USA Rugby take encouragement from WXV campaign despite England defeat

A 55-12 defeat to England at home was hardly the way the USA Women’s Eagles wanted to bring their 2026 campaign to a close. However, the result does little to diminish the progress made under Jack Hanratty during his first year as head coach.

At the WXV Global Series, heading into the final weekend, the USA were the only unbeaten team after recording two victories against Italy, alongside wins over Wales and Ireland.

The successful run also provided a platform for Freda Tafuna to firmly establish herself as one of the emerging stars of the international game, offering further encouragement for the Eagles’ future.

Well beaten by England at Sports Illustrated Stadium, the USA camp did not allow a heavy defeat to dampen their spirits.

“We said at the start of the week that if we could challenge the world champions in certain aspects of the game, it would demonstrate massive growth,” Hanratty said.

“I think we did that today. Certainly, in the first 50 or 60 minutes, we challenged them and made things uncomfortable, and that’s what we should be doing.

“If you’d offered us four wins out of five in the WXV Global Series, I think we probably would have taken that, given the stage we’re at. The number of new caps we’ve had this year is really special.

“Some of them were certainly thrown in at the deep end today, but that’s exactly what we should be doing. Getting proper competition and playing against the best is what we want.”

For USA co-captain Georgie Perris-Redding, the experience of testing themselves against the world’s best was another important step in the development of a squad containing an increasing number of young players.

Across the three-week series, the flanker and her teammates enjoyed strong home support in Texas, Tennessee and New Jersey, while the Eagles climbed to sixth in the World Rugby rankings.

Across the year, the Eagles have welcomed a whole host of new players, including World Rugby Women’s 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year nominee Bella Vogel, as the team targets continued improvement during the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2029 cycle.

“We still have girls playing college rugby,” Perris-Redding said. “They’ve now played international Test-match rugby against the Rugby World Cup champions, and I think that growth and those learnings are so important.

“We were in the game in the first half, and I think we need to remember that. England are a very good side. They were classy and clinical, so we’re disappointed with the scoreline, but I think this experience is incredibly important for the growth of this team. I’m super proud of the girls.”

While the immediate focus will eventually shift towards the 2027 Pacific Four Series, Hanratty’s longer-term ambitions extend well beyond the next international campaign.

His work has extended beyond the senior Eagles, with tours involving the Under-20s and Falcons providing further opportunities to identify emerging talent. That development work will be central to his ambition of building greater depth across the programme.

“For this programme to continue developing, we need to play proper opposition, and we can’t waste a day,” Hanratty said. “When you ask American athletes how many games they play, they tend to think about the number of matches.

“For me, we need to give that question a different meaning. How many games have you played where you’ve had to finish strongly? How many times have you had to chase a game or fight to win it? That experience is invaluable.

“If we’re going to be successful in four years’ time, and if we’re going to continue the progress we’ve made, we need a pool of 50 players. That pool of 50 isn’t going to be made up entirely of players in the PWR or playing in France. But having those opportunities available is massively important.”