After defeating Fiji in a too-close-for-comfort test match July 19, the USA played against the same Fijian team in a scrimmage on the campus of Mount St. Mary's University in front of a boisterous crowd that responded at short notice.

That scrimmage ended with a USA win once more, and at 48-34 it was, once again, too close for comfort.

The game was hugely valuable, however. Head Coach Sione Fukofuka had noted some key work-ons after the official test match against Fiji, and this was an opportunity to improve on them. In addition, the coach has been looking to get some key game time for some players; this was a chance to do that, also.

Player Changes

“We've got a fair bit of depth in the back three,” said Fukofuka. “So we wanted to make sure we give an opportunity for Lotte [Sharp] to get a first start with us, and then for Cheta [Emba] to have a start against a Tier 1 nation. That gives us a little bit more data that we can take into the World Cup. Knowing what Rica [Coulibaly] presented, knowing what Emily [Henrich] has done previously, we’re pretty happy with the balance of our squad. And now we're looking at the depth that we'll need going forward.”

At fullback, Fukofuka has retained Bulou Mataitoga, an electric player who had a few missteps against Fiji. But making a straight change with Sariah Ibarra would do a disservice to both players.

Ibarra is a younger player and her role, said Fukofuka, is to come off the bench and provide a spark, but he wants to see her play with more confidence.

“There's still a bit of learning there around positional play, and we would really love her to be confident enough to take the line on,” said Fukofuka. “That's something that we haven't seen as much as we'd like. Last week in the scrimmage against Fiji we saw a couple of moments that were fantastic. So it's nice to see her confidence coming so hopefully this week, when she's on the field, she gets another opportunity to show that bit of spark.”

The back row sees Freda Tafuna come on at No. 8 and Georgie Paris-Redding at openside flanker, with captain Kate Zackary switching to blindside flanker. For Zackary, moving around is no great drama—she’s played all three back row positions for the USA and even suited up at center as a pro. 

“Luckily I have had plenty of opportunity over the last few years with these combinations; whether Rachel's been out or I've been out we've been able to kind of bounce around and find our way,” Zackary told GRR. “But having Georgie back, she’s just brings a spark of energy through her play, through her ability to get individual moments of brilliance, but also set up other people. And that's what makes her a huge asset in that outside channel for us. Similarly defensively, you've got her and Freda and Tahlia [Brody] and Rachel Johnson, who are forcing turnovers almost every other interaction they have. So having on the field makes my job easier, because I can focus on also defending in the outside channels, just helping be a voice.”

Hunters and Runners

If Zackary isn’t always taking the lead making tackles and fighting for turnovers, the load can be more evenly spread.

“On some teams you want three hunters across your back row, and I think what we've kind of gone with is a bit of intensity, hunting as well as rugby smarts across all three of us,” Zackary explained. “So it's a nice balance. And you get a spread across the field, working, too, with our threatening outside centers, Alev and Lo, you get our tight five in the middle. No one's breaking through that. And then when a team tries to work to the edge, you're running into just as much trouble as you would in the middle of the field, which is great.”

USA and Canada Women Name Sides for Friday Night

Paris-Redding, back from injury just in time for the World Cup needs game time. She comes in as a pure #7 and that’s what Fukofuka wants. She showed well in the scrimmage against Fiji. Tafuna brings a special kind of bruising running and she scored against Fiji in the scrummage. Putting her in the middle of the field as a No. 8 and seeing her power through could be a new look for the Eagles against a Canada team that is targeting a World Cup title.

“We were pretty happy with the work she did against Fiji in the scrimmage in that middle part of the field with getting more involvements, more touches,” said Fukofuka. “So I'm hoping she she builds on that for this week.”