Is U23 Border Battle The Start of RWC 2025 Push?

07.26.2023National Teams

usa u23 women v colombia colombia rugby 10 0

Could the push for the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup start today?

It's not an unreasonable question. As the USA Women's 15s program goes through its long-term coaching search and comes out of the 2021 World Cup (which was held in 2022), you've got to wonder if we're at a crossroads.

Women's college rugby has changed dramatically in the last several years, as NCAA varsity and D1 Elite programs have created daily training environments and paid overseas opportunities have made it easier to stay with the game at a high level. The hope was always that we'd see an influx of athletic, well-coached rugby players who love the game and raise the level.

Once they did that, we'd have a deeper pool of talent from which to form the Eagles.

We'd also have a talent pool that is more ready to compete as international rugby players.

We saw some of this already this year. We saw the USA U23s play two games against senior national teams, tying one and winning another. We saw a younger influx into the senior national team in the Pacific Four games, and it's fair to say that several of the younger players—Taina Tukuafu and Freda Tafuna to name just two—outplayed their older and more experienced peers.

It's not enough to pay your dues, you've got to perform. Now, it's also fair to point out that playing professionally overseas is still a relatively new experience for all of the USA players. And it's a relatively new experience for the English premiership teams, as well, and we've heard a few stories about players being overworked. This, of course, is what happened when men's rugby went professional in the late 1990s. At certain positions you might be able to get away with playing almost every minute of almost every game, but at other positions you just can't do that. Look at the USA lineups for this summer and see who wasn't there to understand what we're talking about.

But, aside from that, we're in a new era where we should not expect a player to "pay her dues" before the Eagles come a-calling. With all due respect to the WPL, which at times can be a high performance league, those daily training environments in the top colleges are developing a new breed of player. That breed of player—sharpened by more tough games, more likely Polynesian, more likely to have played before high school—will be the core of the 2025 and 2029 World Cup teams.

So, on to tonight. Tonight the USA U23s play Canada's U23s in the first of a two-game Border Battle in Quincy, Mass. The second game will be Sunday. Both will be on The Rugby Network.

Head Coach Katie Dowty spells it out:

“This squad is full of hungry young players who will feature in the upcoming World Cups. Several have already made their debuts on the senior squad, with 10 attending the recent top 40 camp, six who featured in the PAC4, and four who led the U20s. For those veteran players, it will be key to bring their learnings and leadership from those events into this next opportunity. Eti Haungatau had a stand out performance in the last World Cup, and this will be a wonderful chance for her to express herself and lead our next generation of Eagles."

Of the 28 players assembled for these Border Battle games, nine played last season in D1 Elite. One other, Haungatau, did so a year ago. A further eight played last season in NIRA. Two more played for BYU, which will be in D1 Elite this coming year and have been operating as a D1 Elite team for some time. The other eight come from different paths. Two (sisters as it happens) just finished high school. One is from an NCR D1 program. Two played college rugby at a slightly lower level but then joined strong women's programs to further their rugby. Three more (two of them sisters) are young players who opted to play in the club ranks, which shows that there is always room for a player to get noticed through other pathways, as is right.

What they all have in common is intense desire to compete now. And push for a senior national spot really, really soon.

Here's tonight's lineup to face Canada:

1. Alivia Leatherman (Notre Dame College)
2. Queenette Toomalatai (Life University)
3. Kaei Mae Sagapolu (Central Washington) Captain
4. Mona Tupou (EPA Razorbacks)
5. Malia Isaacs (Harvard)
6. Freda Tafuna (Lindenwood)
7. Tessa Hann (Central Washington)
8. Kapoina Bailey (Lindenwood) vice Captain
9. Taina Tukuafu (Lindenwood)
10. Kristin Bitter (Dartmouth)
11. Su Adegoke (Life University)
12. Eti Haungatau (Lindenwood)
13. Leila Opeti (Life West)
14. Sereana Vulaono (Chicago Lions)
15. Alex Wantlin (Life University)

Reserves:
16. Lauren Ferridge (Dartmouth)
17. Reece Woods (Eagle HS Idaho)
18. Olivia Woods (Eagle HS Idaho)
19. Mikaela Hall (Queens U. Charlotte)
20. Anna Van Dyk (Quinnipiac)
21. Lewanda Aspinall (BYU)
22. Autumn Locicero (Life University)
23. Matalasi Morissette (BYU)
24. Tiahna Padilla (Harvard)
25. Alyssa Cunningham (Sacred Heart)

Canada U23 Roster:
1. Zoe Williams (UVic)
2. Jordan McLeod (UBC)
3. Mya Brubacher (Queen's University Ontario)
4. Grace Anderson (Queen's University Ontario)
5. Julia Omokhuale (U. Calgary)
6. Rachel Smith (UBC)
7. Lizzie Gibson (Queen's University Ontario)
8. Tylo Borsboom (U. Ottawa)
9. Corinne Fréchette (Univ. Laval)
10. Claire Gallagher (U. Ottawa)
11. Carmen Izyk (Queen's University Ontario)
12. Maggie Banks (Queen's University Ontario)
13. Maggie MacKinnon (UVic)
14. Maelle Reed (UVic)
15. Savannah Bauder (UBC)

Reserves:
16. Madison Jumeau (UVic)
17. Cécile LeClerc (Univ. Laval)
18. Rori Wood (UBC)
19. Emily Clark (U. Guelph)
20. Siobhan Sheerin (Queen's University Ontario)
21. Justine Blatt-Janmaat (UVic)
22. Maddy Kushner (Queen's University Ontario)
23. Kendra Cosineau (U. Guelph)
24. Laura Guay (Univ. Laval)
25. Natalie Armatage (U. Guelph)

Is U23 Border Battle The Start of RWC 2025 Push?

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