Black Ferns Vs. USA Women's Rugby Highlights Pacific Four Series This Week
Black Ferns Vs. USA Women's Rugby Highlights Pacific Four Series This Week
Ilona Maher, Hope Rogers and the USA Eagles face Portia Woodman-Wickliffe and the NZ Black Ferns in 2025 Pacific Four Series finale on May 23.
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The final match of the final round of the 2025 Pacific Four Series features the New Zealand Black Ferns hosting the USA Women's Rugby team on May 23 in North Harbour, New Zealand, as time is running out for both squads to refine their play before the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup.
To say the Pacific Four Series has been a learning experience for the Eagles so far is accurate.
USA played the No. 2 team in the world, Canada, close in a 26-14 loss earlier in May. The Eagles tied the match at 14 in the 65th minute only for Canada -- like they did against New Zealand -- to surge down the stretch with two tries in the last 10 minutes.
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For the No. 3-ranked Black Ferns, the USA match comes a week after a gut-wrenching draw against Canada that saw New Zealand tie the game in the 85th minute, but a failed conversion kept the Black Ferns from winning.
Every team in the Pacific Four Series is World Cup bound in August, as the best teams look for momentum heading to England, and the Pacific Four table reflects that.
With two loses, USA is the only squad that can't win the tournament.
New Zealand and Canada are tied with eight points on the table, while Australia is at five.
Here's what to know about the Black Ferns vs. USA Women's Rugby:
Ilona Maher Is One The Biggest Stars In Rugby
USA Women's Rugby saw its rugby sevens team win bronze at the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, and that was in large part to super star Ilona Maher.
The Olympics made the 28-year-old center find herself as famous as any male counterpart in the world of rugby. She competed on "Dancing with the Stars" after the Olympics.
Now she has a chance to take the Rugby 15s world by storm.
Maher had earned back-to-back caps for the Eagles to give her four in her career. Maher is expected to earn her fifth cap against the Black Ferns.
The Black Ferns May Have Just Played The Match Of The Year Vs. Rugby Canada
The high-tempo, hard hitting and dramatic match between New Zealand and Canada on May 16 (watch the replay on FloRugby) might be the women's rugby match of the year.
The Black Ferns lost the lead in the final 15 minutes but rallied beyond the 80th minute to force a draw.
The match was between the No. 2 team in the world, Canada, and the No. 3 team, and it was a preview for what rugby fans should expect in the Women's Rugby World Cup that starts on Aug. 22.
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A New Zealand Teenager May Be The Best Player In This Game
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Braxton Sorenson-McGee, just 18, is a rising superstar in the sport of rugby and scored the Black Fern's first try against Canada. She earned her first cap in the opening game of the Pacific Four Series against rival Australia and is proving to be one of the best in the world already.
Sorenson-McGee has been on the rugby radar since she won Rookie of the Year as a 16-year-old playing for the Auckland Storm. She led New Zealand Under-18 team to a third-place finish, and she made her Super Rugby Aupiki league debut this spring for the Blues.
In her debut test match against Australia, she scored two tries against the Wallaroos.
Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, One Of The Greatest Women's Rugby Players Ever, Came Out Of Retirement
Portia Woodman-Wickliffe returned to the Black Ferns after a brief retirement following the gold medal win in rugby sevens at the Olympics. But the 33-year-old decided she wanted to attempt to win a third Women's Rugby World Cup Gold medal.
Woodman-Wickliffe has led New Zealand to the last two Women's Rugby World Cup wins, not to mention the last two rugby sevens gold medals.
She has 25 caps for the Black Ferns since 2013 and scored 190 points. She once scored 40 points and eight tries in a match against Hong Kong.
USA Rugby Has Hope Rogers
Hope Rogers, 32, is one of the greatest USA Women's players in history with 53 caps, the most of any player. And No. 53 saw her score three tries against Australia.
Rogers has played two World Cups and been a mainstay for the Eagles.
How To Watch Black Ferns Vs. USA Women's Rugby
The USA Women's Rugby match against the Black Ferns is streaming live on FloRugby and the FloSports app. Highlights, breaking news and more updates will be on both platforms.
Black Ferns Vs. USA Women's Rugby Kickoff Time, Date
Coverage of the match begins at 11:35 p.m. ET from North Harbour Stadium in North Harbour, New Zealand.
USA Women's Rugby Lineups, Black Ferns Lineups?
Lineups and teams haven't been selected yet for the match, but should be announced by May 22.
When Is The Women's Rugby World Cup? What Is The Schedule?
Here's the schedule for pool play at the Women's Rugby World Cup:
Friday, Aug. 22, 2025:
- 2:30 PM ET: England vs USA
Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025:
- 7 AM ET: Australia vs Samoa
- 9:45 AM ET: Scotland vs Wales
- 12:30 PM ET: Canada vs Fiji
- 3:15 PM ET: France vs Italy
Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025:
- 7 AM ET: Ireland vs Japan
- 9:45 AM ET: South Africa vs Brazil
- 12:30 PM ET: New Zealand vs Spain
Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025:
- 7 AM ET: Canada vs Wales
- 9:45 AM ET: Scotland vs Fiji
- Noon ET: England vs Samoa
- 2:30 PM ET: USA vs Australia
Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025:
- 7 AM ET: Ireland vs Spain
- 9 AM ET: New Zealand vs Japan
- 10:30 AM ET: Italy vs South Africa
- 11:45 AM ET: France vs Brazil
Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025:
- 7 AM ET: Canada vs Scotland
- 8:30 AM ET: USA vs Samoa
- 9:45 AM ET: Wales vs Fiji
- Noon ET: England vs Australia
Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025:
- 7 AM ET: Japan vs Spain
- 9 AM ET: Italy vs Brazil
- 9:45 AM ET: New Zealand vs Ireland
- 11:45 AM ET: France vs South Africa
Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 Groups
Pool A
- England
- Australia
- USA
- Samoa
Pool B
- Canada
- Scotland
- Wales
- Fiji
Pool C
- New Zealand
- Ireland
- Japan
- Spain
Pool D
- France
- Italy
- South Africa
- Brazil
World Rugby Women's Rugby Rankings
Here are the top 10 of the rankings as of May 19, 2025
- England 97.56
- Canada 89.58
- New Zealand 88.74
- France 85.92
- Ireland 78.78
- Australia 77.88
- Scotland 76.56
- Italy 75.23
- USA 72.05
- Wales 70.81
How To Watch Rugby Matches In The United States On FloRugby
FloRugby and FloSports also are the U.S. home to:
FloRugby also is home to match archives and match replays.