WOLFVILLE, N.S. – Despite an incredible effort in the first half, the USA Women’s Junior All-Americans were overcome 17-43 by clever set-piece play and skillful kicking from England’s U20s in their final match of the U20 Women’s Tri-Nations Cup. 

After a valiant effort saw them score two back-to-back tries to tie the game, the All-Americans had trouble responding to England’s sharp defense. Strong runs were interrupted by forced turnovers, disrupting the momentum and consistency the USA had built well into the game. 

United States’ Mata Hingano and Finau Tamaivena both displayed brilliant performances, making precise offloads and breaking open to pressure the English side. Kayla Cannett’s dummy passes and quick dashes equally stunned the opposing defense and gave the U.S. a confidence that carried them through the first half of play. 

“We were really happy with the first half performance, we played with real intent and purpose,” said Head Coach James English. “A week of preparation gave us time to really invest in the players, they got a  great feel for our principles of play and had some time to get to know each other and work in combinations.”

Though England opened by taking the first points of the game, the All-Americans bounced back with an offload from Captain Mata Hingano to Finau Tamaivena for Taimaivena to push her way across and win the points, 5-10. Kicking and set piece play was the name of the game through the majority of the half with England taking the advantage and dominating possession. 

The English side made another confident play to bring themselves up 5-17, before USA’s Hingano broke free to gain considerable ground before falling to touch. Finau Tamaivena came right in behind her, pushing the ball over the line and making it 10-17. 

Hingano would get a monster try of her own minutes later and the United States was back in it with a tie game.

England increased their lead to 17-24 just before halftime, after which play resumed and fatigue took over both sides. Penalties filled the first several minutes with possession bouncing from team to team and each threatening to score on the other. 

“England did a good job tightening up the game and really choked us,” said English. “They did a great job of disrupting and slowing down our ball at the breakdown, set piece is an area we know we need to improve. They have a lot of players who play senior rugby and their ability to control the game became evident as it went on.”

Despite the lack of momentum on the scoreboard, England owned the match with skillful kicking and forced turnovers that made it impossible for USA to capitalize on many open space runs. 

The All-Americans would continue to fight for space, possession and opportunities despite losing Tiana A’au to a yellow card on a collapsed scrum. USA’s challenges at proved even more costly after another breakdown at the scrum allowed England to win a penalty try and increase their lead 17-31.  

Three more promising runs by Finau Tamaivena, Lauren Thunen and Kayla Cannett would be denied by forced turnovers from the English side. Space would open for the opposition to score two more tries, 17-43, when the All-Americans took one last encouraging attempt before the final whistle. 

Though they didn’t walk away with a win, the Women’s Junior All-Americans delivered a well-improved performance in their second game of the Tri-Nations Cup. As the program continues towards is goal of building future national team players through the All-American pathway, international competition will continue to be an invaluable development experience. 

To help support the All-American program, visit usarugby.org/philanthropy or click here. 

WOMEN’S JUNIOR ALL-AMERICANS ROSTER | vs ENGLAND U20S | TRI-NATIONS CUP 

WOMEN’S JUNIOR ALL-AMERICANS U20 WOMEN’S TRI-NATIONS CUP STAFF

Head Coach – James English
Coach – Rob Cain (Head Coach of Women’s National Team)
Coach – Kate Daley
Strength & Conditioning Coach – Ian Jones
Athletic Trainer – Katherine Henry

WOMEN’S JUNIOR ALL-AMERICANS U20 TRI-NATIONS CUP RESULTS

vs Canada U20s | 36-12 (L)

vs England U20s | 17-43 (L)

OTTAWA – The Women’s Junior All-Americans second match versus Canada started out with some technical difficulties; literally and figuratively speaking. The live stream feed was down for the initial part of the match, and by the time the stream was up, Canada had managed to score and convert two tries. The slow start didn’t deter the All-Americans from pushing on though. USA answered back with a try of its own from No. 8 Adi Finau Tamaivena as a result from a successful line-out. Army’s Bayleigh Gable converted the kick to cut Canada’s lead in half. Canada was back on form, though, taking turnovers and little mistakes and turning them into meters up field, and in a few cases, points on the board. Taejah Thompson and Mckenzie Pusch help further Canada’s lead before the half with tries of their own.

“Canada are a physical side, particularly at the breakdown, so you can’t allow your basic skill execution drop at all,” said Head Coach Wil Snape. “The players had some tough moments but refused to let their heads drop and did the jersey proud.”

The second half of the match offered an early opportunity for the All-Americans after solid turnovers and Canadian penalties set WJAA Captain Suiluana A’Au up for a relentless carry into the try zone. Gable was not able to convert A’au’s try, locking things in at 26-12 early in the second half. A missed kick to touch turned into a
 positive counter attack for Canada, as a chip kick into USA’s backfield was fielded but not distributed with care. The loose ball allowed for a Canada’s fly half Julia Schell’s foot to push the ball into USA’s try zone and let her dot down for a five points.

