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The USA will look to put their opening round defeat to Italy behind them as they take on Japan in their second pool match of the Rugby World Cup. Both competition points and scoring differential will be critical in determining seeding for the Quarter Finals, so the Eagles will be looking for a big performance in the Whangarei sunshine.
Rob Cain has freshened up his side with seven changes to the starting lineup. Charli Jacoby checks in at tighthead prop and it’s a new second-row pairing in Kristine Sommer and Evi Ashenbrucker. Kathryn Johnson takes over from Jordan Matyas on the blindside flank.
Olivia Ortiz is handed the No9 shirt, and there are two new names out wide with Tess Feury coming in on the left wing and Meya Bizer at fullback. Alev Kelter moves up to her preferred midfield spot as Katana Howard sits out entirely.
Japan were outclassed by Canada but Head Coach Lesley McKenzie has resisted wholesale changes. Up front there is a new hooker in Kotomi Taniguchi, while Kyoko Hosokawa starts on the flank with Seina Saito sliding to the back of the scrum.
The only alteration to the backline is at inside center where Minori Yamamoto comes in for the injured Shione Nakayama. Wako Kitano and Ria Anoku could make their tournament debuts from the bench.
It’s been 28 years since the two sides have faced each other. On that occasion the Eagles put up over a century at the World Cup in Scotland. That kind of scoreline isn’t on the cards this time, but a comfortable victory is the only acceptable outcome to keep the USA’s Quarter Final hopes alive.
Kickoff is set for 5:30pm local time, 12:30am Eastern, Friday 9:30pm Pacific. Live broadcasts will be available on Peacock in the USA, TSN 4 in Canada, and ESPN in Latin America.
USA
1 Hope Rogers, 2 Joanna Kitlinski, 3 Charli Jacoby, 4 Kristine Sommer, 5 Evi Ashenbrucker, 6 Kathryn Johnson, 7 Rachel Johnson, 8 Kate Zackary (capt.), 9 Olivia Ortiz, 10 Gabby Cantorna, 11 Tess Feury, 12 Alev Kelter, 13 Eti Haungatau, 14 Jennine Detiveaux, 15 Meya Bizer
Replacements: 16 Kathryn Treder, 17 Catie Benson, 18 Nick James, 19 Jenny Kronish, 20 Elizabeth Cairns, 21 Carly Waters, 22 Megan Foster, 23 Lotte Clapp
JAPAN
1 Saki Minami (capt.), 2 Kotomi Taniguchi, 3 Sachiko Kato, 4 Yuna Sato, 5 Maki Takano, 6 Iroha Nagata, 7 Kyoko Hosokawa, 8 Seina Saito, 9 Megumi Abe, 10 Ayasa Otsuka, 11 Komachi Imakugi, 12 Minori Yamamoto, 13 Mana Furuta, 14 Hinano Nagura, 15 Rinka Matsuda
Replacements: 16 Hinata Komaki, 17 Nijiho Nagata, 18 Wako Kitano, 19 Kie Tamai, 20 Otoka Yoshimura, 21 Moe Tsukui, 22 Ria Anoku, 23 Ayano Nagai
Date: Saturday, October 15
Venue: Northland Events Centre, Whangarei
Kickoff: 17:30 local (00:30 Eastern, Friday 21:30 Pacific)
Referee: Amber McLachlan (Australia)
Assistants: Maggie Cogger-Orr (New Zealand) & Maria Beatrice Benvenuti (Italy)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)
Broadcasts: ESPN (Latin America), Peacock (USA), TSN 4 (Canada)
HISTORICAL RESULTS
1994-04-15 – USA 121, Japan 0 (Melrose)
