Nations Cup Rugby – USA vs Canada Match Report

Eagles Take Flight Over Canada in Nations Cup

from USA Rugby:

OAKVILLE, Ontario – A heart-stopping finish saw USA center Emilie Bydwell cross over at the death to give the Eagles a 15-10 Nations Cup victory over Canada on Wednesday evening at Appleby College.

With less than five minutes left to play, a wave of suspense rushed over the crowd as Canadian winger Tara Eckert found her way to the try zone, to pull the game into a deadlock, 10-10, when the conversion bounced from the uprights.

However, a focused team effort from the Eagles put the team out front just in time to usher in the sweet sound of the whistle – signaling the team’s first victory versus Canada since 2006.

“This win shows just how far our team has come since December. It’s a true testament to how much we’ve come together on and off the field,” Bydwell said following the thrilling win. ”It’s a huge step for us as we work toward the Rugby World Cup and a definite confidence boost – when we play hard as a team we can come up with the big play, whether its in the first minute or last minute of the game. All of us are just on top of the world right now.”

In a physical first half, the Eagles struggled to settle into a steady forward rhythm, but defended their line ferociously as Canada pressed hard for the try zone.

Pinned deep into its own end, the U.S. team created a human shield through several phases and held the Canadians out for the first 20 minutes. A scrumdown to Canada saw the ball safely out to winger Brittany Waters, who caught a piece of space on the outside and bolted for the corner to give Canada a one-try advantage.

The Eagles’ backline found its groove as the half pressed on and fluidly worked the ball into near scoring position, but handling errors proved costly against their worthy northern rivals, sending the squads to the benches locked at 5-0.

“We got off to a bit of a rocky start in the first half – we let our skills slip up and attempted a great deal of 50/50 passes. Credit to Canada for doing a great job of interrupting our flow and getting into our passing lanes,” USA Women’s National Team Head Coach Kathy Flores said. “However, in the second half we gradually gained momentum following a few key substitutions.”

Down but not out, a resilient USA team took the field on the offensive in the second half. With less than 10 minutes gone, center Amy Daniels caught a hand on the ball and evaded the stiff Canadian defense to put the Eagles on the board. Stephanie Bruce converted to give the U.S. a slight edge.

The Eagles kicking game helped put down the Canadian counter attack, holding the tally at 7-5 until the U.S. caught a penalty kick opportunity inside the 65th minute. Stephanie Bruce successfully footed a chip shot (1-2), to extend the margin to 5 points between the North American neighbors.

Coming up with tackle after tackle, the USA held it sights on a coveted win. However, with less than five minutes left to play nearly had its hopes dashed by Canadian winger Tara Eckert, who charged down the left side to bring the game to a 10-10 dead heat as the clock ticked down. A conversion from Julianne Zussman would have deflated the American’s sails, but the kicked pushed to the right, clanking off the upright to hold the tie.

With the door still open, the USA made the most of its time. Flanker Phaidra Knight propelled her team forward with a big run into Canadian territory and from there the USA wings took over. Once again, the ball found its way to the knowing hands of Amy Daniels, who gained ground before offloading to Emilie Bydwell for the win.

“I’m happy the team earned another win in the tournament, and to get a win over a huge rival like Canada is obviously even more exciting,” Flores added. “With about four minutes left in the game, it looked as if the game might end in a draw but we did not back down. I am proud of the team’s intensity up until the final moments,” Flores added.

The USA faces France in its final Nations Cup match on Saturday, August 22 at Fletchers Field in Markham, Ontario (kickoff 2 pm EST). The game will be shown live on the Web via USTREAM.

For more information on the USA Women’s Team, including daily blogs from the Nations Cup, visit www.usarugby.org/goto/women_eagles.

USA 15

Tries: Daniels, Bydwell

Conversions: Bruce

Penalty Kicks: Bruce

1. STACY BAKER, 2. MARI WALLACE, 3. LARA VIVOLO (repl by JAMIE BURKE),4. JENNY MENKE, 5. JILLION POTTER (repl. by SHARON BLANEY at 22 min), 6. PHAIDRA KNIGHT,
7. KRISTIN ZDANCZEWICZ, 8. MELANIE DENHAM (repl. by BLAIR GROEFSEMA), 9. CLAUDIA BRAYMER, 10. STEPHANIE BRUCE, 11. NATHALIE MARCHINO (repl. by MELANIE KANUK), 12. EMILIE BYDWELL, 13. AMY DANIELS, 14. VANESHA MCGEE (repl. by CHRISTY RINGGENBERG), 15. ASHLEY ENGLISH.

CANADA 10

Tries: Waters, Eckert

1. Kim Donaldson, 2. Ashley MacDonald, 3. Marlene Donaldson, 4. Marie-Eve Brindamour-Carignan, 5. Paige Burdett, 6. Kelly Russell, 7. Heather Jaques,

8. Barbara Mervin, 9. Julia Sugawara, 10. Anna Schnell, 11. Tara Eckert, 12. Stevi Schnoor, 13. Sarah Ulmer, 14. Brittany Waters, 15. Cheryl Phillips

Reserves: 16. Leslie Cripps, 17. Lesley McKenzie, 18. Danielle Rowlands, 19. Megan Gibbs, 20. Maria Gallo, 21. Laura Stoughton, 22. Juilianne Zussman