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eagles.rugby — After finishing 5th last week in Dubai, USA Rugby Women’s 7s Team endeavored to do one better in Cape Town, South Africa, and claimed 4th place after a close defeat to France in the 3rd place match. [lead photo: Alex Ho / World Rugby]
The USA beat Fiji and Great Britain, and lost to New Zealand during day one of pool play, and it was enough for a Cup Semifinal berth. The Eagles drew Australia, which dominated in a 34-7 decision, and then faced France in a 15-12 loss to end the teams’ stay in the southern hemisphere.
“We came in with big goals but focused on one game at a time,” USA Women’s 7s head coach Emilie Bydwell said. “We wanted to take on Fiji and showed growth in that game, but from there, we dropped to New Zealand. Being able to beat Great Britain put us in a great position to have the opportunity to play a semifinal. So, for us getting those opportunities to play in semi-finals, having our young team look at what our intentions are, what our gameplay needs to be, and then going out and trying to put our best foot forward is the goal.”
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“Australia was better on the day, and in the game against France, we talked a lot about rebounding from the semi-final loss. A medal of any color matters a lot and we put the task on the players to refocus and zero in our process for that France game. We had it at different parts, but we will go work on our game management which is something that as this team grows and has those experiences, will understand how to win more moments when we’re under pressure, when we have a lead.”
“Looking forward, we’ll review but it’s all learning for us at this stage. And our goal is to build through these first four tournaments of the year. We did that, we’ve had some great wins, we’ve had some challenges, and we’ve had some frustrating moments, but we’re really clear as a player group and a staff. We’re going to go after it in January so we can take another step forward in Singapore.”
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USA opened Pool B with pace against Fiji ready to right their wrong from last week. Sarah Levy came out hot chasing down a kick from Kristi Kirshe for an impressive full-field run before finding Kaylen Thomas for the offload just ahead of the line. Soon after, an interception from the captain turned over Fiji ball before finding Spiff Sedrick for the USA’s second try, leaving Fiji scoreless at the half 10-0. On the restart Thomas ran an outside line for a length-of-the-field try. Fijiana, determined to put up points, conceded penalties and was shown yellow. But despite being a woman down, managed to respond finally with a try, but not enough to overturn an Eagles’ 15-7 win.
Well aware of the pain the USA inflicted last week, New Zealand started strong and didn’t relent. Winning their own kickoff, New Zealand won possession and immediately ran in the first try, followed by the same again on their next restart. Strong defense from Thomas stopped the Black Ferns’ next attempt and the USA won possession for Kirshe to power through the defensive line and offload to Sariah Ibarra, who kicked on the speed to touch down for the first USA try. New Zealand ran in another try just before the half giving the Eagles a sizable target of 5-19. The Black Ferns came back strong, but Su Adegoke saw space and turned up the pace for the Eagles’ second try, yet New Zealand stayed on the hunt and took the win 38-12.
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During the must-win match against Great Britain, Ashley Cowdrey chipped the ball through for Adegoke to collect on the run, timing the bounce perfectly to score in the first 15 seconds. A well executed poach from Kirshe soon found Spiff teed up and ready to run on with pace, giving the Eagles their next try. The Brits replied with a try but captain Kirshe settled the team to stay composed, and again brilliant vision from Cowdrey got the ball out wide to Thomas, who found her stride and ran it in before the half. Adegoke scored first on the restart, followed by a Kirshe try to secure the USA’s second pool B win 31-17 and a spot in the Cup semifinals against Australia.
USA met a swift Australian side in the Cup Semi Final to open Day 2. The USA Women relentlessly attacked, holding on to possession for the first three minutes, but Australia’s defense stopped all attempts to the line. Once Australia took possession, the Wallaroos made three trips to their try line to secure a 19-0 lead at halftime. On the restart, Thomas read the pass just right and intercepted the Wallaroos to break through and run in the first USA try. Maddie Levi took advantage of a USA yellow card and ran in her third try of the match. A subsequent two tries secured the Wallaroos’ win and the Eagles advancement to the 3rd place match against France.
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Committed to putting it all on the line in the bronze medal match, the USA opened to a fighting French side. Despite holding possession for the most part of the first half, Les Bleus scored first. Ariana Ramsey responded and touched down just before the half to level the score 5-5. France scored early in the second half but the Eagles stretched the French defense wide before putting the ball in Erica Coulibaly’s hands who took a wide run and dotted down under the posts. With 2 seconds left on the clock the Eagles held the lead but a French scrum set enough momentum for one more try from France that swung the score in France’s favor finishing a 15 -12 contest over the USA.
The USA Women’s Eagles will now travel back to the U.S. for a short recovery during the holidays before they reconvene for an intensive training block ahead of departing for the next leg of the HSBC SVNS series at the end of January when they will travel to Singapore, followed by Perth.
2025 HSBC SVSN / USA @ CAPE TOWN
Cape Town Results
USA 15-7 Fiji
Tries: K. Thomas (2), S. Sedrick
New Zealand 38-12 USA
Tries: S. Ibarra, S. Adegoke
Conv: T. S. Ibarra
USA 31-17 Great Britain
Tries: S. Adegoke (2), S. Sedrick, K. Thomas, K. Kirshe
Conv: A. Cowdrey (2), S. Ibarra
Cup SF: Australia 34-7 USA
Tries: K. Thomas
Conv: T. Wilfley
3rd: France 15-12 USA
Tries: A. Ramsey, E. Coulibaly
Conv: S. Ibarra
25-26 Schedule
HSBC SVNS SERIES
November 29-30 | Dubai – 5th
December 6-7 | Cape Town – 4th
January 31-February 1 | Singapore
February 7-8 | Perth
March 7-8 | Vancouver
March 14-15 | NYC
HSBC SVNS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
April 17-19 | Hong Kong
May 29-31 | Valladolid
June 5-7 | Bordeaux
USA Staff
Emilie Bydwell | Head Coach
Tony Roques | Assistant Coach
Charlie Purdon | Technical & IDP Skills Coach
Ben Pinkelman | Support Coach
Lauren Barber | Performance Analyst
Trey Ford | Head of Athletic Performance
Ashley Morataya | Assistant S&C
Nicole Titmas | Head of Athlete Health & Wellness – 7s / Women’s 7s Head ATC
Meghan Chambers | Rehab Specialist
Jackie Rodriguez | Athletic Trainer
Jacque Scaramella | Dietician
Peter Haberl | Sport Psychologist
Liz Strohecker | Head of High Performance Operations – 7s
Maria Adams | HP Operations Coordinator – 7s
Jenni Burke | HP Communications Manager