USA U20s Score 6 Tries in Win Against Canada

The USA Rugby Women’s U20 Team concluded its summer tour in Canada with a 40-24 win against the hosts. It was the team’s first win against the Canada U20s since 2015, and the result came four days after a 28-27 victory against the U20 Welsh team (read more). Both games were live-streamed for free courtesy of the Elite Girls Rugby League (EGRL) team and its YouTube channel.

USA U20 head coach Joel Bonnaud made just one change to the starting lineup that faced Wales (read more), with Reece Woods stepping into the No. 8 position and serving as co-captain alongside scrumhalf Sadie Schier. Canada was making its debut in the tri-nation series and will face Wales U20 on July 14.

The USA took a 14-0 lead and did so without a ton of possession. Canada got into attacking territory quickly, as Carissa Norsten’s breakaway abilities showed itself early on. Despite a couple of turnovers and penalties, the game advanced to the USA’s 22, but the Americans relied on their trusty friend – a dominant scrum – to quell the immediate threat. The pack wheeled the set piece and Lennox London punched it up. Alissa Eisenhart lined up for a clearance kick, but a bouncing outlet pass allowed the defense to rush up. The flyhalf did an excellent job of weaving through a staggered defense to put the game on the 50.

Eisenhart kicked farther downfield with Hattie Greenwood on the chase, and the knock-on set up another USA scrum. No. 8 Reece Woods shipped the ball to the backs, as fullback Ashley Cowdrey came from depth for the pass. The fullback angled toward the sideline to get Canada sliding, then timed the pass to Sereana Vulaono, a wing who does not get shepherded into touch. The Chicago Lions player took the corner for a 40-meter try, and Eisenhart converted for the 7-0 lead after eight minutes.

Sereana Vulaono / Photo: USA Rugby

The USA found itself under pressure again when the restart hit the ground and Canada swarmed. Schier put a box kick toward the sideline and Canada did a great job staying inbounds. A chip through the defense raised the alarm, and Eisenhart again did well to field the ball and return well. But the support wasn’t there and Canada poached possession. Inarguably, Canada’s greatest strength was their ability to jackal ball and regularly punished isolated ballcarriers.

With that said, those steals rarely built into Canada points. After a couple of more turnovers, Cowdrey sent a nice to clearance kick to Canada’s end, and then set up an attacking lineout shortly afterward. The Americans’ lineouts were much more successful than they were against Wales, and although Canada displayed really nice movement and sync in their lineouts, they often struggled defensively and were penalized multiple times for collapsing the maul.

The back line sent two skip passes, then Cowdrey accelerated through the line before offloading to Woods. The ball worked the other way and Vulaono looked good for another try, but Canada made the clutch tackle at the USA 2m. Canada kicked the subsequent lineout to its 22, the USA nailed its lineout and drew a penalty, then reset with a scrum. The ball moved through Woods, Padilla, and Woods again, and then the inside center expertly split the defense for a 20-meter try. Eisenhart improved to 6-for-6 on conversions throughout the series: 14-0.

The second 20 belonged to Canada. The USA was looking to clear its lines and had a solid scrum from which to build. But slow ball allowed the defense to close on Cowdrey, who sent a line-drive toward Canada’s counter-attackers in waiting. Harvard’s Victoria Stanley corralled the kick and kept the defense guessing with two hands on the ball and a ton of space. No one bit, so the wing slipped through the defense for the try, which Gerry Atkins converted, 14-7 with 15 minutes to play.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by USA Rugby (@usarugby)

Shortly after the restart, the USA set up for a scrum on Canada’s 40. The defense was hungry and Eisenhart smartly kicked through the line with Vulaono on the chase. The wing made a really nice kick off the ground to keep ball in play but touch was called. The Canadian lineout that followed eventually built into a try from Norsten, who used a step and second gear to score through traffic, 14-12.

A key jackal after a USA scrum set up Canada for a third-straight try, this time from Tia Jordo, and the home side took a 17-14 lead into the break. Momentum was certainly with Canada, who funneled that energy into its defense early in the second half. As the USA attempted to regroup while being pushed backward, Padilla – who was TRB’s standout of the day – chipped to Vulaono, then followed for the flick pass and continued gains. [And if we’re going to talk flick passes, flanker AJ Haughey was equally as comfortable and effective with those behind-the-back connections.]

The drive ended in touch but the adventurous play continued. Sia Meni scooped up a knock-on for a good gain, and then Cindy Taulava, Padilla and Cowdrey all took turns moving forward. Three Canada penalties set up back-to-back lineouts for the USA, and on the third offense, the tap went to Haughey for a drive to the line. Nikki Lynch was right there for the pickup and dove over for the Brown University player’s second try of the series, 21-17.

Canada jackaled possession after the restart and forced multiple penalties, but the USA defense got hungry and kept the run game at the 40. When Canada went to the boot, reserve Ella Slaby calmly gathered a bouncing ball in front of the try line and sent an excellent kick that rolled to Canada’s end. Slaby had a couple of mature moments as an impact sub and worked really nicely into the back line.

MVP Padilla / Photo: USA Rugby

The teams traded punches. Canada built a nice overload out wide and by all means should have manipulated Vulaono for a breakaway, but the wing did a superb job containing the attack and forcing it to touch. Kambria Hartrick did well to gather an overthrown lineout and gallop upfield, but Canada was ready for the poach, and succeeded.

The game entered danger territory when a USA scrum sent the ball weak to Padilla, who then sent a cross-field kick for Vulaona. The ball hit the deck and took a favorable bounce for the American wing, and once again, Padilla was there for the offload. Meni took the final pass from two meters out and in traffic, but it was deemed forward. The USA shoved Canada’s 5m scrum backward and blocked the kick out of the try zone, earning its own 5m scrum. Woods went weak off the back and offloaded to Haughey for the try, 26-17.

Padilla nearly scored again and the forward punches that followed resulted in a held-up try. The teams traded possession in that 10-meter zone, and Canada finally booted the ball to touch near its 22. The throw-in went long but Meni kept it. There was a little disconnect in trying to go wide, but the ball worked back the other way and the forwards used good body position to pierce the defense. Taulava took the final punch for the try, and Eisenhart converted: 33-17.

The USA’s last try was perhaps its most spectacular. Reserve prop Akilah Cathey took the ball from deep in the USA end and just burst through the defense, built speed into the open field and dominated would-be tacklers in a north-south run. One realized just how fast the prop was moving when Norsten had to kick the chase into second gear, but the pursuit only caught up after Cathey had crossed the line. [Related: Cathey Making Moves @ Brown, USA U20s] Eisenhart converted the centered try, going 9-for-10 on the series.

Canada ended the game with a try, when a floated pass to Norsten in a little space saw the outside center tear away for a long breakaway. Lauren Maye converted, and the game ended shortly afterward: 40-24 the final. It was a massive win for the junior Eagles, who as mentioned, had not defeated the Canada U20s in eight years.