eagles.rugby — The USA Women’s Eagles found their stride in Washington DC this afternoon, defeating a fast-striking Fijiana, 31-24 at Audi Field. (lead photo: David Hughes)
Following an eventful week in the Nation’s capital, including the official announcement of the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 squad, a jammed pack Audi Field welcomed the USA for their final home match of the year. In need of a statement win, the USA were able to lean on offense to pull out a win and keep a similarly strong Fiji attack in check. The USA forward pack played a great game, with three of the five tries.
Head Coach Sione Fukofuka said on the win, “It’s a pretty simple story, when we execute and are clean with the ball, we look really good. When we lose momentum, it’s usually on the back of our own errors, but I was really proud of that last 10 minutes where we were camped on our goal line, scrum after scrum, but we held up two tries.”
Fukofuka said on the full stadium, “The support was fantastic. We’ve had a great week here in Washington with the Gala, squad announcement and big attendance for our jersey presentation with family and friends. So we felt the support before we came in today, but to see the fans come in early despite the heat and get behind the team can’t be understated.”
The Women’s Eagles did well with pace and territory in the first half, Hope Rogers doing what she does best by earing the first try of the game from short range. The forwards drive beyond the 5-meter line was exciting tonight, as Erica Jerrell-Searcy followed with a ruck-crashing try of her own. Fiji did keep the score close the whole match, though never led the Americans. The second Fijian try came off a good effort from try-scoring Erica Coulibaly to keep a bouncing ball in play, but it set up a clean ball for Fiji to trot in for points. USA lead 26-14 at the half.
Rachel Johnson continued to show out for the forward pack with a goal line try to open the second half. The biggest crowd cheer of the night was in the second half, when Flyhalf McKenzie Hawkins went to the boot out wide for an open Emily Henrich in the corner. Henrich reeled in the kick receipt with the try zone right in front of her.
Fiji added 10 points in the second half to keep the USA on their feet to close out the game, but the Eagles were able to do just that – winning 31-24 in front of a home crowd.
The USA Women’s Eagles will now camp for a bit before heading up to Ottawa for a match against Canada, their last before officially starting the Rugby World Cup campaign in England this August. The win in Washington DC was a very welcomed boost for this team, coming off a harsh spring tour. As Fukofuka noted, the team has found a rhythm for success with more time and cohesion in the books, a helpful momentum with England inching closer.