kristine Sommer, Charli Jacoby, Olivia Ortiz, Kathryn Johnson and Evelyn Ashenbrucker will get their first starting nod of the tournament. Kelter and Eti Haungatau paired in the middle while Johnson and Ashenbrucker will in turn make their Rugby World Cup debuts. Off the bench, Elizabeth Cairns, Kathryn Treder and Megan Foster will also have an opportunity for their own debuts on the Rugby World Cup stage. Off the bench, veteran Catie Benson will have the opportunity to earn her 30th cap, an achievement only surpassed by 10 USA Women’s Eagles to date.
USA captain @katezack28 looks for positives. But tries remain elusive. pic.twitter.com/cW9tlUPXNS
— Alex Goff (@goffrugbyreport) October 9, 2022
Japan has the ability to play a physical game and showed that last week, as it was something Head Coach Lesley McKenzie noted as a positive from the loss. The USA will equalize on that front, last week they showed to have a powerful scrum that resulted in a few turnovers against a bigger Italy side. Despite allowing 41 points, Japan also held that physicality at the goal line, an area where the USA have shined as both of last week’s tries came from short distance dives out of the breakdown. Prop Hope Rogers is also a specialist in the red zone as we’ve seen many times in the past. We should expect to see some hard-charging fireworks within the 5-meter line this coming Saturday.
“Week two of the Rugby World Cup and the six teams that didn't get the results we have all worked so hard for are all in the same situation, looking to learn, build and get the result this weekend," said Cain. "Japan being one of those we know will come out with real intent. We are not underestimating Japan in any way. Japan have shown just how threatening they can be in transition, around the breakdown and with their speed of play in attack.
“The past few days of preparation have gone well, there was of course lots of disappointment post our first game, but with such a quick turnaround it was critical we took what we needed out of our review and build again. We have looked at the areas that were not always accurate and the areas we had successes against Italy this week. We are excited for this squad who will represent the group here and the many at home cheering us all on. Thank you for all your messages of support.”
