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Hope Rogers: Owning the 'best loosehead in the world’ ambition
By Joe Harvey
For as long as Hope Rogers can remember, she has strived for perfection.
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Since the USA Women’s Eagle was 16, she has honed her craft on the rugby field and this weekend will overtake Jamie Burke as her nation’s most-capped player when they host Canada this Friday night in Missouri.
Her longing to be the best has seen Rogers named in the World Rugby Women’s 15s Dream Team of the Year twice in the past three years, over half a decade as one of Exeter Chiefs’ top performers and even represent her nation in sevens.
Even though it is her performances that have warranted recognition from across the globe, the 32-year-old has never entirely felt comfortable in broadcasting her goal. Until now.
“One of the things I’m trying to be a bit more confident about is saying I want to be the best loosehead in the world,” she said.
“I want to continue to be the best loosehead in the world and I want to earn that, show that and put the work in to be that. Sometimes I feel a bit weird saying it, but it is what I want to be.”
That pursuit of excellence has overwhelmed so many aspects of Rogers’ life.
Whether it was as a student, teaching or coaching, she aspires to be nothing short of the best. On the rugby field that is undeniable.
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Since the early end of the Premiership Women’s Rugby season, the 32-year-old has been refocusing for this latest stretch playing international rugby.
Hitting a series of new personal bests in the gym and almost attached her national team’s strength and conditioning coaches, there is little reason why Rogers cannot continue being best in class for another year.
The 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup will make that race for the women’s Dream Team a little more intense as players the world over try to prove their mettle under the glare of the worldwide public.
Rogers’ desire to be the player that other looseheads around the world look to for inspiration has heightened in recent months.
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After the introduction of Sione Fukofuka as the head coach of the Women’s Eagles last year, there has been a wholesale shift of mentality throughout the squad as performances have grown more confident.
“I’m a perfectionist to be honest,” Rogers said, “and I put a lot into rugby, I care a lot about rugby, I care a lot about my performance, and I care even more about our team’s performance.
“I probably have wanted to be the best loosehead in the world, probably since year one of playing international rugby.
“I’ve always been quite driven. It feels a bit awkward to say, but I would say under Sione, I have had a bit more confidence to say it out loud.
“That’s what I want to be and take more ownership of it. Being recognised as that a few times in the past helps a bit as well, but I have never wanted to be complacent and keep working hard to earn it.
“I’m always chasing to be better, and as a 32-year-old who is aiming for my fourth World Cup, it is exciting to know that I’m still learning and I’m growing.”
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That shift in mentality is not the only significant change that Rogers has noticed.
Now a 12-year veteran of the Women’s Eagles setup, the loosehead and the rest of the squad are being financially supported throughout this run to the Rugby World Cup.
It is a notable change for a player who had to reach into her own pockets to compete at the highest level over a decade ago.
“My first USA camp was pay to play, so you actually had to pay and resource money to be able to go,” Rogers said.
“Whereas for the first time this year, we’re getting contracts through to the World Cup.
“Being in a place in 2013 when I had to fundraise, because I was a poor kid who had to ask people for money, to now, where you’re getting something is huge.
“Simple things like scheduling and laundry and things like that, other staff are taking care of. We are now fully focused on our performance.
“We don’t have to worry as much about things because they are pre-planned and organised for us.
“I know these things might not sound huge, but at the end of the day, it’s the one per cent things that are making the biggest differences.”
Across 2024, the Eagles won three of their nine Test matches as Sione Fukofuka got his feet under the desk.
Their 32-25 Pacific Four Series win over Australia in Melbourne was undoubtedly the team’s highlight of the year, alongside their third-place finish in that competition.
It was across WXV 1, battling it out against England, France and Ireland, that laid bare exactly where the USA need to improve in 2025.
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Despite having seen their attitude and application mould to the form their head coach wanted to see, a lack of cutting edge ultimately saw the side fall short in several key outings.
“The Ireland game, for example, was a game I believe we should have won,” Rogers said. “There’s just a moment where we kind of fell back into the pattern of the team that we used to be. Some of what we’re doing is breaking old habits and continuing to up skill sets.
“It was essentially a few minutes of time where Ireland scored two tries, and the rest of the game we were on the front foot.
“Against England, we were within one try up until the last 10 minutes of the game, when they scored four or five tries.
“It is just moments where we need to continue being able to compete and perform for the whole game, not just parts.
“What’s great about how high the level that women’s rugby is getting is, you have to perform for 80 minutes.”
The Eagles were left frustrated once more when they hosted Japan in California over the weekend.
A warm-up game for the new Pacific Four Series campaign, which starts against Canada this Friday in Kansas City, the Eagles squandered a 21-19 half-time lead and ultimately lost the contest 33-39 late on.
With matches only going to get tougher in the weeks to come, Rogers and her teammates will have to recover fast if they want to regain momentum for a positive 2025.
On top of it being a Rugby World Cup year, the Eagles will be under the microscope as the first team to take on the Red Roses at their home tournament.
The countdown to that date at the Stadium of Light is only intensifying, as will every team’s preparation for a shot at glory in September.
Perhaps emboldened by the improvement in their performances last year, Rogers is not counting out anything at this moment in time.
About to enter the history books herself as the Eagles’ all-time appearance maker, the 32-year-old thinks that adding to her nation’s 1991 World Cup win is within reach too.
“It was clear that last year was about building and connecting and growing and performance,” Rogers said. “This year is about winning and showing that we can finish games and win.
“We have quite a clear path of the team we want to be and how we get there. We go through our identity, who we want to be known as and how we want to be seen.
“Mel [Bosman], our forwards coach, said something that stuck with me the other day in our meeting; if we are not here to win a World Cup, why are we here?
“That’s our goal, to win a World Cup. That is what we are competing for.”
Watch USA Eagles Women v Canada Women live and for FREE on the RugbyPass app. Friday 2 May. Kick-off 20:30 EST/17:30 PST/ 01:30am BST
Good player, not sure she is the best in the world. My memories of the USA/Red Roses match in WXV are that England were nearly always comfortably ahead, by more than a converted try, and ran riot in the second half. The biggest compliment I can pay her is that she would make the Red Roses squad.