Talking points: Hat-trick hero Tafuna secures victory over Wales

The USA Women’s Eagles made it two wins from two in Europe after edging Wales 26-24 in a feisty contest at Cardiff Arms Park.

The visitors flew out of the blocks as their forwards patiently worked through the phases before last week’s player of the match Freda Tafuna went crashing under the posts for the first try of the game.

Bella Vogel added the extras with ease and the Eagles were 7-0 up early on.

It was a fiery start to say the least, with referee Amber McLachlan speaking to the captains after some heated words were exchanged between the sides, but the USA continued to apply huge pressure and Tafuna crossed once again, with co-captain Georgie Perris-Redding helping to drive her on.

The try was checked by the TMO to see if Emily Henrich obstructed Wales defenders in the build-up, but the decision stood and Bella Vogel added the extras to extend the lead to 14-0.

Wales needed a response and got one through experienced scrum-half Keira Bevan.

Co-captain Kate Williams showed her sensational pace and made a mammoth carry before Amy Williams took Wales to within touching distance of the try line.

Although the USA briefly won the ball back, Bevan spotted the space and sniped through for a sensational score.

Just two minutes later, the visitors hit back as Erica Coulibaly collected the ball on the right, stepped past two Wales defenders and went soaring through to dot down under the posts, with Vogel successfully converting.

A TMO check for a high tackle on Sisilia Tuipulotu resulted in a penalty rather than a card, but the home side still made the most of the opportunity with ten minutes to go until half time.

Off the back of a driving maul, Kelsey Jones broke away to score Wales’ second try and Bell added the extras, with the momentum suddenly seeming to shift.

Another two tries in quick succession followed for Sean Lynn’s side, with the forwards turning up the physicality massively.

Tuipulotu powered over before co-captain Alex Callender found the smallest gap in the USA defence to complete a remarkable turnaround.

From 14-0 down, Wales went into half-time 24-21 ahead.

The second half was a much tighter affair, with neither side able to find the same attacking fluency they had shown before the break.

Eventually, the decisive score arrived.

The powerful number eight Tafuna found the line for her third score of the afternoon, after the USA forwards patiently worked through a series of pick and goes.

Wales pushed for a response, but the Jack Hanratty’s side had done enough, and the Eagles saw out a dramatic 26-24 victory to make it two wins from two on their European tour.

Only difference in opening quarter was possession

There was arguably very little difference between these two sides throughout the contest in terms of physicality, attacking threat and overall quality.

Both Wales and the USA looked dangerous and exciting when they had the ball in hand, but the big difference was how long they were able to keep it for.

The visitors controlled their phase play brilliantly, slowly plugging away and eventually finding the gaps to dot down for two early scores in the opening quarter, whilst Sean Lynn’s side looked slightly nervous and struggled to keep the ball long enough to get themselves in the right area of the field.

It was not that Wales lacked attacking ideas – they simply did not have enough sustained possession to put them into action.

Once the home side settled into the game, we saw exactly what they were capable of.

Wales showed plenty of fight

At 14-0 down after the opening 20 minutes, Wales could have very easily allowed the game to get away from them.

Instead, they showed tremendous character to completely turning the contest around.

They settled, began playing fast, physical rugby and caused the USA problems, with Bevan’s try acting as the turning point.

From there, the forwards began to make serious ground, with Kelsey Jones finishing off the driving maul before Tuipulotu and Callender added two more tries in quick succession.

Suddenly, Wales had gone from 14-0 down to 24-21 ahead.

Whilst the 11th-ranked side ultimately fell just short against the sixth-ranked USA, making them work this hard for victory can give Lynn and his players plenty of heart going forward.

After beating South Africa and now pushing the Eagles to the wire, there are clear signs of promise for this Welsh side ahead of their trip to Japan in October.

Hat-trick hero Freda Tafuna

Player of the match awards two weeks in a row, a winning try against Ireland and now a hat-trick against Wales, it’s safe to say Freda Tafuna is absolutely shining throughout this WXV Global Series.

The USA number eight was everywhere in Cardiff, with her first two tries giving her side their early advantage and her third winning them the game.

Tafuna was so prominent and vocal throughout, constantly putting herself in the right positions and showing outstanding awareness of what was unfolding around her.

Her carrying power gave Wales huge problems to deal with and she manged to find the gaps throughout. She is on a different level at the minute and arguably one of the standout performers from the WXV Global Series.

As the USA Women’s Eagles now regroup and prepare to face Italy in October, it’s going to be exciting to see what Tafuna can do throughout the rest of the campaign.