For the American rugby league team see United States national rugby league team. History See also History of rugby league The grass roots of rugby league can be traced to early football history, through the playing of ball games The United States National Rugby League team represents the United States in the sport of Rugby league, and is nicknamed the Tomahawks.

United States
Union	USA Rugby
Nickname(s)	The Eagles
Emblem(s)	the Bald Eagle
Coach	Scott Johnson
Captain	Todd Clever
Most caps	Luke Gross (62)
Top scorer	Mike Hercus (398)
Most tries	Vaea Anitoni (26)
Team colours		Change colours
First international
Australia 12 - 8 United States  (September 16, 1912)
Largest win
United States  91 - 0  Barbados (July 1, 2006)
Worst defeat
England 106 - 8 United States  (August 21, 1999)
World Cup
Appearances	4 (First in 1987)
Best result	One win in 1987 and 2003

USA Rugby's men's national team is nicknamed the Eagles. USA Rugby is the national governing body for the sport of Rugby union in the United States of America. The Bald Eagle ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is a Bird of prey found in North America that is most recognizable as the national bird and Scott Johnson is an Australian rugby union coach Johnson was assistant coach of the Wales national rugby union team under Mike Ruddock and was appointed caretaker Todd Clever (born 16 January 1983) is an American Rugby union player A cap is an appearance for a select team such as a school county or international team in sports Luke Gross (born November 21, 1969 in Decatur Indiana) is an American rugby union footballer Mike Hercus (born June 6 1979 in Falls Church Virginia) is an American Rugby union footballer who plays at fly-half for The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in Rugby union. Events 1400 - Owain Glyndŵr is declared Prince of Wales by his followers Year 1912 ( MCMXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting The Barbados national rugby union team represents Barbados at the sport of Rugby union. "July 1st" redirects here For the Ayumi Hamasaki song see H (song. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The England national rugby union team represents England in Rugby union. Events 1192 - Minamoto Yoritomo becomes Seii Tai Shōgun and the De facto ruler of Japan. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) The Rugby World Cup is the premier international Rugby union competition The First Rugby World Cup was hosted by New Zealand and Australia in 1987 and was won by New Zealand. The First Rugby World Cup was hosted by New Zealand and Australia in 1987 and was won by New Zealand. The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby union world cup and was won by England. The United States have always been considered a rugby union minnow, but through professionalism, the Eagles are making improvements in coaching, management and player development, and as a result have improved on the field. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Overview See also Playing rugby union A rugby union match lasts for 80 minutes (plus stoppage time with a short The Eagles have a potentially huge pool of players as many Americans play American football in high school and college but give up playing at some point during or at the end of their school years. American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with However, because very few Americans grow up playing rugby union, with the majority of players not taking up the game until college (or even later), the average American player has far less rugby experience than most players of the same age in countries where it is played with more frequency. Overview See also Playing rugby union A rugby union match lasts for 80 minutes (plus stoppage time with a short For example, the team's all-time caps leader, Luke Gross, did not seriously take up rugby until he had graduated from Marshall University, where he played basketball. A cap is an appearance for a select team such as a school county or international team in sports Luke Gross (born November 21, 1969 in Decatur Indiana) is an American rugby union footballer Marshall University is a Coeducational public Research university in Huntington West Virginia, founded in 1837 as a private subscription Basketball is a team Sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by propelling a ball through a 10 feet (3 m ^[1]

With the sheer size of the USA, coupled with relatively few fixtures, the Eagles squad only get together before games and for periodic evaluations. Selections are in part made from talent spotting done at USA Super League matches, although some of the best players now compete for European clubs, offering valuable practice and playing experience. The Rugby Super League, usually referred to as simply the Super League and for sponsorship reasons the Michelob Super League, is a national Rugby union Ranked 19th in the world by the IRB (as of December 24, 2007), the Eagles participate annually in the Can Am trophy match against Canada. For the Canadian Rugby league team see Canada national rugby league team. There are also the bi-annual Pan American championships, which can also double as the Americas zone World Cup qualifiers.

