Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
The USA have officially qualified for the Semi Finals of the Women’s Rugby World Cup after France defeated Ireland by 21-5 in the final game of the pool stages in Dublin on Wednesday evening. It marks the first time the Eagles have reached the final four since 1998, when they finished runners-up to New Zealand in their third successive World Cup final.
Despite dropping their final pool match against England earlier in the day their total of 11 competition points, boosted by achieving the four-try bonus in each game, has assured them of qualifying for the Semi Finals as the best runner-up of the three pools. Canada fell to heavy defeat against New Zealand to drop out of contention in the first of six games on Wednesday.
Initially ranked 7th in the world heading into the tournament, wins over Italy and Spain have seen the Women’s Eagles jump one spot to No 4 on the official World Rugby Rankings. As the 4th-ranked team among the four Semi Finalists it’s New Zealand who the USA will have to contend with on Tuesday, while defending champions England will play Pool C winners France.
Tuesday’s match against the Black Ferns will take place at Kingspan Stadium as the tournament heads north to Belfast. Kickoff is set for 7:45pm local time, 2:45pm Eastern. The match will be broadcast live by NBC Sports Gold and also streamed live by World Rugby for those outside the USA.
