Eagle Women Lose to New Zealand; What Does That Expose?
Eagle Women Lose to New Zealand; What Does That Expose?
The USA women lost 79-14 to New Zealand and now are 0-4 for 2025.
Overall, that's not a massive disaster. Yes they should have beaten Japan, and if they had played better but within their ability parameters, they could have beaten Australia. They competed in a number of levels against Canada but the Canadians were certainly a better team.
This is an Opinion Column by Alex Goff
But New Zealand was certainly a stronger. No doubt about that.
Having said that, the Blacks Ferns get a ton of help from the referees. We were thinking this after their game with Australia. They get away with a ton of 50-50 stuff ... against the USA this included not rolling away, and, when they do, getting in the way of the Eagle scrumhalf; it included obstruction; and hugely, it included getting away with treating a tackle as not-held and getting back up when no one else gets away with it.
But, the main differences for the USA are this:
Speed of Play
New Zealand plays way faster. It's not just being physically faster, or even passing more directly, it's about making a decision to release the ball, get up, regather, and pass in two seconds (they did that). It's about understanding what you see and reacting quickly. Black Ferns players see the ball about to leave the hands of a USA player and they immediately react to cover the receiver. USA players watch the ball go to the receiver and then react.
That's not their fault—they get away with it in college rugby and WPL and WER rugby. The best players can cover those one-second delays against most opposition ... just not against the likes of New Zealand and Canada.
Power
The top teams are more physical in contact and stronger. Generally with the players you might expect to be physically strong, the Eagles match up well. But it's among the smaller players—every small player or light player on New Zealand is more powerful than a comparatively-sized American player.
In addition, the USA players do not always use the power that they have. They run too high in contact, they tackle too often by grabbing a ballcarrier, dropping down, and hoping said ballcarrier falls over. That works occasionally, but (say it with us!) Not. Against. The. Black. Ferns.
Kicking
Good kicking skills are not expected or demanded in domestic American rugby, and while it is in PWR in the UK, not a lot of US players are asked to do a lot of kicking. Overall, not a lot of players in the top level of college rugby are asked to kick at an elite level. So can, and in fact, as we pointed out in our coverage of the CRAA Premier Women's 7s, the top teams all had very good kickers (in this case, dropkickers for goal). Goalkicking is on thing; kicking from hand under pressure is another.
They USA has some good kickers, but the Eagles need several players to be able to kick for distance, and for accuracy, from the hand, with defenders in their face. They need consistently excellent kickers.
Trust
Playing together builds trust. Playing together with great players, repeatedly, builds trust. Playing in the same league, even as opponents, builds familiarity, and trust. New Zealand plays with trust—that's why when an opposing team moves the ball in an unexpected way, NZ defenders can trust a teammate to cover one side, and they only worry about their job. On defense, the USA players still play as if they are worried that a teammate won't make the play.
Look below at how many times New Zealand had multiple-player overlaps. That's a result of double tackles and triple tackles. Do enough of those and play half a second slower and keep that doubt about what will happen next to you, and suddenly there are three unmarked players on the wing.
Now What?
The Eagles take a break, many will be back in WER action. But when they re-assemble they will be building directly toward the World Cup with matches July 19 and August 1. During that time, from now until early August, they can improve on much of this—physical power is an S&C thing in part; kicking is a dedication from about 10 players to be really excellent at it; trust comes with time, but also with players showing up fitter and stronger (and thus able to take on tasks on their own).
Speed of play? That's got to be a work-on in assembly. All of those special players on the outside need more time, and those power runners inside need momentum. All of that comes from speed of play. To beat Australia and, potentially, England, and to win a quarterfinal and, potentially, a semifinal, the USA needs to arrive in the UK for the World Cup kicking better, tackling better, playing faster, and both stronger and fitter.
USA Women Eagles 2025 Season So Far:
USA 33 Japan 39
USA 14 Canada 26
USA 19 Australia 27
USA 14 New Zealand 79
Fiji at USA (DC) July 19
USA at Canada (Ottawa, Ont.) August 1
England vs USA (RWC) August 22
Australia vs USA (RWC) August 30
Samoa vs USA (RWC) Sept. 6
Other RWC games to be decided
