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Aug 28, 2008

Women's National Team - What's your Opinion?

I am sure most of the women's rugby world was following the Women's National Team's progress at the Nations Cup and have also been following Goff's and other news sources updates on the tournament. Goff's latest article Eagle Eye on USA Women (subscription required) has really stirred up the pot. Within two hours of posting the article there were already 2 pages of comments and overnight there is another page of comments.

Some of the points of Goff's article in my opinion are out of line and some are of course right in line. Along the same idea, some of the comments are well thought and well written, while some of the comments are low-class and irrelevant. However, I do not want to open a hate fest or a negative arena like Goff's comments have become. Let's really get down to the nitty gritty and lets talk about what we really think will help. Put Me in Coach posted along the same lines yesterday and a few of you have emailed with similar interests. I have posted one of the best written responses yet and Kalie from Brown University has let me know that I can share it on this forum.

Wendy-

I realized very quickly this afternoon that Alex Goff did a pretty good job opening a tricky can of worms regarding the WNT. The responses to his article are all over the place (the ones posted on the site), but clearly he hit some nerves in the wider rugby community....

I have plenty of criticisms for Goff, and often I just take his writing with a shaker of salt and leave the rest be.

But I don't think that his article should be the only point of reference for what he's talking about. He goes from lesbianism to league structures--it's too much at once, it's too complicated and his oversimplification is a bad choice to make...one conversation is about collegiate play, one is about adult league structures, another is about elite level professionalism, one is about national team development structure, another is about the presence of communities within rugby, another is about sport and sexuality and identity...etc etc He leaves it as a jumble, and his audience sounds like its running right into that jumble.

I think it would be a very interesting opportunity to capture more articulate and thoughtful responses, writing, opinions, and questions that come from some of this. Untangle the different ideas that he gets at, and shed the most accurate light on the issues. While it would be easy enough to send out a few emails to my own rugby network and get well written thoughts back, I figured I'd turn to you first, and see if you think it'd be worthwhile to use this as a chance to invite people to respond personally (personal email) and honor the well written arguments...synthesize some things into your own blog entries, or something like that. Pretty much, I started writing down what I had to say, but realized my ideal would be to coordinate....to really look into this in a legitimate way... your thoughts??? I must sound vague right now, but I have some specific ideas spinning around my head...

Let me know what you think if you get a chance.

Best,
Kalie Gold

Brown University '08
Brown Women's Rugby (alumna)

So Kalie has started the conversation, what do you want to talk about? What parts of this program need tweaking? Is it really money, sexuality, staff etc...please keep in mind that I will not delete your comment or email because it is negative, but I would hope that we can all be positive and really work on things that can be fixed.

Send me your thoughts via email or leave them in the comments.

Aug 26, 2008

Highlights: USA v England Nations Cup Match, full match available for download

Courtesy of Put me in Coach!

Highlights courtesy of Escher Rugby Club. I've been going back and forth trying to get the quality up without the bandwidth sucking, and I've basically given up. Presented for your pleasure are 2 different players. The youtube player is lower fidelity, but will start playing quickly.


The podbean player will you you nice high fidelity, but takes forever.

Low:



High (scroll down):











Download the full match here, in it's entirety. Be forewarned, its a 441 meg file - you are on your own for download support.

Pictures from the Nations Cup matches can be found at Scrumpix here.

WNT Fades against Canada, Loses Nations Cup Match
Roster Announced for match against Canada, for that story, click here.
England Defeats USA 17-14 in Nations Cup Opener, for that story click here.
USA Announces roster for opening Nations Cup Match, click here for the story.
England beat the USA in their first match 50-3, for that story click here.

WNT Fades in Second Half, Loses Nation Cup Match against Canada

WNT Fades in Second Half, Loses Nation Cup Match against Canada
from USARugby.org

BOULDER, Colo. - Despite kicking off to an aggressive start, the USA Women's National Team lost its final Nations Cup match versus Canada at Esher RFC in Surrey on Tuesday evening.

The U.S. Women held possession for the better part of the first half and continued to attack inside Canada's end, but could not quite finish, sending both teams into the break with the score stuck at 0-0.

After switching sides, Canada caught the lead early 3-0 in the second half, off a penalty kick from Anna Schnell and try as they may, the USA Women could not capitalize on penalty opportunities of their own or push forward enough to retaliate.

As the game pressed on neither team could get the ball to drop in their favor and the game held at 3-0 until the 75th minute when Canada replacement center Mandy Marchak ran in for the first try of the game, with Julianne Zussman kicking the extras to put the team up 10-0.

Finally, inside injury time, Canada's Maria Gallo finished off the match, darting 40 meters to seal a 15-0 victory for the Canadian side.

"We had all of the tools needed for a win and had great practices leading into today's match, but we suffered because we couldn't retain possession of the ball and in the second half we stopped going forward," USA Women's Head Coach Kathy Flores said after the game.

Canada will meet England on Friday, August 29, for a friendly rematch, while the U.S. heads home, with a 0-2 tally in Nations Cup play. The team's loss against Canada came after an impressive display against the England Women, which saw the two sides battle it out to the bitter end, leading to a 17-14 final in England's favor.

USA 0 1 Farrah Douglas (Chicago North Shore), 2 Mari Wallace (Berkeley All Blues), 3 Jamie Burke (At-Large), 4 Jillion Potter (MN Valkyries), 5 Lara Vivolo (New York), 6 Mel Denham (Berkeley All Blues), 7 Beckett Royce (Oregon Sports Union), 8 Blair Groefsema (Berkeley All Blues), 9 Kim Magrini (Keystone), 10 Kristin Baja (New York), 11 Nathalie Marchino (Berkeley All Blues), 12 Lynelle Kugler (Glendale), 13 San Juanita Moreno (ORSU), 14 Desiree Markovich (Berkeley All Blues),

Replacements: 16 Lisa Butts (Davis Women), 17 Stacy Baker (Philadelphia) - in for Burke @ 62 min, 18 Christina Hobson (Morris Rugby), 19 Liz Dilley (Washington Furies) in for Royce @ 72 min, 20 Katy Hertel (Minnesota Valkyries), 21 Mel Kanuk (Maryland) in for Moreno @ 65 min, 22 Ashley Kmiecik (Emerald City Mudhens) in for Marchino @ 55 min

Yellow Card: Kugler @ 47 min

Canadian 15 15. Julianne Zussman 14. Brittney Waters (Velox Valkryies) 13. Maria Gallo (At Large) 12. Stevi Schnoor (United) 11. Cheryl Phillips (Toronto Scottish) 10. Anna Schnell (Burnaby Lake) 9. Laura Stoughton (Calgary Irish) 8. Kelly Russell (Toronto Nomads) 7. Barbara Mervin (Velox Valkryies) 6. Jennifer Kish (Edmonton Rockers) 4. Paige Burdett (Calgary Irish) 3. Marlene Donaldson (Velox Valkryies) 1. Kim Donaldson (Burnaby Lake)

Replacements: 16. Nicole Tyminksi (Edmonton Druids) 17. Leslie Cripps (Saracens _Eng) 18. Heather Jacques (Capilano) 19. Katies Murray (Lep Tigers) 21. Ashley Patzer (Lethbridge) 22. Mandy Marchak (Capilano)

Tries: Marchak, Gallo Conversions: Zussman PKs: Schnell

Pictures from the Nations Cup matches can be found at Scrumpix here.

Roster Announced for match against Canada, for that story, click here.
England Defeats USA 17-14 in Nations Cup Opener, for that story, click here.
USA Announces roster for opening Nations Cup Match, click here for the story.
England beat the USA in their first match 50-3, for that story click here.

Aug 25, 2008

Women Eagles Prepare for Canada - Nations Cup

Women Eagles Prepare for Canada
from USA Rugby.