The USA is also involved in the implementation of the NAWIRA zone competition, which will give North American and West Indies sides regular competition. The one area that has seen improvement for the USA internationally is in the game of Sevens where the Eagles have impressed on the IRB World Sevens circuit, making it regularly to play-off rounds of the top tournaments in the world.

Competing in international tournaments like the Churchill Cup and the Pan American Championship, as well as specially scheduled matches against world powers such as France and Ireland, the Eagles have qualified for four of the five Rugby World Cups, missing out in 1995. The Churchill Cup (currently referred to as Barclays Churchill Cup for sponsorship reasons is an annual Rugby union tournament contested by representative The Rugby World Cup is the premier international Rugby union competition At the 1987 World Cup they beat Japan but lost to Australia and England, in 1991 they lost all their games. In 1995 the Eagles defeated Canada on Canadian soil, for the first time ever by a score of 15-14.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early years 1.2 USA at the Olympics 1.3 The 1970s 1.4 The 1980s 1.5 The 1990s 1.6 The 2000s 2 Players 2.1 Current players 2.2 2007 World Cup squad 2.3 Notable players 3 Record 3.1 World Cup 3.2 Overall 4 Women's National Team 5 See also 6 External links 7 Notes and references

History

Early years

Rugby was introduced into the United States by British immigrants in the mid-19th century. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar In 1872, there were rugby clubs flourishing in the San Francisco Bay Area, composed mainly of British expatriates. The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city

On 2 December 1882, the first Californian representative rugby team to play an outside opponent, took on a group of rugby-playing ex-Britons, who called themselves the Phoenix Rugby Club of San Francisco. The California Golden Bears is the nickname used for 27 varsity athletic programs of the University of California Berkeley. California lost to the Phoenix club 7-4. This was the start of the Californian rugby tradition.

The sport of rugby union in the United States has always had a close relationship with the sport of American football. Overview See also Playing rugby union A rugby union match lasts for 80 minutes (plus stoppage time with a short American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with Games of rugby, soccer and hybrid games had always been played between American universities, the first recorded game took place in May 1874 between Harvard University and McGill University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered Cambridge Massachusetts is a City in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts, United States. While there are no records of the match and no one remembers who won, the game sparked an interest on college campuses nationwide.

In 1876 Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, which used the rugby code, except for a slight difference in scoring. Princeton University is a private Coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey. Columbia University is a private University in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. The modern sport of American football is a descendant of these rules. American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with In 1886 Harvard's Oscar Shafter Howard introduced these rules to the Berkeley campus.

American football was fierce, and as time went on and injuries mounted, the public became alarmed at its brutalities. President Theodore Roosevelt threatened to outlaw the sport unless the national rules committee made changes that satisfied the Eastern schools. Beginning with the season of 1906, rugby union became the game of choice at Stanford University, the University of California and several other colleges in California but the sport had died out by the outbreak of World War I. Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly known as Stanford University or simply Stanford, is a private Research university located in The University of California ( UC) is a Public university system in the state of California.

The first USA international was played on November 16, 1912 at Berkeley against the Wallabies. The University of California Berkeley (also referred to as Cal, Berkeley and UC Berkeley) is a major research university located in Berkeley The visitors won the match 12-8. A year later the USA hosted New Zealand at the same venue, but the score was not nearly as close, and the New Zealanders ran away with the contest 51-3.

USA at the Olympics

Rugby union hadn't been played competitively in most of the USA for more than a decade prior to the 1920 Olympics, the US Olympic committee replied, "due to the fact that California is the only state playing Rugby in the US, the Committee will give sanction but no financial aid". Rugby union was played at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp.

The Olympic Games Committee of the Amateur Athletic Union paid the expenses to transport the team from California to the games in Antwerp^[2]. By the time the US Rugby team arrived in Europe, Czechoslovakia and Romania had withdrawn from the competition, France and USA were the only teams left to compete. The USA won a shock 8-0 victory and the gold medal. The stunned French suggested that the US team tour France, which they did; winning three out of the four matches they played.

