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‘We should win’: Why USA star backs Eagles to soar in Wallaroos clash
By Finn Morton reporting from York
Alivia Leatherman believes the USA have “everything we need” to beat Australia on Saturday in York, with the victor set to take a significant step towards the quarter-finals at the Women’s Rugby World Cup.
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The USA Women’s Eagles were beaten by their Pacific Four Series rivals in Canberra about three months ago, with an Ashley Marsters double helping guide the Wallaroos to a confidence-building 27-19 win at GIO Stadium.
While the importance of that result for the Australians was a talking point post-game, the USA still remain confident ahead of this decisive pool stage fixture, despite falling to tournament hosts and favourites England 69-7 last time out.
Australia and the USA share an intense rivalry in women’s rugby, with the Americans claiming a memorable 32-25 win at Melbourne’s AAMI Park in 2024. Before that, the Australians stormed home with a dominant 58-17 triumph on June 8, 2023.
But the belief within the USA squad remains strong ahead of a decisive Test that’s been built up as practically a pool stage eliminator for both sides, with England strong favourites to go win all three matches at this stage of the tournament.
“We’ve already played them once this year and the result didn’t go our way, but I think having a team belief that we can win, and we should win, is just huge going into this week,” Leatherman told reporters in York.
“We have everything we need to win in this group, and I think that’s what it’s going to come down to, our will to win come game time.
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“Our A zone attack is really hard to defend, specifically our goal line attack, our pick-and-goes are world class and that will be a huge threat that we will bring,” she added.
While the result didn’t go the USA’s way against England in Sunderland, the Women’s Eagles have still highlighted “a lot of positives” out of the defeat. In the opening match of the tournament, the Americans showcased their potential in the first half especially.
Sadia Kabeya crossed for the opener early on, before Hannah Botterman added another try to the home side’s advantage. But then, almost out of nowhere, second-rower Erica Jarrell-Searcy raced away for an unforgettable USA try.
McKenzie Hawkins added the extras but the Americans didn’t score any other points during the rest of the match. England ended up scoring another nine tries, including doubles to Ellie Kildunne, Jess Breach and Lark Atkin-Davies.
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“Overall, it felt good. I definitely think the score line didn’t necessarily reflect how we played in the game,” Leatherman reflected.
“It was a good opening match and really gave us some things to focus on coming into the week of Australia. There were a lot of positives and a lot of things to be proud of in the game. We were sticking to our system and playing the way that we’ve been practising. We were able to execute really well.
“I think it felt surreal. Maybe they are not necessarily supporting you but supporting women’s rugby as a whole. It felt amazing to be a part of history.
“Being the largest opening crowd for Women’s Rugby World Cup was really amazing, I think it shows that women’s rugby is trending in the right direction and it’s really making its mark, not only in women’s sports, but just in sports in general, which I think is really cool.”
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