8.25.08 - The Women Eagles will take on Canada in the final match of the Nation's Cup on Tuesday. Head Coach Kathy Flores released the roster for the match which now includes previously injured captain and fullback Ashley English.

Canada dropped their first Cup match in a hard fought battle to England, 9-43, on Sunday evening, making England the clear winner for the series. England ran in seven tries against the Canadians. Now the US and Canada will play off for the runner's up spot in the inaugural Nation's Cup.

US Women's National Team vs Canada Roster

1. Farrah Douglas (Chicago North Shore)
2. Mari Wallace (Berkeley All-Blues)
3. Jamie Burke (At-large)
4. Jillion Potter (MN Valkyries)
5. Lara Vivolo (New York)
6. Mel Denham (Beantown)
7. Beckett Royce (Oregon Sports Union)
8. Blair Groefsema (Berkeley All-Blues)
9. Kim Magrini (Keystone)
10. Kristin Baja (New York)
11. Nathalie Marchino (Berkeley All-Blues)
12. Lynelle Kugler (Glendale)
13. San Juanita Moreno (Oregon Sports Union)
14. Desiree Markovich (MN Valkyries)
15. Ashley English (Berkeley All-Blues)

16. Lisa Butts (Davis Women)
17. Stacy Baker (Philadelphia)
18. Christina Hobson (New York)
19. Elizabeth Dilley (Washington Furies)
20. Katy Hertel (MN Valkyries)
21. Mel Kanuk (Maryland)
22. Ashley Kmiecik (Emerald City Mudhens)

Pictures from the Nations Cup matches can be found at Scrumpix here.

England Defeats USA 17-14 in Nations Cup Opener, for that story click here.
USA Announces roster for opening Nations Cup Match, click here for the story.
England beat the USA in their first match 50-3, for that story click here.

Midwest Women Take All-Star Sevens Title

from USARugby.org

8.25.08 - CHESWICK, Pa. - The Midwest Women both put down their counterparts from the West to take home the 2008 All-Star Sevens Championship crown on Sunday, August 24 at Founders Field, outside of Pittsburgh.

In a fantastic contest between the Midwest and West, it was the Midwest that came out on top 19-17 to take home the cup. The Thunderbirds shutout three-time defending champions, the Northeast Women, 19-0 to earn their spot in the final and Kristy Ringgenberg was named tournament MVP for the women, a perfect ending for long-time Midwest Head Coach Mark Santiago, who has said this will be his final year coaching the side.

"I'm happy for our team, their incredible efforts and perseverance out on the pitch," Santiago said.

Plate honors were given to the 2007 champion sides, the Northeast powered past the Mid-Atlantic Women, 15-5 to take home some hardware of their own.

In the Bowl Final, Pacific Coast came out on top 17-12 over the Under-23 Women; and the SoCal Women too home a win in the seventh place match.

Day 2 Results
Pac Coast 17, So Cal 10 (Bowl Semi Finals)
Under-23s 15, South 10 ( Bowl Semi Finals)
Midwest 19, Northeast 0 (Cup Semi Finals)
West 10 MARFU 0 (Cup Semi Finals)
Southern California 17, South 0 (7/8th place)
Pacific Coast 17, Under-23s 12 (Bowl Final)
Northeast 15, MARFU 5 (Plate Final)
Midwest 19, West 17 (Cup Final)

Day 1 Results and rosters can be found here.

Rugby Video Monday: Rugby in the Olympics?

This video is getting posted all over the web and has over 25,000 views, so I knew it had to be posted! Thanks to Hoop from NYRC for sending it in, and I agree it gives me CHILLS too! Wouldn't Olympic Rugby be just fantastic?



