VANCOUVER, CANADA — USA Rugby Women’s National Team Head Coach Sione Fukofuka announced today the 30-player squad selected to travel to WXV 1 in British Columbia. The team heads to Vancouver for their three-match series, where they will play England, France and Ireland. [lead photo: John Cowpland for USA Rugby]

Captained by Kate Zackary, the squad includes returning legend Hope Rogers, who rejoins the squad for the first time since the team’s Pacific Four Series win against Australia in May. Alev Kelter comes into the 15s squad for the first time since Rugby World Cup 2022. Following a bronze medal win at the Paris Olympics, Kelter begins working toward a berth at the Rugby World Cup 2025.

Kelter joins the squad post-Olympics medal © 2024 Alex Ho @hoiho_photo

Several athletes from the USA Women’s Sevens program also join the Eagles traveling roster. Kris Thomas joins after returning from Paris as a traveling reserve for the Olympic team. Cheta Emba, Atumata Hingano, Joanne (Nana) Fa’avesi and Summer Harris-Jones join Thomas from the sevens team. Newly capped 15s Eagles Sophie Pyrz, Tessa Hann and Emerson Allen head to Canada as well, each having earned their first international test cap in Japan last month for a two-match warmup series for WXV. There are no uncapped players on the travel roster.

“The squad was selected on the basis that WXV is a performance tournament for us, and we wanted to select the strongest squad we had available,” Fukofuka said. “The players selected from their Pacific Four Series and Japan form have demonstrated development in their physical, technical, and tactical ability, and we are excited to test them in WXV 1. Kris, Cheta and Alev join us from the Sevens program ready to make their mark back in the fifteens game after a successful time with the sevens program. We also welcome back the experience and on-field presence of Kate, Rachel [Johnson], and Hope, excited with the leadership that provides the team.”

Several athletes will be participating in the Legacy Cup final on Sept. 14 in Greensboro, N.C., before rerouting to Canada. Rachel Ehrecke, McKenzie Hawkins and Maya Learned are all starting for the Colorado Gray Wolves against the Berkeley All Blues tomorrow. The Eagles will assemble this month ahead of their first WXV 1 test against England on Sunday, September 29. Round two is Oct. 5 against France, and the Eagles’ series ends on Oct. 11 against Ireland. All matches kick off 12:30 p.m. PT local time and will live-stream on Peacock TV (subscription required).

Hawkins and several Gray Wolves teammates will head from N.C. to Canada / Photo: @therugbybreakdown

“Results are obviously important but we are also looking to continue to build key elements of our game and compete with the best teams in the world,” Fukofuka added. “We want to challenge ourselves to create a platform off our set piece and our ability to win collisions, and we want to keep expressing that Eagles DNA that the team wants to be known for.”

USA Travel Roster | 2024 WXV 1