A Team With a Bit of Belief is Very Dangerous
A Team With a Bit of Belief is Very Dangerous
The USA Women's National Team sets their sights on Canada on Saturday, and while their chances of playing in the Quarterfinals are good, they need to find some improvement.
For captain Kate Zackary, the key thing for her, and for the team, was that offensively they stepped into the sunlight. Led by a superb offensive display by Janine Detiveaux at wing, and bolstered by moving Alev Kelter from fullback to center, the Eagles scored four tries and 27 points in the second half.
“We needed a performance and the girls showed up and I’m really proud of them,” said Zackary. “I’m honestly speechless at times, the girls came to play. We had some fantastic tries. Janine cutting up the middle, that’s something we’ve been working on the training park for a few months and it’s taken us a while to execute so today was a good day to see that come off. In the second half you saw that we were able to get a little more depth, we were able to get some speed on the ball, get some space in front of them and you saw what happens when you can stretch the ball wide.””
The players, too, understood that a bonus point for four tries was key, but asked whether Zackary brought it up during the game, she said she didn't.
“No, deep down they know it inside," she said. "They know how important that second half was. The biggest thing is we said we needed to shine in that second half and every player did. We came out ... with a very simple task, which wasn’t just to win but to win and get some more extra points on the board because we all know any place is up for grabs. So, there’s one more game left and any point really matters.”
Canada, of course, will be a tougher ask. The key for the USA team is to play their best for the full 80 minutes, and even if they lose, to stay close.
“For us it’s just about ensuring that we’re present and then we work on what we need to work through," said Head Coach Rob Cain. "I think the reality is a lot of players are playing their first Rugby World Cup, there are a lot of nerves out there. They’re desperate to do well for their families, they’re desperate to do well for their friends, they’re desperate to perform. And it’s just about giving them confidence and allowing them to perform.”
They perhaps found that confidence against Japan. So for Canada?
“Same objective, we want to get a win and then we control our own destiny," said Cain. "We’ve already broken them down, we know what they do, we know what they don’t do. They know what we do, they know what we can’t do. We showed a few more things today, we’ll show a few new things next week but you’ll see a much more relaxed team because we’re starting to build a bit of belief. This team with a bit of belief is very dangerous.”