Other Rugby Video Mondays:
8/18/2008: All Blacks Training Video
8/11/2008: Phelps and the 4X100 Free
8/4/2008: Penn State Documentary: Off to Do or Die
7/28/2008: Dropkicking Props!
7/22/2008: NY Rugby's U19 Program on ABC
7/14/2008: Letchworth Girls' Rugby
7/7/2008: USA U20 WNT vs South Africa

Please keep sending me your favorite videos: yourscrumhalfconnection@gmail.com!

Aug 24, 2008

All-Star Sevens Championships Get Underway at Founders Field

All-Star Sevens Championships Get Underway at Founders Field

CHESWICK, Pa. – Defending champions, the Mid-Atlantic Men and Northeast Women still remain in the hunt to retain their 2007 All-Star Sevens Championship titles, as both finished atop their respective pools at the close of day one at Founders Field, near Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Men’s competition
In the Men’s rounds, No. 4 seeded Southern California had the best performance on the day, finishing 3-0 in the pool rounds to advance to the Cup Semi Finals against second-place Pool A finishers Midwest. The Midwest team got past the College All-Stars and Northeast but fell one try short of MARFU, 19-14 in pool play.

Meanwhile, Mid-Atlantic won Pool A with wins against the College All-Stars and the Midwest. The defending champions are set to square off with the West in the other Cup Semi Final match at 11 a.m.

Now left to duke it out for the Bowl are the College All-Stars, which face the South when Men’s competition resumes at 9:20 a.m. The All-Stars enjoyed a convincing 32-14 victory over the Northeast, but could not quite muster enough scoring oomph to overcome the Midwest or MARFU, and the South was held winless in day one.

Left without some of their key players, last year’s runners-up from the Pacific Coast finished third in Pool A and now face Northeast, which finished 1-2 on the day.

Women’s Competition
Three-time consecutive champions the Northeast Women continued their reign over the field in the pool rounds, going undefeated on the day to earn the top spot from Pool A. The NRU now meets the Midwest in the Cup Semis, a rematch of last year’s championship game.

The other semi final match-up features top Pool B finishers Mid-Atlantic and the tournament’s No. 8 seed, the West. After finishing at the bottom of the heap last time around, the West ended its day with wins against both the South and Pacific Coast.

Despite an admirable showing, the Under-23 Women finished out of the Cup contention and now face the South. The U-23s tied MARFU in a hard fought opening match and earned a victory over Southern California but lost out to the Midwest.

Following a 1-3 finish on the day, with a lone 19-10 victory over the South, Pacific Coast goes on to play its Bowl Semi Final match against Southern California, which enters day two still looking for its first win.

Competition resumes on Sunday morning at 9 a.m and culminates in the Women’s and Men’s All-Star Sevens Cup Championship matches at 1:40 and 2:10 p.m., respectively. Admission to the event held at Founders Field (101 Eisele Road, Cheswick, PA) is FREE. For more information on the USA Rugby Championship series, visit www.usarugby.org/goto/usar_championships.

USA Rugby All-Star Sevens Championships – Founders Field, Cheswick, Pa.

Day 1 Results - Round 1 - Men

Northeast 17, MARFU 14
College All-Stars 12, Midwest 14
Pacific Coast 31, South 12
SoCal 19, West 7

Women
Northeast 22, West 12
South 10, Pacific Coast 19
Midwest 17, SoCal 5
Under-23s 5, MARFU 5

Round 2 - Men
MARFU 19, Midwest 14
College All-Stars 32, Northeast 14
West 28, Pacific 14
SoCal 24, South 7

Women
Northeast 24, Pacific 10
West 19, South 12
MARFU 5, Midwest 0
Under-23s 17, SoCal 7

Round 3 - Men
MARFU 22, College All-Stars 12
Midwest 40, Northeast 7
SoCal 24, Pacific 12
West 15, South 14

Women
Northeast 21, South 0
West 17, Pacific Coast
Midwest 22, Under-23s 7
MARFU 15, SoCal 5

