The USA U20s held a four-day camp at Life University earlier this month, the first assembly since the national age grade team competed in the Tri-Nations U20 Cup in summer 2019. Ricardo “Chago” Ramirez invited a nice mix of high schoolers and collegians to Marietta, Ga., and leaned on a quartet of returners to help guide the group. BYU sophomore Matalasi Morrissette was among the leaders and earned special praise from the head coach.
“She’s stepped up her game since the last time I saw her,” Ramirez said. “She’s been putting in the work while away.
“She did a really job along with the other leaders to really bridge the gap between the new players and those returning to the U20s,” the coach also recognized Sam Tancredi (Lindenwood), Sophia Haley (Dartmouth) and Cassidy Bargell (Harvard). “I gave an assignment to the leaders to make a play list for our warm-ups. In doing so, they reached out and really talked to all the players, so the younger ones and those new to the U20s felt incorporated right away. They took that one assignment and built on it themselves, organizing different team-bonding things on their own.”
Morrissette with West End
Morrissette’s rugby story began in 8th grade, after her family moved from Utah to Virginia. Her brother was searching for a team to continue his rugby career, and it turned out that the club also had a girls’ team. Morrissette played basketball but took her mom’s suggestion to try a new sport and quickly transferred her affection to rugby. She started with Prince William but then moved to West End, which was more competitive and traveled to more events.
“When I joined West End, that opened my eyes,” Morrissette said. “Coach Matt [Estes] introduced me to all-stars and select sides – I didn’t know that was a thing – and I had never heard of the High School All-Americans until then.”
By sophomore year of high school, Morrissette knew she wanted to pursue rugby at a higher level and developed into a noteworthy No. 8. She played on state all-star teams and select sides like Atlantis, and then focused on BYU for college and notified head coach Tom Waqa once accepted. The head coach was familiar with Morrissette, but since the Cougars don’t have a formal recruitment process like NCAA varsity and DI Elite programs, the first-year still needed to try out for the team.
Morrissette with Atlantis
“I think there were a little over 100 who tried out,” Morrissette recalled. “I just wanted to make the 45. ‘I don’t care if I sit the bench; I just want to make the roster and get into things.’”
Morrissette of course did make the roster and Waqa asked for thoughts on positions.
“It’s funny. I wasn’t a flyhalf in high school, but I love kicking and asked to try it out,” Morrissette said.
The staff was game, Morrissette had a couple of weeks to build some chemistry with the back line, and then in her very first collegiate game (a fall friendly), started at flyhalf.
“I was a little shaky at first, but the fall was a great developmental season for me and the freshmen and building cohesion,” Morrissette remembered. “And it was cool to have the coaches and players see potential in you and back you up.”
“I learned a lot from Kainoa Ah Quinn,” the 10 added. “She’s been to a couple of All-American things and was the previous flyhalf. She was one of the more experienced backs when I was a freshman and I looked to her a lot.”
Morrissette’s game came along and she along with the team picked up momentum for the 2019 spring 15s season. The Cougars played an independent DI schedule (today, they’re members of the DI Pacific Desert), and took an at-large berth to the post-season. Morrissette was impressively steady and efficient as she guided a talent-packed squad to the DI spring final.
“I’m more of a playmaker and really enjoy setting up other players,” Morrissette said of her attributes. “I like to kick and put well placed passes in teammates’ hands and set up the plays that end up working out. I really love studying the game and reading about it.”
Freshman year at BYU ended with a 48-0 win over Virginia Tech for the 2019 DI Spring College Championship title.
“‘Surreal’ is the best word for it,” Morrissette said of the first year of college.
The flyhalf met USA Women’s National Team coach Rob Cain after the final, and few weeks later received an invitation to the USA U20 summer camp in Philadelphia. She reunited with former teammates like Liz Wilson and had fellow Cougar Rachel Strasdas by her side, and the squad played the first NSCRO 15s Selects in a two-game series.
“The U20s was a pretty big jump from where my current club is at, especially in work rate and intensity,” Morrissette said. “I was expecting that and it made sense, but it was a wake-up call. I’ve got to step up and keep pushing my pace. It was refreshing. I also have a big appreciation for the structure they taught. … I really like that they emphasize that regardless of whether you’re a back or forward, prop or wing, everyone is a threat on the field.”
From there, Morrissette was named to the U20 Tri-Nations squad that traveled to London to play England and Canada.
“I was definitely nervous. It was my first time in England and playing against really teams like that,” Morrissette said. “In high school I played clubs from Canada, but they weren’t national teams. I knew it would be a big step up, and I was nervous, but who wouldn’t be excited to represent their country and travel overseas? It was a dream come true.
“Overall I did get to implement those new structures and see those in play, and I think the team did overall,” the flyhalf said of the team’s effectiveness overseas. “Last year, especially being newer, it may have been a little more of a mental game that you have to conquer first. I was one of the younger ones – me and Ina Bailey were the only minors there – and you need to step up to play against these teams. But it was more of a mental hurdle.”
Morrissette further matured during that tour, and when it was time to reassemble in February 2020, the BYU sophomore was ready to lead alongside Tancredi, Bargell and Haley.
“At the hotel, Chago – for lack of a better word – warned that he wanted to see intensity and work rate at this camp, especially since we were short on days,” Morrissette said of camp foci. “Our time together is very valuable so we needed to keep in line and stay focused.”
As mentioned, the quartet was also charged with uniting the squad, which included returners, newcomers to the U20 program, and U18 crossovers.
“I’m a firm believer that you definitely play better together if you’re friends or know each other,” Morrissette embraced the task. “We took opportunities to learn about each other at meals or after evening sessions, and did a lot of team bonding to disperse any cliques that might form. This is the most involved group I’ve been with. People are really open with each other.”
Although it was a quick turn-around, Morrissette called out a handful of campers who put in impressive performances.
“Abby Fearey, Tua Tanupo and Alle English – they all came up from the U18s,” Morrissette highlighted the youngest players. “From December [U18 winter camp] to February [U20 camp], that is a fast transition, and they all stepped up in their roles and handled themselves well.
“And newer players like Lucy Jacobsen from Harvard and Lauren Madalian from West Chester,” she continued. “They both had great presence and it was good to see them learning the structures and going 100%.”
There are plans for another U20 summer camp and then trip to Four Nations, but those details are TBD. In the meantime, Morrissette is focused on BYU and returning to the DI spring final. The flyhalf asserted that repeating as spring champion is the goal, and the challenge is to remain focused as the competition ebbs and flows.
As far as the future goes, Morrissette is keen to keep pushing.
“It helps that USA Rugby put out that women’s pathway program,” Morrissette said of future steps. “I’m a Type A person and like structure and guidelines to follow, so I’m trying to be proactive about working through each level and aiming higher, and then seeing where it can take me.”
#MatalasiMorrissette #USAU20s BYU