Between 1920 and 1924, Rugby union virtually disappeared once again as American-style football soared in popularity. But the 1924 Paris Olympics caused France to challenge the US to defend its title. The 1924 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VIII Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1924 in Once again, the US Olympic Committee granted permission but no funds. Nonetheless, seven players of the 1920 team dusted off their boots, raised $20,000, and found some American football players who had never even seen a rugby union match, and headed for England-where they were trounced four times in practice sessions.

The French Olympic Committee (FOC) had scheduled the rugby event to kick off the 1924 Paris Games, and lowly Romania and the USA were expected to provide only token opposition for the European Champions. On Sunday, May 11th , the US pounded Romania 39 to 0, including nine tries, at Colombes Stadium. The final was played at Colombes Stadium, Paris, on May 18, 1924 before a crowd of more than 30,000^[3]. Paris bookmakers set the odds at twenty to one: The French team was one of the strongest ever assembled. To everybody's surprise the Americans were victorious again by 17 to 3.

Shortly after the 1924 Olympics, however, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) removed rugby union as an Olympic sport. Without the Olympic incentive, the sport’s growth in America collapsed and the game remained dormant.

The 1970s

The sport then enjoyed a renaissance, beginning in the 1960s and continuing through the 1970s. This created the need for a national governing body to represent the USA in the International rugby community. Four territorial organizations formed the United States of America Rugby Football Union (now known as USA Rugby) in 1975. The first Eagles match was played in Anaheim in 1976 against Australia, the Wallabies won 24-12.

The USA also performed well against France in Chicago, losing the game 33-14. The next season the Eagles played two internationals, one against England (XV-not capped) at London-Twickenham, which they lost 37-11, and the other against Canada, which they also lost, 17-6. The USA played the Canadians again in 1978, and defeated them 12-7 in Baltimore. They then travelled to Canada in 1979 and lost to the national team 19-12 in Toronto.

The 1980s

The national team came to further prominence during the 1980s, and from the start of the decade, were playing a notably larger number of games every season. They did however lose all three of their games in 1980, all at home. They could not muster up a win in 1981 either, losing 3-6 to Canada, and 7-38 to the South African Springboks. The USA then drew Canada 3-all in 1982. The next year they travelled to Australia to play the Wallabies, and lost 49-3 in Sydney. Wins followed against Japan and Canada.

In 1987, the USA were invited by the IRB to participate in the first ever Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and Australia. The USA were in pool 1, alongside co-hosts Australia, England and Japan. In their first ever World Cup game, the USA got off to a winning start, defeating Japan 21-18 at Ballymore Stadium in Brisbane. Ballymore Stadium is the name of a Rugby union stadium situated in Herston, a suburb of Brisbane, Australia. The USA lost both subsequent matches; 47-12 against the Wallabies and 34-6 against the English. The USA finished 3rd in the pool, but out of contention of the finals. The Eagles first met Wales at Cardiff in November 1987. Wales, fresh from finishing third in the inaugural World Cup, enjoyed a 46-0 win.

The 1990s

The USA qualified for the 1991 Rugby World Cup in the United Kingdom, making their way through a qualifying tournament, and pooled with World Champions New Zealand, hosts England and Italy in a very tough group. In their first match of the tournament at Otley, Italy defeated them 30-9. Otley is a Market town in the Metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, by the River Wharfe. At Gloucester, New Zealand defeated them 46-6 but still USA's captain Mark Sawicki had some knock out hits as usual removing 3 of the All Blacks's players during the match. Gloucester (ˈɡlɒstɚ) is a city, district and County town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. New Zealand hosts England won 37-9 at Twickenham. The USA finished fourth in the pool.

The USA defeated Bermuda 60-3 in round one of the Americas qualifying tournament for the 1995 Rugby World Cup ot advance to round two. The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted by South Africa, and had the distinction of being the first Rugby World Cup in which every match Although close games, Argentina defeated the Eagles twice in the series to qualify and leave the USA behind. The Eagles went close to beating a major nation at rugby union match against Australia at Riverside in 1994 when USA lost 22-26.