Day 2 Schedule
9:00am Pac Coast vs. So Cal (Women’s Bowl Semi Finals)
9:20am College All-Stars vs. South (Men’s Bowl Semi Finals)
9:40am Under-23s vs. South(Women’s Bowl Semi Finals)
10:00am Pacific Coast vs. Northeast(Men’s Bowl Semi Finals)
10:20am Northeast vs. Midwest(Women’s Cup Semi Finals)
10:40am MARFU vs. West (Women Cup Semi Finals)
11:00am MARFU vs. West (Men’s Cup Semi Finals)
11:20am SoCal vs. Midwest(Men Cup Semi Finals)
11:40am 7th/8th Place (Women)
12:00pm 7th/8th Place (Men)
12:20pm Bowl Final (Women)
12:40pm Bowl Final (Men)
1:00pm Plate Final (Women)
1:20pm Plate Final (Men)
1:40pm Cup Final (Women)
2:10pm Cup Final (Men)

Midwest Roster
Christy Ringgenberg Minnesota Valkyries
Teena Mastrangelo Chicago North Shore
Pam Kosanke Chicago North Shore
Kelly White, Ann Arbor
Nicole Helmer, Wisconsin
Gabe Fidelman, Minnesota Valkyries
Tonya Ansel, Minnesota Valkyries
Jenny Kuchar, St. Louis
Skye Leary, Cleveland
Holly Thom, Cleveland

Coach: Mark Santiago

Northeast Roster
Alison Price New York
Ida Bernstein Keystone
Tanya Carlson New York
Amy Daniels Beantown
Jenna Flateman New York
Yancy Graf Beantown
Tyshwn Henry New York
Phaidra Knight New York
Daniela Mogro New York
Ines Rodriguez Keystone
Jennifer Sinkler Keystone
Kitt Wagner Beantown

Coaches Chris Ryan, Andrew Fautley
Manager: JoAnne Ward

South Roster
Leah Barnes Atlanta
Nicole Belkin Orlando
Rosalind Chou Florida State University
Brittany Fabbri University of Florida
Carly Harrington Atlanta
Lori Light Orlando
Pat Neder Atlanta
Lindsey Stephenson Orlando
Sue Uchneat Clemson
Becky Urion University of Florida

Coach Mike May

Pacific Coast Roster
Stephanie Bruce Berkeley All-Blues
Petrie Quigley Berkeley All-Blues
Hannah Cho Berkleye All-Blues
Margret Sharp Berkley All-Blues
Lo Stander Berkley All-Blues
Monica Martin de Bustamante Berkeley All-Blues via Dartmouth College
Carrie White Chico State
Haldre Rogers Seattle RFC
Elaine Schlarbe Berkeley All-Blues via U23 7's program
Lauren Groth St. Mary's College
Ashley Groefsema Berkeley All-blues

Coach Laura Cabrera

West Roster
Claire Gregorich Glendale
Fanny Guiot Austin
Angela Hurt Kansas City
Eleanor Karvoski Little Rock
Kim Klahn Glendale
Tara McCarthy Glendale
Melissa McKibben Kansas City
Stephanie Miller Glendale
Jenn Nelson Kansas City
Donna Thomas Little Rock
Katie Thoreson Glendale
Heidi Whitman Austin

Coach Laura Hertel

Southern California Roster
Julia Anderson UC San Diego
Alyssa Barker San Luis Obispo
Leanna Corpus San Diego Surfers
Valerie Griffeth San Diego Surfers
Kelly Griffin UC Los Angeles
Kirsten Hartos San Diego Surfers
Tikvah Hayes San Diego Surfers
Beth Hettig Belmont Shore
Monique Measures San Diego Surfers
Shaina Turley San Diego Surfers
Ann Wang Belmont Shore
Amanda Wilson © San Diego Surfers

