USA Women’s Eagles November Tests

The U.S. Women’s Eagles will play Ireland at Energia Park on November 18 as part of the 2018 November Test series. The USA will first play the New Zealand Black Ferns at Soldier Field on Nov. 3, part of The Rugby Weekend, as well as another test in Europe and an “A” level game to be announced later.

Earlier Rob Cain was hired as the first full-time Women’s Eagles head coach and the November tests will usher in a new era for USA Women’s Rugby.

Emilie Bydwell, General Manager for Women’s High Performance, said that “The Fall test series is a significant step in our vision to develop three test windows annually for our Women’s Eagles. This series will be a considerable challenge, commencing with a home test against the best in the world and finishing with a formidable Irish side in their backyard.”

Alex Magleby, USA Rugby’s General Manager for National Teams and Performance, said that “Our aim has been to build a consistent and sustainable Eagles competition schedule. Locking in the fall test series for the quadrennial has been a work-in-progress for some time, and it is exciting to get this building block secured. We look forward to announcing the rest of the schedule set to give our players multiple opportunities to perform under the rigors of international competition.”

The USA has only met Ireland three times since 1994. They beat Ireland in 1994 and in 2006 and lost at the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup in France. The USA is currently ranked fifth in the world and finished fourth at the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup.