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After two long years of waiting the Senior Women’s teams for the USA and Canada will take the field at Infinity Park on Monday in the first of two matches between the North American rivals. Neither team were able to play a competitive match during the pandemic-stricken 2020 and this is their first action of 2021.
The series has been officially branded as part of the new “Pacific Four” competition though the full-version with Australia and New Zealand will not begin until 2022. For both Canada and the USA, the matches will serve not only as a warm-up for their two European tests but also as a turning point in preparations for next year’s World Cup in New Zealand.
Much has changed for the two sides, most notably the number of players plying their trades overseas. Nine of the 23 Eagles are currently signed to Premier 15s clubs while Canada have 10 players attached to clubs in France or England. Others on both teams spent the 2020-2021 season abroad.
Notably Exeter Chiefs supply three players to each side including both captains. Kate Zackary leads the USA with flanker Rachel Johnson and center Gabby Cantorna also present. Olivia DeMerchant skippers the Canadians alongside the entire Exeter front row in Emily Tuttosi and DaLeaka Menin.
Second row Jenny Kronish and flanker Rachel Ehrecke debut for the Eagles with reserve hooker Saher Hamdan and outside back Ilona Maher also uncapped. For Canada there is one debutante in the run-on side in winger Renee Gonzalez, with flyhalf Nakisa Levale and center Sarah-Maude Lachance the new names on the bench.
Canada won both legs of the Can-Am Series at Chula Vista in November 2019. The first saw the Eagles shut out 19-0 amidst a torrential downpour, while the second was a runaway 52-27 win for the visitors. Little can be applied from those contests given the length of time since though the Eagles will surely use the results as motivation.
In terms of rankings it’s Canada who have the advantage as they sit 3rd in the world behind England and New Zealand. The USA are not far behind at 6th overall. Conditions in Colorado are expected to be cloudy and cool, but with no wind or rain on the forecast there is every expectation for a competitive and entertaining contest.
Kickoff is set for 6pm local time, 5pm Pacific, 8pm Eastern. Live broadcasts will be available on the TSN website or app in Canada as well as World Rugby’s Facebook and YouTube channels.
USA
1 Hope Rogers, 2 Joanna Kitlinski, 3 Charli Jacoby, 4 Jenny Kronish, 5 Alycia Washington, 6 Rachel Ehrecke, 7 Rachel Johnson, 8 Kate Zackary (capt.), 9 Carly Waters, 10 Megan Foster, 11 Sarah Levy, 12 Gabby Cantorna, 13 Alev Kelter, 14 Tess Feury, 15 McKenzie Hawkins
Replacements: 16 Saher Hamdan, 17 Maya Learned, 18 Nick James, 19 Kristine Sommer, 20 Elizabeth Cairns, 21 Olivia Ortiz, 22 Joanne Fa’avesi, 23 Ilona Maher
CANADA
1 Olivia DeMerchant (capt.), 2 Emily Tuttosi, 3 DaLeaka Menin, 4 Courtney Holtkamp, 5 Emma Taylor, 6 Janna Slevinsky, 7 Karen Paquin, 8 Gabrielle Senft, 9 Brianna Miller, 10 Alex Tessier, 11 Sabrina Poulin, 12 Sara Kaljuvee, 13 Paige Farries, 14 Renee Gonzalez, 15 Emily Belchos
Replacements: 16 Gillian Boag, 17 Brittany Kassil, 18 Alex Ellis, 19 Tyson Beukeboom, 20 Sophie de Goede, 21 Justine Pelletier, 22 Nakisa Levale, 23 Sarah-Maude Lachance
Date: Monday, November 1
Venue: Infinity Park, Glendale
Kickoff: 18:00 local (17:00 Pacific, 20:00 Eastern)
Referee: Julianne Zussman (Canada)
Assistants: Amelia Luciano (USA) & Michael Jones (Canada)
TMO: Chris Assmus (Canada)
Broadcasts: TSN Digital (Canada), World Rugby Facebook / YouTube
RECENT RESULTS
2019-11-24 – USA 27, Canada 52 (Chula Vista)
2019-11-20 – USA 0, Canada 19 (Chula Vista)
2019-07-10 – USA 20, Canada 18 (Chula Vista)
2017-04-01 – USA 10, Canada 37 (Chula Vista)
2017-03-28 – USA 5, Canada 39 (Chula Vista)
2016-07-05 – USA 5, Canada 33 (Salt Lake City)
