2019 Women’s Rugby Super Series Preview

The Women’s Rugby Super Series is back – bigger and better than ever. Previously a four team event, the round-robin competition was last held in 2016 at Salt Lake City. This time the top five teams in the world will be hosted at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, part of the San Diego metropolitan area.

A total of 10 games will be over five dates starting on Friday, June 28, with the final round on Sunday, July 14. Joining hosts USA and northern neighbors Canada are two Six Nations sides in France and England, with the headline spot going to World Cup champions New Zealand.

Indeed the highly anticipated rematch of the 2017 Final is set for the last day of the competition. Other fierce battles along the way will include the Six Nations clash between England and France, and the North American collision of Canada and the USA.

It’s not just rankings that are on the line. Preparations for the 2021 World Cup in New Zealand are well underway and players will be looking to put themselves front and center for future selection. There are new caps in every squad and with four matches in a tight space, all will get their chance to shine.

All matches will be broadcast live on FloRugby in the USA, and Sky Sports in New Zealand. Tickets are available now on the USA Rugby site.

 

FIXTURES

DATE	PT	ET	TEAM 1	TEAM 2
Fri, Jun 28	13:00	16:00	England	USA
Fri, Jun 28	16:00	19:00	Canada	New Zealand
Tues, Jul 2	14:15	17:15	France	Canada
Tues, Jul 2	17:15	20:15	New Zealand	USA
Sat, Jul 6	14:15	17:15	France	New Zealand
Sat, Jul 6	17:15	20:15	Canada	England
Wed, Jul 10	14:15	17:15	England	France
Wed, Jul 10	17:15	20:15	Canada	USA
Sun, Jul 14	13:00	16:00	New Zealand	England
Sun, Jul 14	16:00	19:00	France	USA

 

NEW ZEALAND

World Ranking: 1
2017 World Cup: Champions
Captain: Lesley Elder

Head Coach: Glenn Moore (5th year)

“This is a very exciting squad – a real mix of experienced players and younger players ready to make their mark. We will be facing four of the top teams in the world in USA, Canada, France and England – it’s going to be fantastic festival of rugby.”

Forwards: Phillipa Love (Canterbury), *Toka Natua (Waikato), *Aleisha-Pearl Nelson (Auckland), Leilani Perese (Counties Manukau), Olivia Ward-Duin (North Harbour), Forne Burkin (Canterbury), Luka Connor (Bay of Plenty), *Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate (Counties Manukau), *Eloise Blackwell (Auckland), Karli Faneva (Bay of Plenty), Joanah Ngan-Woo (Wellington), *Charmaine Smith (Auckland), *Lesley Elder (Bay of Plenty), Charmaine McMenamin (Auckland), Marcelle Parkes (Wellington), Kennedy Simon (Waikato), Pia Tapsell (North Harbour)

Backs: *Kendra Cocksedge (Canterbury), Arihiana Marino-Tauhinu (Counties Manukau), *Chelsea Alley (Waikato), *Kelly Brazier (Bay of Plenty), Krysten Cottrell (Hawke’s Bay), Ruahei Demant (Auckland), *Theresa Fitzpatrick (Auckland), *Carla Hohepa (Waikato), Ayesha Leti-I’iga (Wellington), Natahlia Moors (Auckland), Alena Saili (Southland), *Renee Wickliffe (Bay of Plenty), *Selica Winiata (Manawatu)

*2017 World Cup participant

 

ENGLAND

World Ranking: 2
2017 World Cup: Finalists
Captain: Sarah Hunter

Head Coach: Simon Middleton (5th year)

“For us it’s about taking what we’ve worked on in training into matches and really looking to challenge our performance levels under the pressure of high-caliber competition. It’s about taking our game to the next level.

“We’re going to find out a lot about this group of players as well. It will be an important experience for them and there will be a real test of character and resilience with some four-day turnarounds. The level at which we can repeat perform under pressure will ultimately tell us where we are as a group at this point.

“I think fans can expect some cracking games to really showcase women’s rugby and what we’re capable of as an international competition. We’ve been given a platform; now we want to do that justice and be part of a really ground-breaking tournament.”

Forwards: *Sarah Bern (Bristol), Hannah Botterman (Saracens), *Vickii Cornborough (Harlequins), Chloe Edwards (Harlequins), Ellena Perry (Saracens), Lark Davies (Worcester), *Heather Kerr (Darlington Mowden Park), Clara Nielson (Bristol), *Zoe Aldcroft (Gloucester-Hartpury), Cath O’Donnell (Loughborough), *Abbie Scott (Harlequins), Sarah Beckett (Waterloo), Jo Brown (Loughborough), *Poppy Cleall (Saracens), *Sarah Hunter (Loughborough), *Marlie Packer (Saracens)

Backs: *Natasha Hunt (Gloucester-Hartpury), Claudia MacDonald (Wasps), *Leanne Riley (Harlequins), Zoe Harrison (Saracens), *Emily Scott (Harlequins), Tatyana Heard (Gloucester-Hartpury), *Amber Reed (Bristol), *Emily Scarratt (Loughborough), Carys Williams (Loughborough), Sarah McKenna (Saracens), Kelly Smith (Gloucester-Hartpury), *Lydia Thompson (Worcester), Lagi Tuima (Bristol)

*2017 World Cup participant

 

CANADA

World Ranking: 3
2017 World Cup: 5th Place
Captain: Laura Russell

Head Coach: Sandro Fiorino (3rd year)

“The Super Series is a great platform for our players and staff to compete and perform against the best nations in the world. With the Women’s Rugby World Cup 26 months away, it’s key for us as a team to have a good understanding of where we are at and where we need to build to after this series.