Turnovers at the wrong time and penalties prevented USA from putting more points on the board the rest of the match. Meanwhile, Canada’s ability to maintain possession allowed for Julia Schell, Genevieve Kasa-Vubu, Niamh Haughey to touch down for Canada. USA continued to not back down and really raised the bar of physicality from the first match. When the sir’s whistle blew to end the match, the final score was 50-12 in favor of Canada.

“We came to Canada with the intention of improving ourselves and achieving the goals we set as a team, which we were successful in doing,” Gable said. “We didn’t get the final outcome that we wanted, but we truly played for each other and now we know what we need to work on for next time.”

WJAA will remain dormant until the next National All-Star Competition (NASC) and Elite Player Camps. Most of these athletes head back to their respective collegiate or club seasons to continue to compete and develop. A 2018 Can-Am Series is in the tentative plans to continue to offer opportunities to gain high-level competition experience for both USA and Canada.
Snape went on to explain how, “players like A’au, Navarro, Durbin, and Henrich have all come up through the Girls High School All-Americans and continue to grow. The program also allows for players like Finau Tamaivena and Milla Anderson to challenge themselves at the next level. The coaching staff is already looking forward to the next opportunity the program will have.”

WJAA | v. Canada

1. Kristina Tomelloso
2. Hannah Lewandowski
3. Anni Rolf
4. Milla Anderson (VC)
5. Taylor Makowski
6. Edna Manoa
7. Michele Navarro
8. Adi Finau Tamaivena
9. Kat Ramage
10. Bayleigh Gable
11. Kainoawaianehea
12. Suiluana A’au (C)
13. Emily Henrich
14. Becca Jane Rosco
15. Lily Durbin
16. Jade Garcia
17. Michele Reyes
18. Natalie Gray
19. 19. Joanna Moreira
20. Mary-Jane Pasioles
21. Olivia Ortiz
22. Caitline Weigel
23. Alexandra Strasser

Canada | v. WJAA
1. Veronica Harrigan
2. Jennifer Appleby
3. Kasselle Menin
4. McKinley Hunt
5. Abigail Duguid
6. Emilie Nicholl
7. Tobi Owotomo
8. Gabrielle Senft (C)
9. Sasha Guedes
10. Julia Schell
11. Taejah Thompson
12. Mckenzie Pusch
13. Jordyn Orlando
14. Christina Branch
15. Alexandra Ondo
16. Sarah Cline
17. MP Fauteux
18. Sydney de la Mare
19. Harley Tucker
20. Genevieve Kasa-Vubu
21. Taylor Donato
22. Niamh Haughey
23. Ellen Spannagel

USA | 12
Tries: Tamaivena, A’au
Conversions: Gable

Canada | 50
Tries: Harrigan, Senft, Pusch, Thompson, Schell (2), Kasa-Vubu, Haughey
Conversions: Thompson (3), Schell (2)
Disciplines: Pusch (Yellow)

OTTAWA – The Girls High School All-Americans, Powered by Atavus, ended their 2017 Can-Am Series with an improved performance versus Canada’s U-18’s program. Although the final result was a 25-5 loss for USA, the points allowed margin got cut in half from Tuesday’s first game.

“After the first match, we realized we could’ve brought more to the game” said Grant High School’s Tiana A’au. “As a team, we held each other accountable and made efforts to create a positive training environment over the last few days that fueled us for game day. “

USA came out of the gates firing, which resulted in Canada drawing a penalty in their own 22. With a chance to get points on the board, DiMarco had a great strike but the ball went just right of the posts. Canada took advantage of the 22-meter awarded after the missed kick, and quick play carried them up field. The big run resulted in a try for the Canadians in their usual pick-and-go fashion after a penalty.

The wind was a contributing factor, as every kick throughout the match were missed. More Canadian penalties and urgency from the GHSAA allowed USA to march back down the field. Canada proved to not back down either, though, as a counter attack after a USA kick gave Canada’s No. 10 Taylor Black the chance to use her dummy and fend to get into the try zone. USA answered back with a try of its own from Montana-native and No. 8 Julia Riekena after smooth ball movement and ruck possession. The kick was once again missed.

“Emilie and I always reinforce with the players our confidence in their understanding and ability to execute our game plan,” said Head Coach Farrah Douglas regarding the strong first half. “I think that knowledge coupled with their connection and bond as a team gave them the freedom to grieve our first loss, take what we needed to learn from it and go forward.”

