Scotland Outpaces USA in WXV2
Scotland Outpaces USA in WXV2
Scotland defeated the USA 24-14 in Friday’s WXV match, overcoming the Americans having the lion’s share of the possession, especially in the second half.
In the opening 10 minutes the Eagles had the ball and good field position but couldn’t get any points out of it. They ran through the phases well enough and while Scotland is a fairly negative team—they creep offside and kill the ball fairly well—the USA had opportunities to break through. It was just that last pass that wouldn’t connect. Often is was just the gravity of the moment, as if the players involved were thinking “this is it!” and then over-cooked the pass or fumbled the catch.
Scotland, meanwhile, defended patiently and well, and when they got a free kick from a scrum at midfield, they struck.
The Scots went wide quickly and the issue for the USA there was probably communication on defense. Mata Hingano probably had her opposite covered but it didn’t seem like wing Tess Feury knew that. Feury didn’t bump out, the two collided and both fell, and all Francesca McGhie had to do was step past Bulou Mataitoga and go in for a highlight reel try.
Right after the restart Scotland were again on the front foot. A superb kick from deep in her own end by Lisa Thomson put the ball inside the USA 22 and scrumhalf Carly Waters was unable to gather it, seeing it roll into touch for a Scotland lineout. The Scots maul was an area of concern for the Eagles and while the USA controlled it most of the time, they didn’t here. Scotland mauled it right to the tryline and finally lock Emma Wassell crashed over for a 12-0 lead.
Once again the USA had options out wide but a Hingano to Tahlia Brody connection misfired. Instead it was Scotland that scored again. A ruck on Scotland’s left had a clear mismatch. Too many USA defenders on one side and the defenders in the open were mostly tight five forwards. No contest as Scotland moved the ball nicely, outpaced prop Catie Benson, who really needed some speedier help, and Rhona Lloyd raced in for a 17-0 Scotland lead at 21 minutes.
Notably, all three tries had started from far out.
After that it was almost 24-0 as another break put Scotland in close before scrumhalf Mairi McDonald went over only to be held up by Waters, her opposite number. In that sequence Eagle hooker Kathryn Treder took a knock to the head (it appeared to be a teammate’s knee) and left for a HIA and did not return.
Having dodged a bullet the USA regained some of the momentum and while they forced Scotland into penalties, they again couldn’t finish it off. Finally, as the half came to a close, a lineout and maul led to prop Charli Jacoby powering over from short range. It was just reward for Jacoby who was probably the shining light in the tight five on the day.
Still, down 17-7 after having about 60% of possession wasn’t good news. What was positive was that in the second half the USA would have the wind, and could perhaps use the boot to good effect as Scotland had in the first 40 minutes.
… or not.
Curiously, the Eagles hardly kicked at all in the second half. Interim Head Coach Milton Haig replaced flyhalf Gabby Cantorna with Katana Howard, and Howard doesn’t really like to kick and while she took it to the line with alacrity, she didn’t vary her game much.
The USA did form one attack that got fans out of their seats and Brody was just short of the line. Feury came in quickly trying to pick up and dive over, but she was hit as she dove and lost the ball forward—a prime scoring chance lost.
Instead it was Scotland that scored. A series of penalties put Scotland deep inside the 22 and with the USA committing two to every tackle the numbers would always favor the Scots. Fullback Schloe Rollie finished it off and Meryl Smith converted to make it 24-7.
Finally the USA did get a try. They took a lineout just inside the 22 and a well-executed drive took the USA pack to about 12 meters out. At the back of the maul was reserve hooker Paige Stathopoulos, who saw that the Scots had left the inside channel open and she just took off, scoring almost untouched. Tess Feury converted and it was 24-14.
Scotland had two more prime scoring opportunities. Rollie burst through the middle and was gone for all money but reserve scrumhalf Taina Tukuafu tackled her mid-dive and knocked the ball loose—both USA scrumhalves had made try-saving tackles in the game.
The final chance came with time up. The Eagles had defended for a long time when the play was called back for a penalty. No lineout and drive for the Scots this time as they Jade Konkel kicked the ball dead. Game over.
Earlier this month Haig had said his team lacked a kicking game and certainly they felt it against Scotland. The Scottish defense almost begged the USA to try to kick in an effective way, but they didn’t. The Eagles could have turned the field position around in the second half, but they didn’t.
“It was a g oood match,” said USA captain Kate Zackary. “Scotland brought a lot of high pressure. Both teams found an opportunity to work the ball and really test out our wingers.”
But, she added, the USA team beat themselves up with poor execution and poor decisions.
But it’s telling that both of the USA’s tries came from their front row, and three of the four Scottish tries came from their wings and their fullback. And about that "negative play" comment above? Running away with the ball when there's a penalty against you. Tying up the USA scrumhalf when there's a penalty against you (which is a cardable offense), pinning USA players in the ruck to force a not-rolling penalty, repeated offside, and sealing off were all allowed to happen for Scotland. Had that been policed better, the USA might have been in better shape.
Scotland is now 2-0 in the WXV 2, while the USA drops to 1-1.
USA 14
Tries: Jacoby, Stathopoulos
Convs: Cantorna, Feury
1. Catherine Benson 2. Kathryn Treder 3. Charli Jacoby 4. Hallie Taufoou 5. Erica Jarrell 6. Freda Taufuna 7. Tahlia Brody 8. Rachel Johnson 9. Carly Waters 10. Gabriella Cantorna 11. Lotte Clapp 12. Atumata Hingano 13. Kate Zackary (captain) 14. Tess Feury 15. Bulou Mataitoga
16. Paige Stathopoulos 17. Mona Lisa Tupou 18. Keia Mae Sagapolu 19. Jenny Kronish 20. Rachel Ehrecke 21. Taina Tukuafu 22. Katana Howard 23. Autumn Czaplicki
Scotland 24
Tries: Thomson, Lloyd, Wassell, Rollie
Convs: Nelson, Smith
1. Leah Bartlett 2. Lana Skeldon 3. Christine Belisle 4. Emma Wassell 5. Louise McMillan 6. Rachel Malcolm (captain) 7. Rachel McLachlan 8. Evie Gallagher 9. Mairi McDonald 10. Helen Nelson 11. Francesca McGhie 12. Lisa Thomson 13. Emma Orr 14. Rhona Lloyd 15. Chloe Rollie
16. Elis Martin 17. Anne Young 18. Lisa Cockburn 19. Eva Donaldson 20. Jade Konkel 21. Caity Mattinson 22. Meryl Smith 23. Liz Musgrove