Coach Jaxs Roper

MARFU Roster
Stacy Bennett, NOVA
Beth Black, NOVA
Kristen Campbell, NOVA
Dana Creager, NOVA
Caroline Duckworth, NOVA
Jessica Hammond, Furies
CJ Hildreth, NOVA
Lauren Hoeck, NOVA
Katie Miller, NOVA
Emily Record, Philadelphia
Jennifer Starkey, NOVA
Eli White, Furies

Coach Nancy Fitz

USA U23s
Kirsten Ahrendt Keystone
Tess Kohanski Syracuse
Alison Worman Penn State
Kate Daley Penn State
Jess Watkins Stanford
Lauren Rosso PSU
Nathalie Monroig Shippensburg
Diana Zempel Navy
Sadie Anderson Fort Collins HS
Meghan Knight Colorado
Steph Burkhardt West Chester
Kati Dowty Beantown

Sue Parker, Pete Steinberg

Aug 22, 2008

England Defeats USA 17-14 in Nations Cup Opener

England, USA in Nations Cup Opener
8.22.08 - from Rugbyrugby.com

England were forced to battle until the bitter end of their Nations Cup curtainraiser game against the USA on Friday night at Esher RFC, winning 17-14.

The reigning Six Nations and European champions faced an altogether different challenge to the US team they played in a friendly fixture on Tuesday and thumped 50-3. The Eagles showed passion and pride to take the game to the hosts and made England throw everything they had to win the tournament opener.

Both sides kicked-off the clash fiercely and although the hosts dominated possession early on, the USA refused to give up and after a physically demanding first 25 minutes the US were awarded a penalty.

Flyhalf Kristin Baja couldn't stroke the kick over, but their wing Natalie Marchino followed it up and pounced on the wayward ball to dive under the posts and hand the US a surprise lead. Baja, this time, converted to take a 7-0 lead.

England clawed back three points with a Katy McLean penalty and then capitalised on the loss of US prop Jamie Burke to the sin bin as they pressurised America’s line.

A well taken line-out, just five metres out from the try-line, saw England spread the ball out wide through McLean and Amy Turner, who then off-loaded to Michaela Staniford. The Wasps centre then showed her strength to power over the line. With McLean converting England took a 10-7 lead in injury time.

But England’s advantage didn't last long and the US showed their commitment again after the break by keeping England at bay. They took their chances too, and again were rewarded for it. This time scrumhalf and captain Kim Magrini took a quick tap penalty deep in England’s territory and she caught England unaware to run through and score. Baja again added the conversion to hand the Eagles a 14-10 lead with 53 minutes gone.

England, however, responded to the pressure and with super sub Kim Oliver executing a clever offload to Charlotte Barras, the full-back showed her turn of speed to charge through three defenders and run in and score from 45 metres. Oliver added the conversion to take a 17-14 lead on 64 minutes.

England and the US continued to battle hard and the home side went close to stretching their lead when Staniford made another good break, only to be brought down just short of the line. England instead had to settle for their two tries and take a thrilling 17-14 victory.

England Head Coach Gary Street said: “To take this victory shows the strength of this team. This was a very hard test and we had made 12 changes for the match and that does not help with consistency. However, I thought the team showed tremendous determination, they never gave up and came back and deserved to win.”

England’s Nations Cup campaign continues on Sunday at 17.00 at Esher, while the USA and Canada will clash on Tuesday 26 August. England will also take on Canada in a friendly match on Friday 29 August.

Scorers:

For England:
Tries: Staniford, Barras
Cons: McLean, Oliver
Pen: McLean

For USA:
Tries: Marchino, Magrini
Cons: Baja 2

Teams:

England: 15 Charlotte Barras, 14 Katherine Merchant, 13 Michaela Staniford, 12 Amy Turner, 11 Fiona Pocock, 10 Katy McLean, 9 Georgina Rozario, 8 Karen Jones (captain), 7 Gemma Sharples, 6 Sarah Hunter, 5 Joanna McGilchrist, 4 Natalie Binstead, 3 Rosemarie Crowley, 2 Emma Layland, 1 Sophie Hemming

