Sam Pankey (background) talks Canada rivalry /// Photo: Michael Lee – KLC fotos for World Rugby
The rivalry between the USA Women’s National Team (WNT) and Canadians dates back to the beginning of the USA WNT. Canada was the first international team the USA played, and we meet the Canadians on the rugby pitch more than any other team. We won that first game against Canada, and in the 15 years after the 1987 showdown, the USA was dominant in the match-up. In recent years, we have split wins and losses with the Canadians nearly evenly. Canada won our last match, in Utah, but we won the one before that (in Canada … on Canada Day).
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We are a little over five months out from the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup. Both squads are finetuning their defensive machine, tweaking the algorithm of their set pieces, and putting the finishing touches on their offensive masterpieces. Canada has one advantage over us in this process. About half of their squad has been to this World Cup rodeo. On this tour, we have three players who represented us at the 2014 World Cup (granted, there are some out due to injury). We come into this series as a young, relatively inexperienced, yet talented squad, and the series, culminating on April 1, will be a test of the cohesion we’ve been working to build.
This tour is unlike any I’ve been on. For starters, the biggest squad I’ve been a part of was the 30 who traveled to Wales and England in our last tour before the 2014 World Cup. There are about 36 players involved in this tour. In that 36 are a few injured players (myself included) who are participating, but not a part of the selection process. We are filming at practice, keeping track of stats, and helping the management as much as we can. This means that (hopefully) things are getting done more efficiently.
Having a big squad also means that we are able to scrimmage with two full sides. We are able to run through set pieces with two full packs and the backs have a full opposition when they’re running plays. We often don’t have the budget to bring 30 on tour, but holding this event in San Diego gives us a chance to bring in more players, since the residents live here.
Since we’re playing in San Diego, and all of the 7s residents are participating in this tour, some of the players are staying off campus, in their own homes, and commuting in. That doesn’t mean we don’t have “team time.” There is a ton of time for that. It just means that some of us aren’t playing Bananagrams in the AT&T Center until bedtime. I prefer Scrabble, so this isn’t a big letdown for me.
As far as the rugby goes, there’s not a lot that is different. We have a couple of new faces with us in the staff, but our structure and intentions haven’t changed. Richie Walker, the WNT 7s head coach, has joined the staff and will be coaching the backs. Liz Kirk, while part of the staff for some time as a nutritionist, will now be handling the forwards and the contact area. Craig Wilson, the Yale Women’s Rugby head coach, has also joined us to do some film analysis. Having worked with all of these coaches, I can say that each brings a wealth of knowledge to the staff.
On a personal note, and I’m sure I speak for all of the forwards, we are very excited to be working with Liz. The scrum has been one area of our game at which we’ve struggled, and she brings a meticulous approach to every point of this technical piece, from the setup to scrum strategy. Working with her has already improved our cohesion, body profile and planning. The last time we faced Canada’s scrum, they had us on skates, going backward. With the improvements we’ve already made with Liz these past few days, we’re hoping to be on the front foot come game time.
While this tour is different than others in a number of ways, our purposes are the same as they’ve always been — to grow and to win. That time we beat Canada on Canada Day was actually the last time the WNT won an international match. Since then, we’ve dropped three matches to France and one apiece to England, Canada and New Zealand.
If you look at that list, you’ll notice that these are the top four teams in the world, and you might expect that the seventh ranked team in the world (USA) would lose to each of the top four. That doesn’t change the sting. We’re all hungry for a win. This tour kicks off our final stretch to the World Cup. We’d like to start off on the front foot, with a win or two under our collective belt.
We all know that Canada is a force. I expect us to rise to the occasion of playing the third-ranked team in the world, and I expect these games to be hard fought battles — something the home crowd will enjoy.
SAM PANKEY earned her first USA Women’s National Team cap at the 2011 Nations Cup and is a current member of the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup and USA Women’s 7s player pools. A three-sport athlete in high school, Pankey received an athletic scholarship to East Carolina University, where she played basketball all four years and served as captain as a senior. She also earned Strength & Conditioning All-American and Academic All-American honors and graduated first in her class. Today, Pankey spends her days at the Chula Vista EATC, living the rugby dream as a resident.
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