WXV – USA vs England – ARN Guide

The 1st division of the year-end WXV tournament officially kicks off in Vancouver on Sunday. It’s a first trip to the top tier for the USA, who will celebrate the occasion with a clash against tournament favorites England, the top-ranked side in the world and a team the Eagles haven’t beaten since 1991.

FORM GUIDE

Current World Ranking: 8 (74.97 points)
2024-08-17 – Japan 8, USA 11 (Osaka)
2024-08-11 – Japan 17, USA 17 (Kitakyushu)
2024-05-17 – Australia 25, USA 32 (Melbourne)
2024-05-10 – New Zealand 57, USA 5 (Hamilton)
2024-04-28 – USA 7, Canada 50 (Los Angeles)

Current World Ranking: 1 (96.90 points)
2024-09-14 – England 24, New Zealand 12 (London)
2024-09-07 – England 38, France 19 (Gloucester)
2024-04-27 – France 21, England 42 (Bordeaux)
2024-04-20 – England 88, Ireland 10 (London)
2024-04-13 – Scotland 0, England 46 (Edinburgh)

STARTING LINEUP CHANGES

1 Hope Rogers replaces Catie Benson
3 Charli Jacoby replaces Mae Sagapolu
7 Kate Zackary replaces Rachel Ehrecke
8 Rachel Johnson replaces Freda Tafuna
11 Kris Thomas replaces Tess Feury
12 Alev Kelter replaces Katana Howard
14 Cheta Emba replaces Sariah Ibarra (No15 vs Japan)

4 Rosie Galligan replaces Zoe Aldcroft
6 Morwenna Talling replaces Maddie Feaunati
7 Georgia Brock replaces Marlie Packer
9 Lucy Packer replaces Natasha Hunt
10 Zoe Harrison replaces Holly Aitchison
12 Phoebe Murray replaces Tatyana Heard
14 Bo Westcombe-Evans replaces Abby Dow

NOTES

• England have dominated the head-to-head meetings between the two sides, with 2011’s four-point gap in Oakville the most recent competitive contest
• John Mitchell has named an experienced Red Roses side but there is room for two new caps… 25-year-old inside center Phoebe Murray and 22-year-old winger Bo Westcombe-Evans make their debuts… 23-year-old flanker Georgia Brock gets her first test start and second cap
• at the other end of the spectrum, captain Alex Matthews wins her 70th cap while the most experienced player on the pitch will be Emily Scarratt, making her 114th test appearance
• England prop Mackenzie Carson is from Canada and played three tests for the Maple Leafs before switching allegiance to England… her test debut actually came opposite the Red Roses in November 2018… she played for Canada against the USA the following year
• the Eagles welcome back several players who did not feature on their recent tour to Japan… leading forwards Kate Zackary, Rachel Johnson, and Hope Rogers are joined by USA Sevens trio Alev Kelter, Kris Thomas, and Cheta Emba
• Rogers is the most experienced player in the USA lineup with 47 caps, followed by her backup Catie Benson who has 45… Johnson and Charli Jacoby play in their 30th international
• many of the USA players will be familiar to England, and vice-versa… 14 of the match 23 are currently signed to English Premiership clubs, including the entire starting forward pack

QUOTES

Sione Fukofuka (Head Coach)

“We welcome back core players to our on and off field leadership in Kate as Captain, Rachel as Vice-Captain and Hope as a part of the leadership group. They are all experienced world class players in our forward pack, they have a physical presence and add confidence to the players around them which will be important in WXV, especially against a strong England team. With the addition of Alev, Kris, and Cheta, we add strike power to our backline that we are excited to unleash.”

“The squad has worked really hard on their core skills, set piece and our collision work. We know we are in a performance tournament against the top 4 teams in the world and are excited to test ourselves against the best teams in the world as we continue to build to the World Cup.”

Lou Meadows (Attack Coack)

“We have been building on our game for the past eight weeks towards our WXV opener against USA. This group of girls is excited for their opportunity to attack the tournament right from the start. We understand our reality and just want to get playing.”

PREDICTION

Comfortable sunny conditions are expected which will allow for running rugby. Both teams have firepower out wide but England’s Jess Breach and Ellie Kildunne will be particularly dangerous. Up front the Red Roses should have a considerable advantage at the set piece. While the USA are building towards next year’s World Cup, the Red Roses are already in top form and are unbeaten since the 2022 World Cup Final. England are heavy favorites in Vancouver.

TEAMS

USA
1 Hope Rogers, 2 Kathryn Treder, 3 Charli Jacoby, 4 Erica Jarrell, 5 Hallie Taufo’ou, 6 Tahlia Brody, 7 Kate Zackary (capt.), 8 Rachel Johnson, 9 Taina Tukuafu, 10 McKenzie Hawkins, 11 Kris Thomas, 12 Alev Kelter, 13 Emily Henrich, 14 Cheta Emba, 15 Bulou Mataitoga

Replacements: 16 Paige Stathopoulos, 17 Catie Benson, 18 Mae Sagapolu, 19 Emerson Allen, 20 Rachel Ehrecke, 21 Sophie Pyrz, 22 Joanne Fa’avesi, 23 Tess Feury

ENGLAND
1 Mackenzie Carson, 2 Lark Atkin-Davies, 3 Sarah Bern, 4 Rosie Galligan, 5 Abbie Ward, 6 Morwenna Talling, 7 Georgia Brock, 8 Alex Matthews (capt.), 9 Lucy Packer, 10 Zoe Harrison, 11 Jess Breach, 12 Phoebe Murray, 13 Emily Scarratt, 14 Bo Westcombe-Evans, 15 Ellie Kildunne

Replacements: 16 Amy Cokayne, 17 Kelsey Clifford, 18 Maud Muir, 19 Zoe Aldcroft, 20 Maddie Feaunati, 21 Ella Wyrwas, 22 Holly Aitchison, 23 Helena Rowland

MATCH INFO

Date: Sunday, September 29
Venue: BC Place, Vancouver
Kickoff: 12:30 local (15:30 Eastern, 20:30 London)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 55°F (13°C), wind W 10-15mph (16-24km/h)
Broadcasts: RugbyPass TV

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Aurélie Groizeleau (France)
Assistants: Julianne Zussman (Canada) & tba (Canada)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)

HISTORY

HEAD-TO-HEAD (21): England 20,  USA 1
2022-09-03 – England 52, USA 14 (Exeter)
2021-11-21 – England 89, USA 0 (Worcester)
2019-06-28 – USA 5, England 38 (Chula Vista)
2018-11-09 – England 57, USA 5 (London)
2017-08-17 – England 47, USA 26 (Dublin)
2016-07-09 – USA 13, England 39 (Salt Lake City)
2015-06-27 – USA 13, England 39 (Calgary)
2013-08-07 – USA 21, England 36 (Greeley)
2011-08-02 – USA 11, England 15 (Oakville)
2010-08-28 – England 37, USA 10 (Guildford)