Talking points: USA make it five straight Test wins with emphatic Italy victory

The USA Women’s Eagles beat Italy 54–24 in Nashville to register their fifth Test victory in a row.

It was an astonishingly brutal performance from Jack Hanratty’s side, who went 12-0 down in the opening 15 minutes as Francesca Granzotto and Francesca Sgorbini dotted down in the early exchanges.

Soon enough, the Eagles took commanding control of the fixture. By half-time, Keia Mae Sagapolu-Sanele had dotted down twice, while Lauryn Carlton and Freda Tafuna had crossed the whitewash once each. Bella Vogel was spotless off the kicking tee.

The second half was a little more competitive, but the game had been comfortably won by the time Zoë Naude blew the final whistle.

In that second 40 minutes, Tafuna scored two more tries to secure her second WXV Global Series hat-trick. Georgie Perris-Redding scored her fourth try in two games, and Kate Zackary added some extra gloss to the scoreboard.

The Italians did see team veterans Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi and Beatrice Rigoni dot down before full-time. Those scores counted for relatively little in the end, and Plinio Sciamanna’s team finished the WXV Global Series with one win from four matches.

Here are three talking points from the Eagles’ eight-try win in Nashville…

Power mattered in Nashville

After a difficult opening 15 minutes in Tennessee, during which the USA watched Italy’s Francesca Granzotto and Francesca Sgorbini cross the try line, the Eagles went back to what they do best: using pure power.

All of their tries on Saturday came from forwards. Keia Mae Sagapolu-Sanele went over twice after the hosts worked through the phases in Italy’s 22. Soon enough, debutant Lauryn Carlton crossed the try line too. The former college hammer thrower received a pop pass from Freda Tafuna and burrowed over from close range.

Tafuna had already delivered several strong carries before sending Carlton over the whitewash. She then scored a try of her own just before half-time as Italy failed to stop her from rumbling over the line.

The ability to revert to such a devastating, forward-dominated style was hugely impressive. Italy had absolutely no answer for it.

When the second half got underway, it was much the same. Three minutes after the restart, Tafuna scored her second try from close range. The back-row forward completed her hat-trick shortly after Georgie Perris-Redding crossed the line too. Kate Zackary’s 76th-minute score further underlined the USA’s forward dominance.

Italy cannot find consistency

It felt like we had seen this Italy performance before. The opening 40 minutes were a perfect example. They had bright moments but could not maintain their attacking momentum.

Granzotto’s try was absolutely astonishing. The speed with which Italy decided to pull the trigger, and Emma Stevanin’s execution of a cross-field kick to the wing, were exceptional. Sgorbini’s reading of the USA’s exit and her subsequent charge-down were also excellent examples of rugby nous.

But almost immediately after the second try, Italy’s momentum ran out. The Eagles dominated from that point onwards.

Italy’s attacking forays were either snuffed out by the USA defence or squandered. The Eagles’ forwards were in their element.

Plinio Sciamanna must find a way for the Azzurre to maintain their momentum. Without that, we could see this extremely talented group of players go backwards.

Of course, there was more wrong with Italy’s performance than just that. Their scrum was dominated, and their tackle completion rate stood at 80% when the final whistle blew.

It was not all negative. A more pragmatic approach helped Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi cross the whitewash in the 55th minute. By full-time, Beatrice Rigoni had done the same. It just was not enough.

Italy now face a long wait before returning to action against France in the 2027 Guinness Women’s Six Nations. There is work to be done.

Jack Hanratty keeps finding talent

Perhaps the most impressive part of the USA Women’s Eagles’ first year under Jack Hanratty has been his ability to identify new talent.

It quickly became clear that 19-year-old Bella Vogel was ready to start at Test level. A couple of months later, Nina Mason emerged as another promising prospect. Abigail Paton gave up the dream of playing for the Black Ferns to become an Eagle. Hanratty has also worked well with the Women’s Sevens head coach to integrate several players from the HSBC SVNS Series squad into Test rugby.

Lauryn Carlton was the latest debutant for the team on Saturday. Stepping into the shoes of Hope Rogers is no easy task, but the Boston Banshees loosehead prop rose to the challenge. She is another player to keep an eye on.

The idea that the USA have been a sleeping giant has never seemed more applicable than it does this year. This crop of young, exciting players coming through the ranks has put the Eagles on an entirely different plane.

With an out-of-sorts England team coming to New Jersey next week, the prospect of the USA pulling off an upset is not beyond the realms of possibility. All eyes will be on Sports Illustrated Stadium.