The Eagles, having missed out on South Africa 1995, set out to qualify for the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales. The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup and the first to be held in Rugby union 's professional era. In round four of the Americas tournament in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the United States did not get off to an ideal start, losing 52-24 to Argentina and 31-14 to Canada. They defeated Uruguay 21-16 in their last game to qualify for the 1999 tournament.

The Eagles were in pool E, alongside Australia, Ireland and Romania. In their first game of the tournament, the USA went down 53-8 in Dublin to Ireland. They were unlucky not to win the Romania encounter, with Romania winning 27-25. Australia defeated the Eagles 55-19 in their final game of the tournament, seeing the Eagles finish fourth in the pool.

The 2000s

The Eagles qualified for the 2003 Rugby World Cup by beating Spain twice in April followed by victories over Japan and Canada. The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby union world cup and was won by England. For the Japanese Rugby League team see Japan national rugby league team. This was the first time the Eagles had won four consecutive tests since making their international debut in 1976. The Eagles finished fourth of five in their pool. In the first match against Fiji, an upset was brewing. The Americans were leading 6-3 at the half, then 13-3 minutes into the second half. Fiji eventually regained the lead, but with a try at the death, the Americans trailed by a point at 19-18 with the conversion kick to come. Unfortunately Mike Hercus was unable to convert and the Eagles suffered their ninth consecutive World Cup loss. The streak ended however after the Americans defeated the Japanese, as they did in their only other World Cup victory in 1987.

The Super Powers Cup was first contested in 2003 between Japan, Russia and the United States. For the 2004 Super Powers Cup with the addition of Canada. The USA beat Russia in the third-place play-off. The 2005 Super Cup took part between the USA, Canada, Japan and Romania. The USA lost 30-26 to Canada but beat a Romanian team stripped of their France-based players 23-16 in the third place play-off.

The USA began their campaign to qualify for the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France during July of 2006, in Round 3b of the Americas tournaments, pooled with Canada and Barbados. The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international Rugby union world championship inaugurated in 1987. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. In qualification for the 2007 Rugby World Cup, 19 countries in the Pan American Rugby Association (PARA compete for 3 direct entries and 1 repechage place (Repechage 1 against The USA defeated Barbados 91-0 in their first game, but lost 56-7 to the Canadians in the last pool game, sending Canada through, and relegating the USA to a home/away play-off with Uruguay. The USA came from behind to defeat Uruguay 42-13 in Montevideo in the first match. Winning the second 26-7 sent them through to the World Cup. They qualified as Americas 3, joining England, Samoa, South Africa and Tonga in Pool A.

In the 4th round, the Eagles, ranked 13th in the world standings, lost all 4 games in Pool A, scoring 1 pool point in the game against Samoa. See also 2007 Rugby World Cup#Pool stage 2, L1=2007 Rugby World Cup Pool A of the 2007 Rugby World Cup began on 8 September and was completed on Coached by Peter Thorburn (a New Zealander who recently was the coach for the New Zealand provincial team North Harbour), the Eagles started off with tough match against the defending world champions England, losing 28-10. The Air New Zealand Cup is New Zealand 's professional domestic Rugby union competition The North Harbour Rugby Union ( NHRU) commonly referred to colloquially as North Harbour or simply Harbour, is a provincial rugby team which competes Following this loss, the US was beaten by Tonga 25-15, losing to Samoa 25 - 21 and finally to highly favored South Africa 64 - 15. The Eagles, however, had one major highlight in the South Africa match. After an interception and a pair of passes, Takudzwa Ngwenya sped down the sideline and outran Bryan Habana, arguably the fastest man in world rugby, to score a try that received Try of the Year honors at the 2007 IRB Awards. Takudzwa Ngwenya (born July 22 1985 in Harare, Zimbabwe) is a Rugby union player who plays on the for the United States national Bryan Gary Habana (born he played outside centre and scrumhalf in provincial and age group rugby but once he was moved to the wing a vast improvement was seen The IRB Awards are given out annually by the International Rugby Board, the worldwide governing body for Rugby union, for major achievement in the sport

