USA Women's Eagles Back On Home Soil This Year For First Time Since 2021
USA Women's Eagles Back On Home Soil This Year For First Time Since 2021
Under new coach Sione Fukofuka, the United States will kick off this year's Pacific Four Series campaign in front of home support against an old adversary.
The United States national women’s rugby team will compete on American soil for the first time in three years as part of World Rugby’s 2024 Pacific Four Series, which will be held from April to May, USA Rugby confirmed in a news release this week.
The annual tournament, which began in 2021 and features the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, will return to a set of to-be-determined host cities and locations, but USA Rugby’s release noted that the Eagles would play somewhere in the United States for their opening match in the event on April 27 and face Canada.
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The Pacific Four Series acts as a qualification tournament for both the WXV 1 (where top teams will join the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations) and the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, of which a top-3 finish would secure the United States a spot in each competition.
The Women’s Eagles placed fourth in last season’s Pacific Four Series.
Cheers Sione Fukofuka for joining Bill & John tonight! Great conversation had about the USA Women's program and his goals. If you missed it, the podcast replay will drop tomorrow on your favorite podcast player! pic.twitter.com/Ny2DCQx8r6
— Eagles Overseas Rugby 🏉 (@EaglesOverseas) January 18, 2024
The fixture also will act as the coaching debut of recently appointed United States' coach Sione Fukofuka, who was hired to coach the Women’s Eagles after previously being an assistant with the Australia women’s team.
“We are looking forward to the opportunity to play against three very good rugby nations again,” Fukofuka is quoted as saying in the release. “New Zealand, Canada and Australia are all highly ranked, and we see this competition as a great opportunity to test ourselves against good teams vying for qualification to WXV1. The chance to play Canada on home soil, in front of family, friends and USA fans is definitely a highlight of the international calendar, and one the players are excited about.”
In addition to the Canada match, the United States is slated to play New Zealand on May 11 and Australia on May 17, all part of this year’s Pacific Four Series.
Further details, such as match locations, times and ticket information, will be available at a later date through World Rugby and USA Rugby.