Barb Bond was the quintessential No. 8 and an inspiration to young rugby players as women's rugby came to the fore in the 1980s and 1990s.

A product of Reed College, Bond was capped 19 times, which is a lot considering most of the time the Eagle women played only two or three games a year. But she made them count. She was instrumental in getting the USA to the inaugural Women's Rugby World Cup in 1991, and she was co-captain of the Eagles team that won it all that year.

(Below Barb Bond, at right, relaxes after a 1998 RWC match with Liz Kirk (center) and Carol Burdick (left). Photo courtesy Liz Kirk

In the key 7-0 victor over New Zealand that secured a spot in the final, Bond scored the only try of the game. Despite battling another great, Kathy Flores, for the No. 8 spot, Bond was a special player, and went on to play in the Rugby World Cups, and when Bond was on the field, the USA was 17-2, with those two losses being Rugby World Cup finals.

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