“The Can-Am was a successful camp that brought together the top 40 players and coaches in a highly competitive environment. The team maximized the time together by building out systems and a process that we’ll be attempting to build off after several strong but challenging performances against the USA in Guelph.”

Forwards: *Olivia DeMerchant (Fredericton Loyalists), Veronica Harrigan (London St. George’s), Maude Laliberté (CRQ), *DaLeaka Menin (Calgary Hornets), Gillian Boag (Capilano), *Laura Russell (Toronto Nomads), *Tyson Beukeboom (Cowichan Piggies), Ngalula Fuamba (TMR), Courtney Holtkamp (Red Deer Titans), McKinley Hunt (Aurora Barbarians), Sophie de Goede (Castaway Wanderers), Marie-Pier Fauteux (Sherbrooke Abénakis), Fabiola Forteza (CRQ), *Jacey Grusnick (Barrhaven Scottish), Gabrielle Senft (Castaway Wanderers), Janna Slevinky (Kingston Panthers), Sara Svoboda (Toronto Saracens)

Backs: *Lori Josephson (Guelph Redcoats), *Brianna Miller (SABRFC), Taylor Black (Oakville Crusaders), Anaïs Holly (TMR), Sara Kaljuvee (Toronto Scottish), *Alex Tessier (SABRFC), Marie Thibault (CRQ), *Amanda Thornborough (Westshore), Alysha Corrigan (Charlottetown RFC), Paige Farries (Westshore), Sabrina Poulin (TMR), *Elissa Alarie (SABRFC), Irene Patrinos (Toronto Saracens)

*2017 World Cup participant

 

FRANCE

World Ranking: 4
2017 World Cup: 3rd Place
Captain: Gaëlle Hermet

Head Coach: Stéphane Eymard (1st year)

(on his appointment last month)

“[Former coach] Olivier [Lievremont] is a close friend of mine. I was one of the choices of the Federation. Annick Hayraud called me for an interview a month ago, then I heard the news earlier this week that I was the top choice.

“I’m really looking forward to working on this great project. Proud, we will see after, before that we will have to accomplish things. I really want to work with the staff and I do not arrive in unknown territory, there are a lot of familiar faces and I know what was done before.”

Forwards: *Lise Arricastre (Lons), *Annaëlle Deshayes (Rouen), Célia Domain (Blagnac), Clara Joyeux (Blagnac), Agathe Sochat (Montpellier), *Caroline Thomas (Romagnat), Laure Touyé (Blagnac), *Lénaïg Corson (Stade Français), *Audrey Forlani (Blagnac), Fiona Lecat (Toulouse), *Safi N’Diaye (Montpellier), *Julie Annery (Bobigny), Axelle Berthoumieu (Blagnac), Coumba Diallo (Stade Français), Gaëlle Hermet (Toulouse), *Romane Ménager (Montpellier)

Backs: Laure Sansus (Toulouse), Pauline Bourdon (Bayonne), Camille Cabalou (Toulouse), Emma Coudert (Romagnat), Camille Imart (Toulouse), Morgane Peyronnet (Montpellier), Gabrielle Vernier (Lille), Cyrielle Banet (Montpellier), *Caroline Boujard (Montpellier), Maëlle Filopon (Toulouse), Marine Ménager (Montpellier), Élise Pignot (Romagnat), *Jessy Trémoulière (Stade Rennais)

*2017 World Cup participant

 

USA

World Ranking: 5
2017 World Cup: 4th Place
Captain: Kate Zackary

Head Coach: Rob Cain (2nd Year)

“We are under no illusions how tough the competition will be, but we also know how invaluable this experience is for us as a team. Having nine possible debutantes and only five players in the 28 squad in double figures for caps shows how important these games are for their development as individuals and collectively as a program.

“We knew where we were in 2018 and the first part of 2019 has allowed us to build upon this. This new chapter in the Women’s Eagles story is only ten months old and we have another 26-27 months of exciting adventures ahead as we look to Rugby World Cup New Zealand in 2021.”

Forwards: *Catie Benson (Life West), Charli Jacoby (Chicago North Shore), *Nick James (HARC), *Hope Rogers (USA Sevens), *Katy Augustyn (Berkeley All Blues), Joanna Kitlinski (Glendale Merlins), *Stacey Bridges (Beantown), Nicole Strasko (Life West), *Alycia Washington (New York RC), Elizabeth Cairns (Life West), Rachel Johnson (ORSU), Asinate Serevi (Scion), Joyce Taufa (Lindenwood), *Kate Zackary (San Diego Surfers)

Backs: Ashlee Byrge (USA Sevens), Olivia Ortiz (Davenport), Gabby Cantorna (Glendale Merlins), Katana Howard (Twin City Amazons), Bui Baravilala (San Diego Surfers), Amy Naber-Bonté (Life West), Eti Haungatau (USA Sevens), Emily Henrich (Dartmouth), *Alev Kelter (USA Sevens), Jennine Duncan (Seattle Saracens), Bulou Mataitoga (Berkeley All Blues), Neariah Persinger (Tulsa), *Kristen Thomas (USA Sevens)

*2017 World Cup participant