WCAAs’ English, Johnson, Whitwell, Feury, Denham •
The AIG Women’s Collegiate All-Americans (WCAAs) fell 15-10 to the Canadian Maple Leafs, a game that served as curtain-raiser to round two of the Super Series. The rematch will occur on Saturday, July 9 at 11 a.m. MT in Salt Lake City.
Neither side was steady. Penalties, handling errors, poaches – they all produced turnovers and stoppages of play that challenged fluidity. So the squads had to capitalize quickly on opportunities, and the Maple Leafs did a better job. The visitors answered the Americans’ first-half penalty with three tries in the opening 40, and held on for the 15-10 victory.
The Maple Leafs showcased early on that it had the ability to turn a slipped tackle into a breakaway, which could be sustained with quick support and confident off-loading. Penalties helped nullify those attacking threats in the first quarter, although the Canadians struggled with infractions throughout the entire game. Many of those penalties occurred in and around the breakdown, and while they prevented points early on, that tenacity, once fine-tuned, paid many dividends later in the game.
The U.S. flashed some danger of its own, a highlight of which was Ilona Maher. The No. 8 was a guaranteed go-forward, whether peeling off the back of the scrum, piercing between two defenders, or stretching her legs in the open field, continuously looking over her shoulder for the offload. During a game where the set piece success fluctuated, the Quinnipiac (and Norwich) product was a dependable, yet thrilling force in the forwards.
The WCAAs took the first lead after captain Tess Feury turned a Canadian offsides penalty into three points.
Immediately after the water break, Canada nearly scored its first try, if it wasn’t for a forward pass. They got back into scoring position after a flat pass in the Americans’ end turned into a fluid, fast breakaway that flowed through several players’ hands. It took a few phases to turn that territory into points, as several balls hit the ground, but the Maple Leafs retained possession. But after a few fast recycles, the visitors amassed an overload out wide and inside center Julia Goss dotted down the go-ahead points, 5-3.
McKenzie Hawkins’ boot was also very useful, and she helped assuage some pressure, as the Maple Leafs built in confidence. The WCAA lineout improved as well, and the combination of a good Hawkins clear and a stolen lineout put the home side in good attacking position. The ball moved to the centers, where the Maple Leafs poached the ball. Canada’s developmental side was finding its balance of aggression and discipline in the contact area, and its turnovers became an effective weapon.
The Maple Leafs used the aforementioned steal to return to U.S. territory, and flyhalf Mackenzie Higgs sent a perfect grubber to the on-running Elysa Sandron into space. The wing popped to outside center Amanda Williams, but the finishing pass was ruled forward.
Nevertheless, the Maple Leafs were in good position and resumed the battle on the ground. The WCAAs sent a couple of phases back into the forwards, just long enough for Canadian flanker Sara Svoboda to steal the ball. She raced away and got the pass out the back to Sandron, who pushed past her opposite for the try, 10-3.
The restart went out the back, and so the Maple Leafs took the 50-meter scrum. Captain and scrumhalf Lori Josephson dummied past the defense and pulled into open space. She lined up the last defender for the timed pass to fullback Alanna Fittes, and her try ended the half, 15-3.
The WCAAs had some things to work on – lower tackling, faster support, securing rucks – but the game was far from out of hand. The second half saw new challenges, however, as Rebekah Hebdon and Azniv Nalbandian were replaced in the front row. With the exception of captain Jenny Johnson and Maher, the entire pack swapped out, and the set piece struggled.
Onlookers received only a glimpse of the backline’s capabilities, and was highlighted by a couple of inserting runs from Feury, and a pull-away from Danielle Ordway on her first touch of the ball. But it was a lot of defense and a lot of stop-start.
The game ended on a high note for the host side. Canada was breaking down the line, when a pass hit the ground and Ordway scooped it up. Johnson eventually moved it to flyhalf Gabby Cantorna, who booted the ball into space. The Canadian receiver mishandled the ball, and replacement flanker Taylah Pipkin was there for the pick-up. She immediately popped to replacement wing Kaitlyn Broughton, who took the pass on the run and all the way to the try zone. Feury converted for the 15-10 scoreline.
The WCAAs did receive two more penalties before the end of the game. They chose a scrum – despite the set piece’s lack of success in the second half – for the first one, and knocked-on the second. The game ended 15-10.
The All-Americans have three full days to prepare for the rematch against the Maple Leafs. That game will be streamed on USA Rugby’s YouTube channel.
WCAAs vs. Maple Leafs 1. Rebekah Hebdon 2. Bridget Kahele 3. Azniv Nalbandian 4. Jenny Johnson (c) 5. Haley Schafer6. Yeja Dunn 7. Frieda Fetu’u 8. Ilona Maher 9. Kat Ramage 10. Gabby Cantorna 11. Frankie Sands 12. McKenzie Hawkins 13. Sarah Buonopane 14. Uzo Okoro 15. Tess Feury (c)
WCAAs Reserves 16. Nicole Benedetti 17. Danielle Ordway 18. Kaitlyn Broughton 19. Megan Rom 20. Jessica Lewis 21. Bailey Johnson 22. Taylah Pipkin 23. Lanoira Duhart 24. Katie Loughran 25. Beth Rose 26. Ally Day
Maple Leafs vs. WCAAs 1. Colleen Irowa 2. Kathleen Keller 3. Chelsea Minter 4. Emma Taylor 5. Camille Provencal-Aube 6. Katie Svboda 7. Sara Svboda 8. Daria Keane 9. Lori Jospephson (C) 10. MacKenzie Higgs 11. Elysa Sandron 12. Julia Goss 13. Amanda Williams 14. Natasha Smith 15. Alanna Fittes
Maple Leafs Reserves 16. Simone Savory 17. Megan Copeland-Dinan 18. Brittany Kassil 19. Gillian Boag 20. Ngalula Fuamba 21. Gaby Senft 22. Justine Pelletier 23. Jess Neilson 24. Lisa Gauthier 25. Petra Woods 26. Gillian Allen
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