‘We want to be a top five team’: USA Women’s Eagles dare to dream big as belief builds

The USA Women’s Eagles are currently on a four-game winning streak. If they defeat Italy for the second time in two weeks, they will have won five straight games for the first time since Women’s Rugby World Cup 2006.

Five seems to be the magic number in the Eagles’ camp. What was once whispered with caution is now confidently stated by coaches and player. They want, or better yet, they expect to become a top five team in the world.

“We’ve talked about it as a group, and we’ve talked about our ability to do so,” veteran No.8 Kate Zackary told RugbyPass ahead of the Eagles’ showdown against Italy in Nashville. “For years, we’ve struggled to live up to the ‘sleeping giant’ tag, but we’ve found some momentum this year.”

Zackary has been a stalwart for the USA since she debuted against France in 2016. She’s played in three Women’s Rugby World Cups and one Rugby World Cup Sevens.

She knows the effort it takes to compete with the best, and she is beginning to see something in this coaching group and pool of players that has her convinced the USA can climb to new heights.

Coming off of their 36-27 victory over Italy in their first home WXV Global Series fixture, Zackary was really happy with the confidence that the team played with.

“We’ve struggled with this in the past,” she admitted, but noted, “we have a load of confidence in all of our players, which is amazing. In the first half we were building confidence off of the Ireland win. We did let Italy back into the game in the second half, but what you saw was a more confident response.”

There is still room for improvement. In the last 30 minutes against the Azzurre, the Eagles only scored three points and were under pressure from a relentless Italian attack.

“We were still trying to play loose and were overexcited with the ball,” Zackary said. “The messages from the coaches were to get back to basics – to regain momentum through physicality. The best teams in rugby know when to play with physicality and momentum.”

Still, Zackary is convinced the team is headed in the right direction. With five wins out of eight test matches since Jack Hanratty was appointed coach in December of 2025, the team is trending upward. There is a strong blend of experienced players and exciting youngsters. But perhaps most importantly, there is a new mentality and belief within the group.

Captain Georgie Perris-Reading was the star of the show as the Eagles blitzed the Italians in Texas. The 29-year-old flanker scored a hat-trick of tries as she led the team to victory.

Before the game, she also acknowledged the change that’s taken place since Hanratty took charge.

“The [2025] World Cup was really tough for a variety of reasons,” said Perris-Reading. “But when Jack first came in, he spoke to every single player on the team. It was enough for those players considering not coming back to give the new set-up a chance.”

Now the team is playing with confidence, building game on game with the ultimate goal of becoming one of the best sides in the world and challenging for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2029 in Australia and ultimately the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2033 on home soil.

Results have been improving along the way. Despite early losses to the Black Ferns and Canada, there has been marked improvement with victories in Pretoria, Dublin and Cardiff, and a home win against the Wallaroos in the Pacific Four Series.

Ahead of last week’s match against Italy, Hanratty said: “We want it to be hard to beat the Eagles.”

Team fitness levels have been a big focus under Hanratty, who has introduced “top-up conditioning” and has had his players train with the USA Bronze Medal sevens stars.

Hanratty is happy to see that since April the team’s offload numbers are up and that they are leading to tries from mauls and creating set piece opportunities.

Perris-Reading has even noticed a change in how her teammates speak about the game.

“We talk about rugby IQ a lot now. That’s not something we’d done a lot in the previous four years. In the last few weeks, I’ve been so impressed by this group’s ability to implement changes. That’s something that makes a team elite.”

While the Eagles are not taking their rematch with Italy for granted, their biggest test will come Halloween weekend against reigning world champions, England. Despite a recent slip against Canada, the Red Roses remain the measuring stick in women’s rugby and will provide a massive challenge for the Women’s Eagles in New Jersey.

Neither Perris-Reading, who was raised in Manchester and plays for Sale Sharks, nor Zackary are shying away from the English challenge. Zackary acknowledged that the team will have to find ways to deal with England’s versatile kicking game and their strong set pieces, but she noted those are some of the Eagles’ strong suits.

Ahead of the first game against Italy, coach Hanrraty noted that the best rugby teams need to find ways to deal with their opposition’s strengths. He will no doubt be carrying that mentality into the last game of the international season.

As he said, “If we’re going to be a top five team in the world, we have to be able to match their best.”

Winning on home soil against the best in the world would “be immense.”

“I want to win it,” Zackary told RugbyPass. “I want to win it in America, for America, but I don’t want to lose sight of those small [in-game] victories.”

With everything to play for to close out the 2026 season, the Women’s Eagles are looking to build on their momentum, continue to give valuable minutes to rising stars like fly-half Bella Vogel, and prove they can compete with the best in the world.

Inside the group, there is a belief that they can take a huge leap forward. As Perris-Reading exclaimed, “There is something genuinely very special about this group of girls.”