USA Displaced From Band 2, Drops To 9th Position In World Rugby Women’s Rankings
By Priscilla Rotich
The United States has moved from band 2 to 3 after suffering three consecutive defeats at WXV 1. It ended up at the bottom of the pool in the WXV 1 rankings and has now slipped to ninth place in the World Rugby rankings.
The USA is now in the same band as Wales, Japan, and South Africa. Italy's 23-19 win over South Africa secured their rise to band two. USA participation in the WXV 1 marked the Women’s Eagles' debut in WXV 1, where they faced top global teams.
During their inaugural WXV 1 match, the USA was defeated by England with a score of 21-61. England secured nine tries as they commenced their WXV 1 title defense with a victory over the United States in Vancouver.
Subsequently, they competed against France and were defeated with a score of 14-22. The match against France witnessed a series of exchanges, with both teams grappling with penalties and handling errors. France took an early lead through a penalty kick, taking advantage of a mistake by the USA.
The Eagles countered with resilient defense, but France succeeded in scoring the first try by exploiting space on the periphery and showcasing their swift ball movement.
The United States lost to Ireland 14-26 in their third match. The game was marked by numerous penalties. Regarding their defeat, Eagles coach Sione Fukofuka said,” We’ve heard four weeks together, a WXV 1 tournament against some of the best teams in the world.”
“We’re really pleased at what we’ve grown to, but back in the game we could’ve been a little smarter and our discipline was a challenge,” she added.
Canada, the hosts of WXV 1, are now trailing behind England by 8.25 points in second place. New Zealand is still in third place, with France, who were defeated 39-14 by the Black Ferns in the final round of WXV 1, now in fourth place.
Australia, the newly crowned champions of WXV 2, is the fifth seed in the second group, along with Ireland, Scotland, and Italy. The Wallaroos moved up to fifth place after defeating last year's champions 31-22 in the title match in Cape Town.
