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It was a difficult opening for the Eagles on Friday, as they fell in convincing fashion to England in the opening round of the Women’s Rugby Super Series. They could not have asked for a more challenging task in their second match as the hosts are asked to front up against the world’s best team – New Zealand – on only three days rest.
Rotation in the pack sees four changes, two in the front row. Hope Rogers moves across from tighthead to loosehead prop, with Nick James wearing No3 and Katy Augustyn taking over at hooker. Alycia Washington replaces Kristine Sommer at lock, and Elizabeth Cairns comes in for Asinate Serevi in the back row, with Kate Zackary shifting from the flank to the back of the scrum.
Katana Howard is given her first test start in place of Gabby Cantorna at flyhalf, with Amy Talei-Bonté replacing Eti Haungatau in the midfield to win her first cap since 2015. Kris Thomas starts on the left wing and Bulou Mataitoga switches jerseys with Bui Baravilala to start on the right.
Head coach Rob Cain says the tough opposition is a learning opportunity for his young charges.
“We will get better at managing some of the headaches we created for ourselves through the experience of the last game. I think we need to remember the type of pressure England gave us and how that was the very first time many of our group had experienced that pressure before.
“The great thing is that we have another exciting prospect ahead of us, with the aspiration to use those key learning moments through our play. Having the players experience this type of pressure and tempo from the best teams in the world will allow them to make another step in the direction we are all headed as a group.”
New Zealand have kept their starting side largely intact after defeating Canada in their opening round match. Phillipa Love replaces Toka Natua at loosehead prop, and Natahlia Moors comes in on the right wing with Renee Wickliffe moving to fullback and Selica Winiata getting the day off.
There are three newcomers on the bench – hooker Forne Burkin, second row Joanah Ngan-Woo, and flanker Kennedy Simon are all poised to make their test debuts as replacements. International star Kelly Brazier also returns to the match day squad for the first time since the 2017 World Cup.
Black Ferns coach Glenn Moore is expecting the Eagles to front up in defense.
“We watched the match between USA and England, and the Americans brought a lot of physicality and made some big hits so we need to be ready for that. We’ve put strategies in place to counter what we expect them to bring and are ready.”
Kickoff is set for 5:15pm local time, 8:15pm Eastern. Live broadcasts will be available on FloRugby in the USA and Sky Sports in New Zealand. Tickets are available now on the USA Rugby site.
USA
1 Hope Rogers, 2 Katy Augustyn, 3 Nick James, 4 Stacey Bridges, 5 Alycia Washington, 6 Elizabeth Cairns, 7 Joyce Taufa, 8 Kate Zackary (capt.), 9 Ashlee Byrge, 10 Katana Howard, 11 Kristen Thomas, 12 Alev Kelter, 13 Amy Talei-Bonté, 14 Bulou Mataitoga, 15 Bui Baravilala
Replacements: 16 Catie Benson, 17 Charli Jacoby, 18 Joanna Kitlinski, 19 Nicole Strasko, 20 Kristine Sommer, 21 Olivia Ortiz, 22 Emily Henrich, 23 Eti Haungatau
NEW ZEALAND
1 Phillipa Love, 2 Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate, 3 Aleisha-Pearl Nelson, 4 Eloise Blackwell, 5 Charmaine Smith, 6 Charmaine McMenamin, 7 Lesley Elder (capt.), 8 Pia Tapsell, 9 Kendra Cocksedge, 10 Ruahei Demant, 11 Ayesha Leti-I’iga, 12 Chelsea Alley, 13 Carla Hohepa, 14 Natahlia Moors, 15 Renee Wickliffe
Replacements: 16 Forne Burkin, 17 Toka Natua, 18 Leilani Perese, 19 Joanah Ngan-Woo, 20 Kennedy Simon, 21 Arihiana Marino-Tauhinu, 22 Kelly Brazier, 23 Theresa Fitzpatrick
Date: Tuesday, July 2
Venue: Elite Athlete Training Center, Chula Vista
Kickoff: 17:15 local (20:15 Eastern)
Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)
Assistants: Joy Neville (IRFU) & Aurélie Groizeleau (FFR)
Broadcasts: FloRugby (USA) & Sky Sports (NZ)
