September 13, 2016
Women Eagles Play France on Fall Tour
Doug Coil
This article is based on a USA Rugby Press Release by Chad Wise on September 13, 2106.
The USA Women’s Eagles will be on tour in France to play two test matches against the fourth ranked women’s rugby team in the world and 2016 RBS Women’s Six Nations Champion, France.
The first match will be on Tuesday, November 22 at Stade de la Méditerranée in Béziers with the second match set for Altrad Stadium in Montpellier Friday, November 25.
France holds a 7-1-1 record against the U.S. with the only win in the summer of 2013 in Southern California. Head Coach Pete Steinberg was at the helm then, but Peter Baggeta, Associate Head Coach, will lead the team on this tour. Steinberg is unable to attend as he and his wife are expecting their first child.
Steinberg said “France are a great team for us to play. They are consistently a top-four team and their level of physicality is probably the top in the world. It is also great to play in the heartland of French rugby in the south.”
Peter Baggetta has the experience to lead the Women Eagles. He was an assistant with the Eagles at Women’s Rugby World Cup 2014, was named associate head coach earlier this year and stepped in to lead the Eagles for the final match of the Super Series in July. He will continue that lead role with the Eagle for the Fall Tour.
The Women’s high performance pathway was structured to include both rugby 15s and 7s players. This will be the first time selections will be made with a unified women’s program with the goal of increasing the chance of success at the World Cup in 2017, the Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2018 and the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Alex Magleby, USA Rugby Director of Performance, said “One of the questions to come out of the last Olympic quadrennial is, are our players playing enough high-level rugby?” In this next cycle we see sevens and 15s working together to support the success of all U.S. teams, providing important, pressure-filled experiences for players as we aim to be on the podium in Tokyo.”
The Fall Tour team selections will be made based on Super Series performances, sevens residency performance, National All-Star Competition data from January and June, club and college campaigns, and additional international competition, including age-grade assemblies.
Roster and match times will be made available prior to the tour.