Replacements: 16 Samantha Dale, 17 Katy Storie, 18 Tamara Taylor, 19 Margaret Alphonsi, 20 Danielle Waterman, 21 Kimberley Oliver, 22 Georgina Roberts

USA: 15 Ashley Kmiecik, 14 Vanesha McGee, 13 Lynelle Kugler, 12 Mel Kanuk, 11 Nathalie Marchino, 10 Kristin Baja,, 9 Kim Magrini (captain), 8 Blair Groefsema, 7 Beckett Royce, 6 Mel Denham, 5 Lara Vivolo, 4 Jillion Potter, 3 Jamie Burke, 2 Mari Wallace, 1 Farrah Douglas
Replacements: 16 Lisa Butts, 17 Stacy Baker, 18 Christina Hobson, 19 Allyson Hemstreet, 20 Katy Hertel, 21 San Juanita Moreno, 22 Desiree Markovich

Replacements: Moreno for Kugler (60 min), Hemstreet for Royce (60 min), Baker for Douglas (70 min)

Referee: Claire Daniels
Touch judges: Andrea Ttofa, Becky Patrick
Assessor: Clive Nichola

Pictures from this match can be found at Scrumpix or visit this link here.

USA Announces roster for opening Nations Cup Match.
England beat the USA in their first match 50-3, for that story click here.

Aug 21, 2008

Women Eagles Reload for England

Women Eagles Reload for England
from womeneagles.com

8.21.08 - The US National Team will again take on England tomorrow in the first official match of the inaugural Nations Cup. After Tuesday's warm-up match against England, a 3-50 loss, the US faces an uphill battle. Head Coach Kathy Flores said, "We've worked hard on improving the point of contact in training since Tuesday's game and are prepared to better compete against the English scrum. We're looking forward to providing better set piece ball for the backs so they can maintain possession and have an opportunity to finish."

Kim Magrini, captain and starting scrumhalf for the Women Eagles said, "We're really looking forward to this rematch with England on Friday and putting together what we've learned from the first match and over the last few days."

US Flyhalf Kristen Baja,who provided the only scoring in the first match added, "We've learned a lot from our first match and have been working really hard to come together as a team these last two days. We're excited for the opportunity to face England again and show them all we've improved across the field."

The match will again be played at Esher Rugby Club, Friday, August 22 with kick off at 7pm.

US Roster for England Match - Aug. 22, 2008
1. Farrah Douglas
2. Mari Wallace
3. Jamie Burke
4. Jillion Potter
5. Lara Vivolo
6. Mel Denham
7. Beckett Royce
8. Blair Groefsema
9. Kim Magrini (captain)
10. Kristin Baja (vice captain)
11. Nathalie Marchino
12. Mel Kanuk
13. Lynelle Kugler
14. Vanesha McGee
15. Ashley Kmiecik

16. Lisa Butts
17. Stacy Baker
18. Christina Hobson
19. Allyson Hemstreet
20. Katy Hertel
21. San Juanita Moreno
22. Desiree Markovich

England beat the USA in their first match 50-3, for that story click here.

Aug 19, 2008

England Pounds US in Nations Cup Warm-Up

England Pounds US in Nations Cup Warm-Up
from Womeneagles.com

8.19.08 - (from England RFU by Julia Hutton)
England Women warmed up for the inaugural Nations Cup with an impressive and powerful display against the USA at Esher Rugby Club on Tuesday evening. The reigning RBS 6 Nations and European Champions, who will kick-off their Nations Cup campaign against the USA on Friday, 7pm at Esher also, ran in a blistering eight tries, including one for Lichfield's Emily Scarratt on her debut. Vice-captain Katy McLean also kicked five conversions to secure the win.

The USA proved dogged opposition in the opening stages and kept England at bay until the eighth minute, and then the flood gates opened.

USA clawed back a penalty in the first-half thanks to fly-half Kristen Baja but they had to settle for a 31-3 deficit at the break.

