USA Rugby Women’s National Team Head Coach Sione Fukofuka has named 38 players to the 2025 spring tour group. The Eagles will first play Japan in Los Angeles (April 26) and then kick off the Pacific Four (PAC4) Series against Canada in Kansas City, Mo. (May 2). The international competition then heads to the southern hemisphere, where the USA will face Australia (May 16) and New Zealand (May 23). (lead photo: John Cowpland)

RELATED: Fukofuka, Feury Talk 2025 Schedule

Players will assemble at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center on April 14, initiating a busy year ahead of this summer’s Rugby World Cup in England. The Eagles will tune up with a scrimmage against Japan and then play the official test match against the Sakura at Wallis Annenberg Stadium on the UCLA campus. The match is paired with an MLR game between the LA and San Diego men’s teams. Want tickets? Sign up for pre-sale.

 

The Eagles leave Los Angeles just as the City of Lights starts welcoming teams for the HSBC SVNS Series Championship on May 3-4. The group will also bid farewell to Sophie Pyrz and Malia Isaacs, who are on tour for the Japan portion only.

On Friday, May 2, the WNT faces Canada inside CPKC Stadium in Kansas City. Tickets go on sale to the public this Friday, March 28. The game is the first of three PAC4 matches and continues in Canberra, Australia and then Auckland, New Zealand. When the series ends on May 23, the team will have had six-straight weeks together.

“The Pacific Four Series is a performance tournament, where we are lucky to play highly ranked teams in Canada (2),New Zealand (3) and Australia (5),” Fukofuka told USA Rugby. “We will use this tournament to compete for results and learn to take opportunities in key moments. This will provide a strong platform for the Rugby World Cup by allowing us to implement our game model, develop combinations and create an environment where we have the ability to change the game, on and off the field.”

 

Kate Zackary resumes her role as captain, a position she’s held for seven seasons. She is coming off of the Premier Women’s Rugby (PWR) season and is joined by another 20 Eagles who have been playing ball in the overseas league. Eleven of those PWR players, however, returned to the U.S. and immediately joined the Women’s Elite Rugby (WER), which held its openers last weekend. (PWR props Charli Jacoby and Keia Mae Sagapolu pivoted to Australia). Overall, WER has 25 players named to the spring tour, representing the Bay Breakers (4), Boston (7), Denver (10), New York (2) and Twin Cities (2). They’ll get three more game weeks with their teams before heading to Chula Vista.

Other notables include a nice selection of current or recent USA 7s professionals; three players looking for their first USA 15s cap in Kapoina Bailey, Erica Coulibaly and Malia Isaacs; one current collegian in Lindenwood’s Freda Tafuna, a repeat MA Sorensen Award nominee; and spark plug Georgia Perris-Redding, who is back from injury.

“Since the WXV1, we have been tracking our players either in their team environments in the Premiership Women’s Rugby or here in the U.S. preparing with their WER teams,” Fukofuka said on the first selections of the year. “What has stood out most is the players’ hunger to be better and take key learnings from 2024 to challenge themselves on and off the field by playing to perform under pressure.

 

“We have real competition for positions and a strong core playing group with some x-factor that we are excited to work with, which will allow us to play the style of rugby we feel will be successful and expressive,” he added.

USA Rugby is also organizing a Women’s Falcons tour to South America for two development matches in Brazil. The additional competition allows the extended talent pool to put their hand up for summer competitions — including the July 19 doubleheader in D.C. — and potentially the Rugby World Cup. Tickets are not yet available but sign up for pre-sale to be notified.

Eagle Player Pool | Spring 2025 Tour

PROP
Catie Benson — Sale Sharks / Boston Banshees
Charli Jacoby — Exeter Chiefs / Queensland Reds
Maya Learned — Denver Onyx
Alivia Leatherman – Ealing Trailfinders / Twin Cities Gemini
Hope Rogers — Exeter Chiefs
Keia Mae Sagapolu — Leicester Tigers / ACT Brumbies

HOOKER
Saher Hamdan — Denver Onyx
Paige Stathopoulos — Ealing Trailfinders / Boston Banshees
Kathryn Treder — Loughborough Lightning / Bay Area Breakers

LOCK
Emerson Allen — Twin Cities Gemini
Rachel Ehrecke — Denver Onyx
Erica Jarrell — Sale Sharks
Hallie Taufoou — Loughborough Lightning / Denver Onyx

BACK ROW
Kapoina Bailey — Denver Onyx
Tahlia Brody — Leicester Tigers / Denver Onyx
Rachel Johnson — Exeter Chiefs / Denver Onyx
Georgie Perris-Redding — Sale Sharks
Freda Tafuna — Lindenwood University
Kate Zackary — Ealing Trailfinders

SCRUMHALF
Cassidy Bargell — Boston Banshees
Olivia Ortiz — Sale Sharks
Taina Tukuafu — Bay Area Breakers

FLYHALF
Kristin Bitter — Denver Onyx
McKenzie Hawkins — Denver Onyx
Nicole Heavirland — Boston Banshees / USA Sevens

CENTER
Gabby Cantorna — Exeter Chiefs
Joanne “Nana” Fa’avesi — TBC
Emily Henrich — Leicester Tigers / Boston Banshees
Alev Kelter — Loughborough Lightning / Bay Area Breakers
Ilona Maher — Bristol Bears / USA Sevens

BACK THREE
Erica Coulibaly — Denver Onyx
Cheta Emba — Boston Banshees
Tess Feury — Leicester Tigers / New York Exiles
Sariah Ibarra — USA Sevens
Bulou Mataitoga — Loughborough Lightning / Bay Area Breakers
Lotte Sharp — Saracens

USA v JAPAN ONLY
Malia Isaacs — Back row, Boston Banshees
Sophie Pyrz — Scrumhalf, Cheltenham Tigers

USA STAFF | Spring 2025 Tour

Head Coach | Sione Fukofuka
Assistant Coach | Mel Bosman
Assistant Coach | Sarah Chobot
Assistant Coach | Steve Brett
Head of Athletic Performance | Charles Dudley
Assistant S&C | Ashley Morataya
Lead Analyst | Caitlin Singletary
Performance Psychologist | Scott Goldman
Lead Physiotherapist | Emily Later
Physiotherapists | Sam Malette, Natalie Frizzell, Alice Grellman
Team Doctors | Rebecca Rodriguez, Abbie Hamilton, Marvin Valencia
Team Manager | Alana Gating
High Performance Director | Tamara Sheppard
Media Manager | Jenni Burke

USA SCHEDULE | Spring 2025 Tour

USA v Japan
Saturday, April 26
Wallis Annenberg Stadium, Los Angeles, CA

USA v Canada | Pacific Four Series
Friday, May 2
CPKC Stadium, Kansas City, MO

USA v Australia | Pacific Four Series
Friday, May 16
Gio Stadium, Canberra, AUS

USA v New Zealand | Pacific Four Series
Friday, May 23
North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, NZ