USA Women’s Eagles Head Coach, Sione Fukofuka and staff have named the player pool for the 2025 spring test match schedule, including a USA v Japan fixture and the three-match Pacific Four Series.
An extended panel of players will assemble at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center on April 14th ahead of the upcoming spring matches. This will also serve as the first competition block for players to put their hand up for Rugby World Cup selection.
Action will get underway with home matches against Japan on Saturday, April 26th in Los Angeles at Wallis Annenberg Stadium on UCLA campus, followed by the kick off of the Pacific Four Series in Kansas City where the USA Women’s Eagles take on Canada, Friday May 2nd at CPKC Stadium. The team will then travel overseas to Australia where they will play the Wallaroos in Canberra’s Gio Stadium on May 17th, before landing in New Zealand to take on the Black Ferns Saturday May 24th at the North Harbour Stadium in Auckland.
Ticket presale for the Los Angeles and Kansas City home fixtures are is now open for early access, with tickets on sale to the public starting Friday, March 28.
The series will inject added intensity as all four teams have qualified for the 2025 Rugby World Cup and will look to leave a stamp in this preparatory period leading to England.
The opening match in Los Angeles also kicks off an exciting line up of rugby in Southern California, with the HSBC LA SVNS scheduled for the very next weekend at Dignity Health Sports Park, May 3-4 as the USA Men's and Women's Sevens host the world for a thrilling finale to the HSBC SVNS Series. Tickets for LA SVNS are available at lasevensrugby.com
Kate Zackary will return as Captain for her seventh season as team lead, with a number of exciting selections also named to the player pool. Sevens star Ilona Maher returns to the USA Rugby fifteens pitch for the first time since 2021, where she debuted with two caps during the Pacific Four Series in Glendale, CO that year. Nicole Heavirland similarly rejoins the fifteens player pool for the first time since selection to the 2017 Rugby World Cup in Ireland. Three new names earn a nod in 2025, Kapoina Bailey, Erica Coulibaly and Malia Isaacs will all be in search of their first USA Eagles cap. Issacs and scrumhalf Sophie Pyrz will join the squad for training camp and be available for selection to the April 26th match against Japan, before a 36-player roster will be available for Pacific Four Series selection.
The XV Foundation is also behind the team in support this year, partnering with USA Rugby High Performance to supply squad selection and competition bonuses for the team during the Rugby World Cup.
In addition to the senior squad tour, USA Rugby is organizing a Women’s Falcons tour of South America for a two-match development tour in Brazil; creating competition opportunities for the extended talent pool of Women’s Eagles looking to put their hand up for summer competitions and potentially the Rugby World Cup. Dates and rosters will be released when confirmed.
Head Coach Sione Fukofuka said on the first selections of the year, "Since the WXV1, we have been tracking our players either in their team environments in the Premiership Women’s Rugby or here in the US preparing with their WER teams. What has stood out most, is the players hunger to be better and take key learnings from 2024 to challenge themselves on and off the field by playing to perform under pressure.
"We have real competition for positions and a strong core playing group with some x-factor, that we are excited to work with which will allow us to play the style of rugby we feel will be successful and expressive.
"The Pacific Four Series is a performance tournament, where we are lucky to play highly ranked teams in Canada (2), New Zealand (3) and Australia (5). We will use this tournament to compete for results and learn to take opportunities in key moments. This will provide a strong platform for the Rugby World Cup by allowing us to implement our game model, develop combinations and create an environment where we have the ability to change the game, on and off the field."
| First Name | Position | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Hope Rogers | Prop | Exeter Chiefs |
| Maya Learned | Prop | Denver Onyx |
| Charli Jacoby | Prop | Exeter Chiefs / Queensland Reds |
| Keia Mae Sagapolu | Prop | Leicester Tigers / ACT Brumbies |
| Catie Benson | Prop | Sale Sharks / Boston Banshees |
| Alivia Leatherman | Prop | Trailfinders / Twin Cities Gemini |
| Kathryn Treder | Hooker | Loughborough Lightning / Bay Area Breakers |
| Paige Stathopoulos | Hooker | Ealing Trailfinders / Boston Banshees |
| Saher Hamdan | Hooker | Denver Onyx |
| Hallie Taufoou | Lock | Loughborough Lightning / Denver Onyx |
| Erica Jarrell | Lock | Sale Sharks |
| Rachel Ehrecke | Lock | Denver Onyx |
| Emerson Allen | Lock | Twin Cities Gemini |
| Tahlia Brody | Backrow | Leicester Tigers / Denver Onyx |
| Rachel Johnson | Backrow | Exeter Chiefs / Denver Onyx |
| Freda Tafuna | Backrow | Lindenwood University |
| Kate Zackary | Backrow | Ealing Trailfinders |
| Georgie Perris-Redding | Backrow | Sale Sharks |
| Kapoina Bailey* | Backrow | Denver Onyx |
| Olivia Ortiz | Scrumhalf | Sale Sharks |
| Cassidy Bargell | Scrumhalf | Boston Banshees |
| Taina Tukuafu | Scrumhalf | Bay Area Breakers |
| McKenzie Hawkins | Flyhalf | Denver Onyx |
| Kristin Bitter | Flyhalf | Denver Onyx |
| Nicole Heavirland | Flyhalf | Boston Banshees / USA Sevens |
| Alev Kelter | Center | Loughborough Lightning / Bay Area Breakers |
| Emily Henrich | Center | Leicester Tigers / Boston Banshees |
| Ilona Maher | Center | Bristol Bears / USA Sevens |
| Joanne "Nana" Fa'avesi | Center | TBC |
| Gabby Cantorna | Center | Exeter Chiefs |
| Erica Coulibaly* | Wing/Fullback | Denver Onyx |
| Cheta Emba | Wing/Fullback | Boston Banshees |
| Bulou Mataitoga | Wing/Fullback | Loughborough Lightning / Bay Area Breakers |
| Tess Feury | Wing/Fullback | Leicester Tigers / New York Exiles |
| Sariah Ibarra | Wing/Fullback | USA Sevens |
| Lotte Sharp | Wing/Fullback | Saracens |
| USA vs Japan Invites | ||
| Malia Isaacs* | Backrow | Boston Banshees |
| Sophie Pyrz | Scrumhalf | Cheltenham Tigers |
*Potential for international debut
Head Coach | Sione Fukofuka
Assistant Coach | Mel Bosman
Assistant Coach | Sarah Chobot
Assistant Coach | Steve Brett
Head of Athletic Performance | Charles Dudley
Assistant S&C | Ashley Morataya
Lead Analyst | Caitlin Singletary
Performance Psychologist | Scott Goldman
Lead Physiotherapist | Emily Lauer
Physiotherapists | Sam Malette, Natalie Frizzell, Alice Grellman
Team Doctors | Rebecca Rodriguez, Abbie Hamilton, Marvin Valencia
Team Manager | Alana Gattinger
High Performance Director | Tamara Sheppard
Media Manager | Jenni Burke
USA v Japan
Saturday, April 26, 2025
Wallis Annenberg Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
USA v Canada | Pacific Four Series Friday, May 2, 2025 CPKC Stadium, Kansas City, MO
USA v Australia | Pacific Four Series
Friday, May 16, 2025
Gio Stadium, Canberra, Australia
USA v New Zealand | Pacific Four Series
Friday, May 23, 2025
North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand
