It was the second time that the USA and Spain faced each other in Paris, but the Eagles put in a much more convincing performance during the teams’ Plate semifinal. The USA scored 26 points before Spain graced the scoreboard and finished with a 33-5 victory. The Eagles will play Fiji in Sunday’s 5th-place match.
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Spain was ready to attack from the opening kickoff, as captain Patricia Garcia drew in two defenders and then popped to her feet after the tackle into open field. She kicked through once a defender appeared and Alev Kelter did well to chase down the ball to the USA 10 meter. The Eagles attempted to run the ball out and a dicey pass to Naya Tapper nearly ended in disaster. Instead, the team recovered quickly, sent a pass to Lauren Doyle unguarded on the sideline, and she sped 95 meters for the try, converted by Nicole Heavirland.
That return seemed to flatten Spain and the team didn’t enjoy quality time on attack until the second half. A knock-on after the restart allowed the Eagles to reset in Spanish territory, and Kelter fended her way inside the 22. Jordan Gray picked from the base of the tackle, shooting down the short side and held off tacklers long enough to get the overhead offload to Abby Gustaitis for the try, 12-0.
A picture perfect restart followed, as Kelter sent a high, 10-meter kick into the air and Gustaitis grabbed it at the height of her leap. She connected with Heavirland and a penalty ensued as the defense rushed to reset. Gray took the quick tap and dragged three defenders into the try zone. Heavirland’s conversion afforded the 19-0 lead.
One knew Spain was struggling when Garcia knocked on a pickup at the base of the ruck. She takes advantage of slowly adjusting defenses so well but she momentarily lost focus in an uncharacteristic error. The half ended with a Spain scrum that set the platform for a promising attack, but the whistle sounded after an errant pass into touch.
The second-half kickoff was heading for the sideline but hit the ground, and Gray did well to volley the ball back to her teammates. Gray and Kelter supported each other through the middle for gains, but then a turnover gave Spain the scrum. Again, the tall, powerful USA props stole the put-in, and after a few phases, the ball moved to Doyle who stepped out of tackles and pulled away for her second try of the game. Heavirland converted for the 26-0 lead.
During the final minutes of the game, Spain got some quality ball in hand, helped by back-to-back penalties from the U.S. Barbara Pla got the team moving forward with a linebreak that Kelter wrapped up. Amaia Erbina took the offload at pace and scored the team’s lone try, 26-5.
There was time for one more restart and for the third time this tournament, the USA used it to score a try. The ball moved wide to sub Ilona Maher, a class of 2018 graduate of Quinnipiac University, who fended the sideline defense and then legged out a 50-meter try beneath the posts. Kelter converted for the 33-5 win and trip to the Plate final against Fiji on Sunday.