The rest of the match saw no more points scored for the United States and plenty of stern defense. A no-wrap tackle by No. 12 Lolo Makaafi late in the second half put her in the sin bin with a yellow card from the sir. But the All-Americans kept up the defensive stand even with the disciplinary circumstances. A poor pass in the American’s 22-meter led to a frantically sliced kick that ended up in Canadian possession. The scrambled USA defense tried to recover but Canada was able to find the corner for the last try of the game. The final score was 25-5, still a victory for Canada, but a more prepared All-American defense kept less points off the board than the first match of the series.

Douglas went on to tell us how confident she is that “the future of the GHSAA program is extremely bright. These girls play a dynamic style of rugby that I think will continue to push us forward and in four to eight years, we just might see a shift in the global powerhouse of rugby.”

The GHSAA program’s next competition assembly will be in the sevens code in France, September 18-19, where the All-Americans look to build off the success they had in  2016’s Rugby Europe 7s Championship where they captured silver in a close final.

GHSAA | v. Canada
1. Haungatau
2. Jordan Cowan
3. Tiara A’au
4. Samantha Tancredi
5. Gracie Cartwright
6. Sharyf Mayer
7. Elizabeth Wilson
8. Julia Riekena
9. Morgan Freeman
10. Alexandra DiMarco
11. Cassidy Bargell (C)
12. Lolohea Makaafi
13. Tiana A’Au
14. Malery Billingy
15. Allison Koenig

GHSAA Reserves | v. Canada
16. Kateleen Dela Paz
17. Madison Jumper
18. Madylyn Becker
20. Haley Harris
21. Leilani Mendoza
22. Matja Saarenheimo-Vanderhorst
23. Salote Tausinga
24. Brianna Vasquez

Canada | v. GHSAA
1. Holly Phillips, Alberta
2. Brianna Martey
3. Tanika Bonneville
4. Alyson MacDougall
5. Valerie Wideskie
6. Courtney Holtkamp, Alberta
7. Shaye Tudor (C)
8. Celia Martensson
9. Alayna Scramstad
10. Taylor Black
11. Bridget Peros
12. Lily Stewart, Ontario
13. Brogan Mior
14. Sarah Hoerig
15. Hunter Czeppel
16. Lauren Melanson
17. Rori Wood
18. Idia Ihensekhien
19. Vyktoria Brochu
20. Berlyn Seselja
21. Erika Barton
22. Kyra Maybee
23. Emma Frey

USA | 5
Tries: Riekena
Disciplines: Makaafi (Yellow)

Canada | 25
Tries: Wideskie (2), Black, Czeppel, Brochu

OTTAWA – Tuesday’s match was a learning experience for the young side as the game ended in a 58-12 loss for the USA. With the nerves shaken off, the GHSAA is looking forward to another shot at Canada’s U-18’s program.

“We’ve spent the last few days making the adjustments necessary to put ourselves in a successful position tomorrow,” said skipper Cassidy Bargell. “Our focus has shifted to trusting and executing the system our coaches have put in place.”

The GHSAA coaching staff has made a few adjustments to the starting line-up ahead of tomorrow’s match in efforts to give the opposition a new look. The All-Americans will look to keep Canada out of their red zone where their forward-play shines, ensure tackles completion, and keep the ball alive on offense.

“The first match was a game of opportunity. We created opportunities but fell short on capitalizing on them, while Canada exploited theirs,” said Head Coach Farrah Douglas. “I think our players are ready to face the challenge after making some slight adjustments. They are ready to move forward to today’s match.”

The final match for the GHSAA on their 2017 Can-Ams tour kicks off at the University of Ottawa’s Gee Gee’s Field at 6:00 p.m. ET Saturday, August 5th. The match will be streamed live and can be viewed on Rugby Canada’s Facebook page.

Girls High School All-Americans Powered by Atavus | Can-Am Series Match #2
1. Fane Haungatau
2. Jordan Cowan
3. Tiara A’au
4. Samantha Tancredi
5. Gracie Cartwright
6. Sharyf Mayer
7. Elizabeth Wilson
8. Julia Riekena
9. Morgan Freeman
10. Alexandra DiMarco
11. Cassidy Bargell (C)
12. Lolohea Makaafi
13. Tiana A’Au
14. Malery Billingy
15. Allison Koenig
16. Kateleen Dela Paz
17. Madison Jumper
18. Madylyn Becker
19. Haley Harris
20. Leilani Mendoza
21. Matja Saarenheimo-Vanderhorst
22. Salote Tausinga
23. Brianna Vasquez

Girls High School All-Americans powered by Atavus | Can-Am Series
Farrah Douglas – Head Coach
Emilie Bydwell – Assistant Coach
Katherine Henry – Physiotherapist
Annemarie Farrell – Manager
Diane Watanabe – Physiotherapist
Terrance Cronin – MD
Craig Wilson – Videoanalyst
Kaylee Howard – Manager
Rick Humm – Coach Advisor