News that USA Rugby will launch Women’s Elite Rugby (WER) in 2025 is ground-breaking. It will become the first pro-rugby league in the States. The long-term aim is to advance standards to meet the demands of a home World Cup in 2033. The difficulties speak for themselves. WER will replace the Women’s Premier League (WPL),
Trailfinders, Ealing, London This was a rare opportunity to see an inter-continental game played on neutral territory. The Eagles had met the Boks five times since 2009, winning all but one of them. But the London game formed part of South African strategy to play top-ten ranked sides in their push to climb the ladder.
Scotland v USA Result: Scotland 24 USA 14 Player of the Match: Evie Gallagher After relatively easy opening matches last week both sides knew this clash could be a clincher. You could well view this game as the moment Scotland turned a corner. They are now enjoying a 4-match winning streak, untold riches after decades
This is a fascinating match-up between nations ranked seventh and ninth in the world. But within the structures of WXV2, the Eagles sit top of the pile, and they will be intent on proving their right to be there. Though they haven’t found victory easy in recent times, the aim now must be to prove
If ever a game proved the worth of the WXV concept, this was it. Opposites met; the large versus the small (only in the geographical sense); the highest (7th) versus the lowest (15th) in world rankings. A final gap of only ten points showed how the competition is opening new horizons. Though the Eagles haven’t
A sad, bad story concludes Eti Haungatau, the USA centre, has been suspended for five matches by a disciplinary committee. She had been cited after receiving a yellow card for a tackle on Robyn Wilkins, the Wales No 10. After reviewing all the evidence the independent committee of three deemed the tackle to come within
I mentioned a worrying tackle in the Wales v USA match (http://4theloveofsport.co.uk/ 2023/10/01/two-down-three-to-go-wales-prove-their-worth/). On the advice of the TMO, Andrew McMenemy, the referee, Clara Munarini showed USA’s Eti Haungatau a yellow card. It is now known that Haungatau has been cited for dangerous play and will appear before a disciplinary committee consisting of Jennifer Donovan
Cymru v USA Pouring rain in North Wales didn’t bother the Welsh pack who calmed any worries about the power of the American eight with a dominant performance. This was a vital test for the Welsh. Could they continue their advance under the new, more positive conditions the WRU is offering? Yes! The Eagles found
The three lists below indicate the spinning-top that is the USA Eagles campaign at present. To start with, two head coaches are responsible: Rich Ashfield in Ireland only, then Milton Haig takes over for the Wales match and the all-important WXV campaign. The Full List: Catie Benson (Sale), Monalisa Tupou (Life West), Kathryn Treder (Loughborough),
It’s welcome if overdue news that the USA Eagles at last have a new head coach. He is Milton Haig. He has extensive coaching experience dating back to the 1990s. He was head coach of Georgia men’s squad from 2011 to 2019; more recently he has been coaching in Japan. But it’s disturbing to find
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