USA Women's Rugby Look To Repeat 2022 Against Wallaroos In Pacific Four
USA Women's Rugby Look To Repeat 2022 Against Wallaroos In Pacific Four
The Pacific four rugby competition round two gets underway on July 8th at 4pm ET as the USA face off against Australia with several star players returning.
USA Women’s Rugby will look to get their Pacific Four campaign back on track following their round one loss to Canada.
Facing them are an Australian Wallaroo side who were on the wrong side of a heavy defeat to reigning world champions New Zealand in round one.
Having last met in 2022, the two sides are familiar with the strengths of one another thus making this a fascinating match-up.
Last time out, the USA emerged with a narrow 16 – 14 victory in Auckland, New Zealand.
Unlike round one, the USA will welcome back several front-line players who have just finished up with their club commitments in the English Premiership.
Key amongst the returning players is captain Kate Zackary who slots into the crucial outside centre position.
Having struggled defensively against the Canadians in round one, Zackary’s defensive capabilities and leadership will go a long way towards organising what is, by and large, an inexperienced squad.
Elsewhere Saracen’s star Lotte Clapp continues in the back three alongside Leicester Tiger’s Tess Feury and Knoxville Minx’s Jennine Detiveaux.
In the forwards, loosehead prop Catie Benson will anchor the scrum, having returned from the Sale Sharks. Her presence was sorely missed in round one. As the most capped player in the squad, she will be a valuable asset to tighthead Keia Mae Sagapolu who is making her second appearance.
Speaking about the inexperience of the squad, interim head coach Rich Ashfield was excited about seeing the new players get more exposure at the top level: “The focus is really on us progressing from what we achieved in Spain. We brought in new caps, and we want to move our game plan forward and try to play our game a little faster. The new debuts were all brought in for a reason. They are all exciting talents, and we want them to be able to express themselves and feel comfortable in this environment. Many of them have a long future ahead of them with the national teams.”
Kick-off for the match will be at 4 pm ET on Saturday, July 8th and will be broadcast live and exclusively on the FloSports app.