USA Rugby Women’s Eagles Face England

The USA Rugby Women’s faced No. 2 England’s Red Roses on Friday, Nov. 9 in their second November test. The first test resulted in a loss to No. 1 ranked New Zealand on November 3 in Chicago for The Rugby Weekend.

Recap

England had five tries during the first half to take a 33-0 lead at the break. A red card in the 15th minute and a yellow card in the 35th minute helped lead to the U.S. deficit.

In a steady rain at Allianz Park, handling errors by both sides led to turnovers. England scored first in the 7th minute with Sarah Beckett using a pop pass to Leanne Riley from a 5-meter scrum for a try. Katy Daley-Mclean, who earned her 100th cap added the conversion for a 7-0 lead.

The UAS had two opportunities to score from within 5-meters from the line but came up empty. The first was caused by a knock on after a 5-meter scrum and the second Kaitlyn Broughton was stripped of the ball as she attacked from the wide channel.

Soon after in the 15th minute, U.S. prop Megan Rom has issued a red card for leading with her elbow which caught England No.8 Sarah Beckett in the neck. The U.S. would have to play short for the next 65 minutes.

In the 25th minute Sara McKenna found a gap and after the try, Daley-Mclean slotted the conversion for a 14-0 lead.

With England attacking, Kaitlyn Broughton kicked ahead a loose ball couple of times, but the ball just went beyond in-goal before it was grounded.

In the 35th minute, England gained a penalty try as a maul was taken down. Captain Kate Zachary was issued a yellow card on the play.

Two minutes later, with the U.S. down to 13 players, England Carys Williams found a gap. katy Daley-Mclean found another after a dummy and Abbie Scott finished with a try under the posts for an easy conversion by Daley-Mclean. England added another in the 40th minute with Daley-Mclean l=picking up an errant pass by Pedraza and scoring from long range. The conversion was wide left and the Red Roses took a 33-0 lead into the break.

Second Half

England placed the U.S. under pressure to begin the half and Sarah Hunter was held up in-goal. Sarah Hunter then had a second opportunity to score, but a double movement over the line negated a potential try. The ensuing USA lineout was not straight and Kelly Smith then scored after an England scrum from 25 meters out. Daley-Mclean slotted the kick and England’s lead was 40-0.

The Women’s Eagles held up Sarah Hunter in-goal for the third time of the half, but soon after Hunter touched down from a 5-meter scrum driving forward. Daley-Mclean added the conversion pushing the lead to 47-0.

The Eagles picked up a losseball and had perhaps their best drive of the match, but were thwarted by a knock on. The insertion of Nikki Kenyon and Kristine Sommer picked up the pace of the side as the team has had to defend so much in the match.

A Zoe Harrison cross kick and chase by Carys Williams almost resulted in a try in the corner, however Megan Foster held her up in-goal for a 5-meter England scrum. Then Vickii Fleetwood was held up after a 5-meter scrum by Megan Foster, denying England again,

The USA finally got on the board after strong runs by Sommer, Bridges, Henrich, and Johnson before Jeannine Duncan fended a defender and scored the Eagles only try in her international debut.

England added two tries in the final two minutes. The first was from an intercept of a Gray-Matyas pass by Kelly Smith and the second in the final minute as Catherine O’Donnell went blind from a breakdown and after the ball was swung wide right. England’s Carys Williams took advantage of numbers for a try, resulting in a 57-5 win for England.

Katy Daley-Mclean was named Player of the Match.

Conclusion

The match featued debutants by both sides. Unfortunately for the U.S., a red card placed the defense under pressure for the match and England took advantage with five tries during the first half, four of them after the card. with the final two when the U.S. was down to 13 players.

During the second half, the U.S. defense was stellar holding up their opponents in-goal five times. The USA fought hard to the end, but the Red Roses dominated the attack playing up a player for most of the match and up two at a critical junction before and after the half.

A number of Eagles stood out. Catie Benson and Azniv Nalbandian were excellent in the front row. Jordan Gray-Matyas stood out in the attack with ball in hand. Rachel Johnson and kate Zackary had numberous tackles. Kaitlyn Broughton, McKenzie Hawkins and Sarah Levey had some quality attacks and Kelsi Stockert was hard to stop and she kept her feet moving forward. During the second half, the insertion of Kristine Sommer, Nikki Kenyon and Jeannine Duncan, the lone try scorer, added a spark.

The USA will face Ireland in the final test.

USA Women’s Eagles: 1 Megan Rom 2 Joanna Kitlinski 3 Catie Benson 4 Stacey Bridges  5. Alycia Washington 6 Rachel Johnson 7. Kate Zackary (C) 8. Jordan Gray-Matyas 9. Anna Karen Pedraza 10. Gabby Cantorna 11. Sarah Levey* 12. McKenzie Hawkins 13. Emily Henrich 14. Kelsi Stockert 15. Kaitlyn Broughton 16. Joyce Taufa 17. Azniv Nalbandian 18. Nick James 19. Melissa Finkelstein* 20. Kristine Sommer 21. Nikki Kenyon 22. Megan Foster 23. Jennine Duncan*

England: 1. Ellena Perry* 2. Lark Davies 3. Shaunagh Brown 4. Zoe Aldcroft 5. Abbie Scott  6. Joanna Brown 7. Vicky Fleetwood 8. Sarah Beckett* 9. Leanne Riley 10. Katy Daley-Mclean11. Kelly Smith 12. Tatyana Heard* 13. Carys Williams* 14. Lydia Thompson 15. Sarah McKenna 16. Heather Kerr 17. Vickii Cornborough 18. Hannah Botterman 19. Catherine O’Donnell 20. Sarah Hunter 21. Claudia Macdonald* 22. Zoe Harrison 23. Lucy Attwood*