Lui vs. England last summer /// Photo: Paul Rudman (KLC fotos) •
In a few hours, the USA Women’s National Team will play France (see Les Bleus’ lineup) in the rugby hotbed of Beziers, a city of approximately 70,000 and whose stadium, Stade de la Mediterranee, seats 18,555.
The team’s been in southern France since Friday, and veteran scrumhalf Jenny Lui checked in after a few days’ progress.
“We’re feeling good about our preparation,” the Glendale #9 reported. “With every tour, the execution and quality of our trainings [have] gone up because players are more familiar with the systems and the style we want to play. We’ve also already improved within this tour, so we’re eager to take the field and test ourselves against a tough side.”
France’s side includes some 7s crossovers and a couple of new caps, just like the USA’s roster. On the starting side, Alev Kelter and Kate Zackary will become 15s Eagles, and reserves Joanne Fa’avesi and Abby Gustaitis have the potential to join them off the bench.
“The new players are fitting in quite well,” Lui wrote. “They’ve learned the approach quickly and are super athletic. Alev, in particular, has been impressive. She’s never played 15s before, but you can’t even tell because she just goes for it and really embraces that growth mindset.”
There’s the potential for rain tonight in Beziers, and Lui indicated that patience and adaptability will be the main focal points. The rematch occurs on Nov. 25.
USA v France 1. Sarah Chobot 2. Katy Augustyn 3. Hope Rogers (c) 4. Alycia Washington 5. Jordan Gray 6. Christiane Pheil 7. Kate Zackary 8. Kate Daley 9. Jennifer Lui 10. Kimber Rozier 11. Kelsi Stockert 12. Sylvia Braaten 13. Alev Kelter 14. Tess Feury 15. Jessica Wooden
Reserves 16. Samantha Pankey 17. Catherine Benson 18. Tiffany Faaee 19. Abby Gustaitis 20. Elizabeth Cairns 21. Joanne Fa’avesi 22. Naya Tapper 23. Megan Foster