After the restart England called in the back-up and made six replacements. The changes didn't unsettle the hosts and Barras soon ran in for a try after a superb break and charge down field.

England Head Coach Gary Street said: "I'm really happy with this performance. We have got a lot to work on, but the style of rugby we want to play was very evident tonight.

"It's really satisfying to score eight tries against a very physical side but we have got to make sure we are not bias about this win as we look ahead to Friday's Nations Cup game."
Women Eagle News

The US squad is staying and training at Brunel University in Uxbridge, England. Having arrived in the afternoon on the 17th, it was a quick turnaround to their first match on the 19th against England. Captain Ashley English sustained a training injury and subsequently was removed from the reserve list and replaced by Nathalie Marchino; Berkeley All Blues. Liz Dilley (Washington Furies) served as Eagle Vice Captain in this opening match of the tour. The Women Eagles will have a few days to regroup before they meet England for the Nations Cup opener on Aug. 22.

England vs. USA - Aug. 18, 2008

USA
1 Jamie Burke (At-Large), 2 Lisa Butts (Davis Women), 3 Stacy Baker (Philadelphia), 4 Beckett Royce (ORSU), 5 Jillion Potter (Minnesota Valkyries), 6 Liz Dilley (C) (DC Furies), 7 Mel Denham (Beantown), 8 Blair Groefsema (Berkeley All Blues), 9 Kim Magrini (Philidelphia), 10 Kristin Baja (New York), 11 Desiree Markovich (Minnesota Valkyries), 12 Elise Myer (Maryland Stingers), 13 Emilie Bydwell (Beantown), 14 Vanesha McGee (Philadelphia), 15 Ashley Kmiecik (Seattle Mudhens).

Replacements: 16 Farrah Douglas (Chicago North Shore), 17 Lara Vivolo (New York), 18 Sarah Walsh (Chicago North Shore), 19 Christina Hobson (New York), 20 Katy Hertel (Minnesota Valkyries), 21 Mel Kanuk (Maryland Stingers), 22 Nathalie Marchino
Penalties: Baja

England
1 Rochelle Clark (Henley), 2 Amy Garnett (Saracens), 3 Katy Storie (Blaydon Team Northumbria), 4 Tamara Taylor (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks), 5 Joanna McGilchrist (Wasps), 6 Sarah Beale (Leos), 7 Margaret Alphonsi (Saracens), 8 Catherine Spencer (C) (Bath), 9 Amy Turner ( Richmond), 10 Katy McLean (vc) (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks), 11 Michaela Staniford (Wasps), 12 Kim Oliver (Clifton), 13 Georgina Roberts (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks), 14 Charlotte Barras (Saracens), 15 Danielle Waterman (Clifton).

Replacements: 16 Emma Layland (Richmond), 17 Sophie Hemming (Clifton), 18 Natalie Binstead (Wasps), 19 Gemma Sharples (Worcester), 20 Georgina Rozario (Plymouth Albion), 21 Emily Scarratt (Lichfield), 22 Francesca Matthews (Richmond)

Tries: McGilchrist, Staniford, Taylor, Oliver, Alphonsi, Barras, Scarratt, Turner
Conversions: McLean (5)
Substitutions: Hemming for Clark, Binstead for McGilchrist, Layland for Garnett, Scarratt for Roberts (all 45), Rozario for Oliver, Sharples for Alphonsi (56), Matthews for Barras (59)

Half-time: England 31 USA 3

Referee Joyce Henry (Canada)
Touch Judges: Andrea Ttofa, Claire Hodnett

Complete Match Schedule:
England v USA, August 19th at Esher RFC, KO 7pm
England v USA August 22nd at Esher RFC Nations Cup, KO 7pm
England v Canada August 24th at Esher RFC Nations Cup, KO 5pm
USA v Canada August 26th at Esher RFC Nations Cup, KO 7pm
England v Canada August 29th at Esher RFC, KO 7pm

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