USA Women's Rugby World Cup XVs Performance Squad

USA Rugby Release by Aalina Tabani

Head Coach Rob Cain has named 51 players to the USA Women’s XV National Team’s World Cup Performance Squad. The program will hold two 7-week training blocks at the RugbyTown National Training Center before departing for the World Cup in New Zealand at the beginning of August.

The first training block runs from March 13 to May 2 and features the bulk of players named to the Performance Squad with consideration for those who have club commitments in the UK and Sevens Residency. At the end of May, the squad will filter down to 40 players who will assemble for a final World Cup Residency from May 31 to July 21. The official World Cup team will be selected once Residency concludes.

Upon arrival in New Zealand, all players and staff will complete mandatory two-week testing and quarantine period. Following this, it is proposed that a group of pre-World Cup fixtures will be played to optimize preparation before pool play begins.

Of the 51 players named, 11 have competed in at least one XVs World Cup while 15 seek their first cap. The Performance Squad also includes 8 USA Sevens players who have the opportunity to compete in both the Olympics and Rugby World Cup.

Head Coach Rob Cain said:

“What a great opportunity to continue the exciting platform from November at our RugbyTown National Training Center. We learned so much in terms of where we are, where we need to be and the time it will take to get there. The World Cup may seem far away but 259 days or 6240 hours is the time we knew we had from January 1.

“The ability to take those fresh learnings and pick back up so soon is a very exciting prospect for the group. This schedule is geared towards enabling the players to perform, meeting the real threat of no domestic rugby or training environments for the past year head-on. New Zealand, England, and France having full domestic seasons alongside international fixtures continue to present threats to our own goals.

“We have spent the past 2 years getting to the point where rugby is first but underpinned by physical qualities that are hard to match. We have gone about our business very quietly, adapting to the needs of the group at every opportunity. This hard road was created to allow our rugby, leadership culture, and people to continuously evolve; so when we experience real pressure at the World Cup, they can be the points of difference when we need them to. If we weren’t clear about our intentions for New Zealand, our actions speak volumes now.”

Women’s Eagles World Cup Full Preparation Schedule

January to February: Remote training
March 13 to May 2: Block #1 Training for 51 players in Glendale, CO
May 2 to May 30: Remote training
May 31 to July 21: World Cup Residency for 40 players in Glendale, CO
July 22 to July 30: Recovery period, final World Cup Squad selection
August 2: Team Departs for New Zealand
August 21: Proposed Pre-World Cup matches
September 18 to October 16: Rugby World Cup 2021

USA Women’s XVs National Team Performance Squad

PLAYER NAME	POSITION	CLUB	XVs CAPS
Cassidy Bargell	Scrumhalf	Harvard University	uncapped
Catie Benson	Prop	Life West Gladiatrix	23
Meya Bizer	Center	USA Sevens	18
Stacey Bridges	Lock	Beantown Rugby	40
Elizabeth Cairns	Flanker	Life West Gladiatrix	11
Kayla Canett-Oca	Full Back	USA Sevens	7
Gabby Cantorna	Flyhalf	Exeter Chiefs	8
Jennine Duncan	Wing	Exeter Chiefs	7
Rachel Ehrecke	Back Row	Colorado Gray Wolves	uncapped
Nana Fa’avesi	Center	USA Sevens	2
Tess Feury	Wing	New York Rugby	6
Megan Foster	Flyhalf	San Diego Surfers	5
Saher Hamdan	Hooker	Life University	uncapped
Fane “Eti” Haungatau	Center	Lindenwood	3
McKenzie Hawkins	Flyhalf	Colorado Gray Wolves	3
Jett Hayward	Hooker	Life West Gladiatrix	uncapped
Emily Henrich	Center	Dartmouth Rugby	8
Mata Hingano	Center	Life West Gladiatrix	uncapped
Leti Hingano	Back Three	Life West Gladiatrix	2
Katana Howard	Flyhalf	Twin City Amazons	4
Charli Jacoby	Prop	Chicago North Shore	6
Nick James	Prop	Houston Athletic	12
Erica Jarrell	Second Row	Harvard University	uncapped
Rachel Johnson	Flanker	Exeter Chiefs	7
Kathryn Johnson	No. 8	Twin City Amazons	2
Layla Alev Kelter	Center	USA Sevens	13
Kristi Kirshe	Back Three	USA Sevens	uncapped
Joanna Kitlinski	No. 8	Exeter Chiefs	14
Jenny Kronish	Lock	Colorado Gray Wolves	uncapped
Kayla Lawson	Wing	San Diego Surfers	uncapped
Maya Learned	Prop	Colorado Gray Wolves	2
Sarah Levy	Back Three	New York Rugby	2
Shelby Lin	Scrumhalf	Berkeley All Blues	uncapped
Sam Luther	Second Row	Colorado Gray Wolves	uncapped
Ilona Maher	Back Three	USA Sevens	uncapped
Bulou Mataitoga	Fullback	Berkeley All Blues	3
Jordan Matyas	No. 8	USA Sevens	18
Olivia Ortiz	Scrumhalf	Davenport & Chicago North Shore	5
Jetta Owens	Back Three	Virginia Tech	uncapped
Neariah Persinger	Wing	Life West Gladiatrix	1
Hope Rogers-Dellerman	Prop	Life West Gladiatrix	29
Kristine Sommer	Lock	Harlequins Rfc	13
Nicole Strasko	Flanker	Life West Gladiatrix	7
Amy Talei Bonte	Center	Life West Gladiatrix	6
Samantha Tancredi	Prop	Lindenwood	uncapped
Hallie Taufoou	Back Row	ARPTC	uncapped
Kristen Thomas	Wing	USA Sevens	11
Kathryn Treder	Hooker	Beantown Rugby	2
Alycia Washington	Lock	New York Rugby	22
Carly Waters	Scrumhalf	Colorado Gray Wolves	4
Kate Zackary	Flanker	Exeter Chiefs	15

USA Women’s XVs National Team Staff

Women’s National XVs Team COVID-19 Safety Protocols

Players are required to show a negative test before travel, complete an isolation period on the ground in Colorado and show a negative test before training begins
Players are placed in training groups & pods in accordance with state guidelines
Team members are required to eliminate all community exposure throughout the daily training environment and sign an agreement committing to this standard
Symptom screenings are conducted twice daily
Periodic testing protocol implemented through the 7-week block