USA RUGBY — Thirty-one athletes have been named to the traveling roster as the USA Women’s Eagles gear up for the 2024 Pacific Four (PAC4) Series opener against Canada on Sunday, April 28 in Los Angeles. [USA Rugby photo]
RELATED: USA v Canada Tickets (use “TRB” for a 10% discount)
Captain Kate Zackary will miss the home game as she recovers from a foot injury sustained in the South Africa game last month. She will join the team in Australia and New Zealand with the hopes of returning for the PAC4. Lotte Clapp will join the team for the Australia and New Zealand legs as well.
Samantha Brackett joins the squad list for the Pacific Four Series with an opportunity to earn her first international cap with the Eagles. Brackett, who participated in the Eagles ID camp in Charlotte in February, played with the U23 program in 2022 and 2023.
“This squad is again a balanced group of players that allow us to play the style we are building toward,” USA Rugby Women’s National Team Head Coach Sione Fukofuka. “Although we will miss Kate Zackary for the first Pacific Four Series test, we are confident in our leadership group to fill that void and drive the team.
“With the addition of our USA Sevens players, we have added speed and skill to our back three with Atumata Hingano and Autumn Czaplicki, and I’m excited to see them integrate into the team and compete for a position,” the coach continued. “Ultimately, we are confident in the players re-selected from the U.K. squad and are looking forward to building off the platform we set in the South Africa test, and taking the Canadian challenge head on.”
Fukofuka began his tenure as head coach with a U.K. camp and 38-17 win against 13th ranked South Africa.
“We were happy with a solid performance against South Africa that allowed us to implement our attack and defensive systems and provided an opportunity to test our set piece,” Fukofuka said. “From the match we took a lot of positives including our ability to win contact, and our work rate to be back on our feet and stay connected defensively for 80 mins. A key focus for us leading into Canada will be our set piece accuracy and platform, as well as our decision making and our kicking game to exploit the field position and attacking space available.”
The team heads into the 2024 Pacific Four Series with eyes on qualification for WXV 1 and ultimately the 2025 World Cup. The winner of PAC4 will earn a spot at the World Cup, and the top-six ranked non-qualified teams out of WXV will earn qualification. The top three teams from the Pacific Four Series will head to WXV 1 in Ottawa, while the fourth-ranked team will head to WXV 2 in South Africa.
The USA Women’s Eagles kick off against Canada at 1:30pm PT on Sunday, April 28, at DignityHealth Sports Park in Los Angeles. Tickets are available at usa.rugby/tickets. Use “TRB” for a 10% discount.
USA WNT Traveling Squad | 2024 PAC4 Series
Name – Home Club (# Caps)
Cassidy Bargell – Beantown (1)
Catie Benson – Sale Sharks (41)
Amanda Berta – PR7s Experts (1)
Samantha Brackett – Rhinos (0)
Tahlia Brody – Leicester Tigers (8)
Gabby Cantorna – Exeter Chiefs (25)
Lotte Clapp* – Saracens (14)
Autumn Czaplicki – USA Sevens (3)
Rachel Ehrecke – Colorado Gray Wolves (11)
Tess Feury – Leicester Tigers (23)
Eti Haungatau – Sale Sharks (13)
McKenzie Hawkins – Colorado Gray Wolves (13)
Emily Henrich – Unattached (13)
Atumata Hingano – USA Sevens (2)
Katana Howard – Sale Sharks (18)
Charli Jacoby – Queensland Reds (25)
Erica Jarrell – Sale Sharks (6)
Rachel Johnson – Exeter Chiefs (26)
Jenny Kronish – Beantown (13)
Alivia Leatherman – Notre Dame College (1)
Bulou Mataitoga – Loughborough Lightning (14)
Olivia Ortiz – Exeter Chiefs (17)
Georgie Perris-Redding – Sale Sharks (11)
Hope Rogers – Exeter Chiefs (44)
Keia Mae Sagapolu – Leicester Tigers (7)
Paige Stathopoulos – Beantown (5)
Freda Tafuna – Lindenwood University (6)
Taina Tukuafu – Lindenwood University (6)
Hallie Taufoou – Loughborough Lightning (14)
Kathryn Treder – Loughborough Lightning (17)
Kate Zackary* – Ealing Trailfinders (36)
* Injured. Will join squad in NZ/AUS
USA WOMEN’S EAGLES STAFF
Head Coach | Sione Fukofuka
Assistant Coach | Melodie Bosman
Assistant Coach | Ray Barkwill
Strength & Conditioning | Sylvia Braaten
Physio | Cerys Preston
Analyst | Caitlin Singletary
Performance Assistance | Charles Dudley (Australia/New Zealand)
Athletic Trainer | Emily Lauer
Liaison | KJ Skudder (New Zealand)
World Rugby Consultant | Milton Haig (New Zealand)
WOMEN’S EAGLES 2024 SCHEDULE
USA v South Africa
38-17 (W)
TRIES | G. Perris-Redding (3), K. Treder, E. Henrich, C. Clapp
CONV | G. Cantorna (4)
2024 Pacific Four Series
USA v Canada
Sunday, April 28
DignityHealth Sports Park | Los Angeles, CA
USA v New Zealand
FMB Stadium | Hamilton, New Zealand
USA v Australia
AAMI PARK | Melbourne, Australia