Henrich: We're Hungry for a Win

08.18.2025National Teams

After a week in Loughborough the USA Women's National Team is finally officially at the World Cup, and has a daunting task ahead of it.

Head Coach Sione Fukofuka's side was able to get additional funding to have an extended assembly before the bit where World Rugby pays for it. It was training and scrimmages, but no all-encompassing game to worry about. It's the right combination. You can't just play against your teammates, said Eagle center/wing Emily Henrich; you've got to go against live opposition.

"We still had some competitive matches, scrimmages against Loughborough Lightning and Leicester Tigers, so I think for a lot of us, that was a good opportunity to just work different combos and get some different looks from different teams," Henrich told GRR. "Because at this point, we've been assembled for so long that I think you know your teammates so well. That isn't always the most accurate defensive picture or attacking picture because we're running the same system. So it was nice to have a little bit more freedom to not have an international test match on Saturday, but we still got some of the outcomes we were chasing by playing Leicester and Loughborough."

In the training sessions the coaches are pushing to raise the intensity, and "we've been trying to really own our contact skills, and it's hard to do that sort of bone-on-bone against each other week in and week out. It just nice to get that against someone else."

One gets the feeling that the Eagles are still figuring out what they have. On paper they have a ton of talent, but it hasn't necessarily coalesced in a consistent manner. But a backline that includes Ilona Maher, Alev Kelter, Henrich, Erica Coulibaly, Cheta Emba, and others has some talent.

"We're always chasing more," said Henrich. "I think the game against Fiji showed how lethal we can be when we're able to work the ball to the outside channels. In that first half, particularly, we were able to get outside the 15s and really stretch them width-to-width. And I think that showed how dangerous we can be just when we're able to like get the ball in our outside backs hands. We have a lot of really talented forwards who can get us a lot of go forward. And so as backs, a lot of that is then rewarding our scrum platform and our lineup platform by then getting the ball out wide to our speedsters and like our playmakers. Fiji was a good example of what we can do for like run-pass-kick options."

Great comments from Emily Henrich on her try vs. Fiji and the broader implications of it. @DartmouthWRugby pic.twitter.com/mJBLCecNzz
— Alex Goff (@goffrugbyreport) August 18, 2025

"But since then I think we've only just grown more as a team. We've gotten more time together, and really just like putting a lot of talent and a lot of work ethic and figuring out how those pieces fit together and try and figure out the best way to take on this World Cup because there is a lot of talent in that backline and you really want it to shine on game day."

Of course, it's a big disingenuous to talk about the "backline" as if it's separated from the forwards. Whether a team is working a 1-3-3-1 or a 2-2-2-2 or something else, the forwards and backs are working together in micro units.

"You want to get your boss in position early enough to be able to see the space and then ask for that ball out the back from your forwards," Henrich explained, adding that every pod group has a boss who is in charge of communicating what she reads and sees. "So that's been something we've really been building on just because our forwards have that passing skillset and giving them confidence by being there early and giving them those comms is important. And then for me, especially as a 13, 14, it's really trying to work in those outside channels and look for those 4v3 opportunities and how to best execute them. Whether that's just hands or a switch or looking for a little over unders line. I think that's one of my strengths on the pitch and we just hoping to get some of those opportunities that we can bounce back and execute the short side with a numbers advantage."

All of that stuff has to come together now against England on Friday afternoon.

GRR asked Henrich to talk about goals outside of the result. WIn or lose, the USA will still have a shot at the knockout stages. So yes playing the team that lost the last final 34-31 and is the host nation in the opening match is asking a lot.

"I think for us we've ID'd from the past few games that they come out firing," Henrich said. "They score a lot of points in those first 20 minutes and so we're a team that if we can frustrate them defensively with our line speed and just big collisions in those first 20 minutes and try and starve them with points, we'll get bigger payout later in the match. A lot of what we're focusing on this week is just how to make our one-on-one tackles and slow down their ball. Just because they have big ball carriers and they like to play pretty fast and they play really structured with to width rugby.

"So if we can frustrate them at the breakdown and make big collisions, it'll help us later in the game by keeping the scoreline low in those first 20 minutes. And then on attack we've just been thinking a lot about our counter attack just because they have some kicking threats and we also just want to be able to really stretch it width to width again. Like I said with our Fiji match we were able to show what we can do when we work the ball to width. So get some go-forward in the middle and test them out wide and I think we'll get payoff and have a really exciting game."

It will be, regardless of outcome, a memorable event.

"It offers us a big opportunity, with such a big crowd, that we may be the underdogs but we're really coming in hungry for a win," said Henrich.