USA scrumhalf Jenny Lui (right) during the November France tests. /// Photo: Fédération Française de Rugby •
The USA Women’s 15s team began 2016 ranked sixth in the world and ended the year ranked eighth, according to World Rugby (rankings explanation). That drop was the result of an 0-5 year, outscored 47-158, with losses to France (3), Canada and England.
“Even though we didn’t get the results we wanted, I think we’d consider this past year a strong foundation for the team’s lead-up to the World Cup,” wrote USA scrumhalf Jenny Lui. “Players were able to build trust and familiarity with each other and the systems, we gained more test match experience which is crucial, and we’ve improved with every outing. We know we can’t fixate on the outcomes, especially because we’re on the verge of breaking out. We’ve just gotta trust the process, stay focused, and work.”
The work continued at the Winter National All Star Competition (NASC), which featured a joint senior and developmental assembly that overlapped with the Women’s Junior All-American camp (read more). Close to 100 attendees had the opportunity to plead their case for World Cup selection during two matches, which pit the first XV against the second XV.
“All week long we pushed each other to get better by not letting up, but we also weren’t afraid to help others regardless of whether we were on opposing teams or not, and that’s awesome,” explained Lui, who played for the first XV, Kingfishers. “People stepped up and brought their A-game, and it made for some really beautiful rugby from both sides.”
The Kingfishers included many Eagles from the November tests against France, and that familiarity helped the squad to a Saturday victory.
“I think the Kingfishers were able to control the pace because we worked really hard to be a collective unit, by building on all the positives from tour, working together to quickly integrate players who were less familiar with the systems, and for those newer players, putting in that extra effort to learn and then executing under pressure,” Lui summarized. “It was a total team effort.”
Some player exchanges and promotions from the developmental sides saw the senior teams mix up their rosters a bit, and Tuesday’s game gave coaches another look at potential combinations.
“[T]he Cuckoorollers were able to make some adjustments on defense as well as sharpen their attack, so we were under some more pressure,” Lui praised the second XV side. “It was a very competitive match, people were flying all over, putting their bodies on the line.”
Very little information has been released from NASC, but reportage on USA hooker Sam Pankey’s blog, The Rugby Sidelines, has lent insight into the assembly. The front row was a try-scorer for the Kingfishers in the first match, as was Christiane Pheil, Cheta Emba (2), Alycia Washington, Naya Tapper and Jordan Gray.
The next step for USA Rugby staff is narrowing down the Women’s Rugby World Cup pool to 35-40 players, and there have been rumors of expanding the 15s residency in the San Diego area after that pool has been established. Stay tuned.
For the full list of NASC attendees, which includes both senior and developmental players, click here.
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USA Rugby staff will now narrow down its World Cup player pool to between 3