'Addicted to the outcome': How Freda Tafuna went from considering quitting to world-class contender

It was not all that long ago that Freda Tafuna was considering quitting rugby altogether.

Fast forward a few months and the USA Women’s Eagles No.8 is coming off a WXV Global Series campaign in which she starred.

In a September interview with RugbyPass, the 23-year-old said that after Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 she had been “drained physically and mentally”.

It was time for a reset. Something that the Eagles’ new head coach, Jack Hanratty provided.

A star at collegiate level, Tafuna became the first player to win the MA Sorensen Award twice during her time at Lindenwood University. She was also one of the USA’s standout performers at Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, despite the Eagles exiting at the group stage.

Tafuna has been named 44th on the RugbyPass Top 50 fresh from her exploits at WXV Global Series. Over two months the Eagles won four of their five autumn games.

Over those five fixtures – played against Ireland, Wales, Italy [two matches] and England – Tafuna scored seven tries, made 113 carries for 342 metres and beat 39 defenders.

“She’s addicted to the outcome,” Hanratty told RugbyPass. “If you go back and watch the games, whenever she scores a try, she is beaming. When she makes a massive hit, she’s beaming. When she runs over people, she’s beaming. When she gets a poach or wins a penalty, she’s loving it.

“It’s not a mind game – she genuinely loves producing the best possible outcome. The more I’ve come to realise that, the easier she’s been to coach. I think she probably learns quite similar to me, she’s a see-and-do type personality.

“She’s a modern day No.8. Every team we’ve played has a plan for her and she’s still managed to make those carry metres and put bodies on the ground.

“At the World Cup, I think people recognised that she was a very good player but perhaps saw her as a good player in an okay team. Now that we’ve been winning against Six Nations teams they are looking at her differently.

“She’s not just a good player in a team that’s losing by 60 points or someone in a team winning by a huge margin against Samoa. She’s a genuine difference-maker in games. That’s an incredible thing to have.”

Hanratty admitted that it was a “strange” first phone call with Tafuna as he sounded her out about involvement with the Eagles in 2026.

To him, she is the kind of player that could be contending for World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year and Dream Team of the Year honours in the near future.

Her reputation among in the USA was established long before her recent international exploits. Eagles midfielder Bella Vogel recalled facing Tafuna at collegiate level, admitting that the prospect of coming up against the Lindenwood back-row had ‘terrified’ her.

With her studies at Lindenwood University now complete, attention will also turn to where Tafuna continues her club career.

For now, at least, the USA can be content knowing that one of the most talented forwards in the world of rugby lives in their back-row.

“I’m really excited about the next couple of years, provided she continues to enjoy her rugby and is bought in to what we’re building,” Hanratty said. “I read on RugbyPass that she’s committed to the next World Cup, so thanks for putting that out there! I didn’t want to ask her myself.

“What excites me is that she is an unbelievably skilful player. If we needed five kickers for points, Freda would possibly be one of them. I don’t think people realise how much ability she has.

“I asked her today about basketball and she said, ‘How did you know I played basketball?’. It was pretty easy to see because of how skilful she is. She was surprised I picked up on it.

“I hope she gets more and more recognition. As teams try to take away her physical dominance, those skills and tricks are going to become increasingly important. That’s something really underestimated at the moment.”

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