Players

Current players

• Paul Emerick
• Mike Hercus
• Dave Hodges
• Dan Lyle
• Alatini Saulala
• Kort Schubert
• Albert Tuipulotu
• Takudzwa Ngwenya

2007 World Cup squad

Forwards: Mike MacDonald, Matekitonga Moeakiola, Chris Osentowski, John Vitale, Blake Burdette, Owen Lentz, Luke Gross, Mike Mangan, Hayden Mexted, Alec Parker, Inaki Basauri, Mark Aylor, Tasi Mounga, Todd Clever, Dan Payne, Louis Stanfill, Henry Bloomfield

Backs: Chad Erskine, Mike Petri, Mike Hercus, Valenese Malifa, Phillip Eloff, Vaha Esikia, Thretton Palamo, Albert Tuipulotu, Paul Emerick, Takudzwa Ngwenya, Salesi Sika, Chris Wyles, Francois Viljoen

Head Coach: Peter Thorburn

Notable players

• Tom Billups
• Todd Clever

Record

World Cup

• 1987 - One win, third in pool. Paul Emerick (born January 24, 1980) is a USA international rugby player Mike Hercus (born June 6 1979 in Falls Church Virginia) is an American Rugby union footballer who plays at fly-half for Daniel Joseph Lyle (born 28 September 1970 in Louisville KY is an American Rugby union footballer Alatini Saulala born 22 September 1967 in Vavau, Tonga - graduate of Liahona High School Kort Schubert (born July 24, 1979 in Sacramento California) is an American Rugby union footballer Takudzwa Ngwenya (born July 22 1985 in Harare, Zimbabwe) is a Rugby union player who plays on the for the United States national The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international Rugby union world championship inaugurated in 1987. The England national rugby union team represents England in Rugby union. History The stadium has hosted matches in the following major international tournaments 1984 European Championship 1998 FIFA World Cup 1999 Lens is a commune in northern France, in the Pas-de-Calais département. Mike MacDonald (born 27 November 1980 in Berkeley California USA is a Rugby union footballer for Leeds Carnegie in National Division Matekitonga Moeakiola (born 16 May 1978) is an American Rugby union player Luke Gross (born November 21, 1969 in Decatur Indiana) is an American rugby union footballer Mike Hercus (born June 6 1979 in Falls Church Virginia) is an American Rugby union footballer who plays at fly-half for Thretton Palamo (born September 22 1988 in Woodland California) is an American rugby union player of Samoan origin Paul Emerick (born January 24, 1980) is a USA international rugby player Takudzwa Ngwenya (born July 22 1985 in Harare, Zimbabwe) is a Rugby union player who plays on the for the United States national Peter Thorburn is a New Zealand Rugby union coach He worked previously for New Zealand national rugby union team. Tom Billups (born December 26 1964 in Burlington Iowa) is an American Rugby union footballer who played for the USA Eagles Todd Clever (born 16 January 1983) is an American Rugby union player
• 1991 - Zero wins, fourth in pool.
• 1995 - Did not qualify.
• 1999 - Zero wins, fourth in pool.
• 2003 - One win, fourth in pool.
• 2007 - Zero wins, one bonus point, fifth in Pool A. See also 2007 Rugby World Cup#Pool stage 2, L1=2007 Rugby World Cup Pool A of the 2007 Rugby World Cup began on 8 September and was completed on

Overall

Their Test record against all nations:^[4]

Against	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Win %
Argentina	9	0	9	0	0. The Argentina national rugby team, nicknamed Los Pumas, represents Argentina in international Rugby union matches 00
Australia	6	0	6	0	0. The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in Rugby union. 00
Barbados	1	1	0	0	100. The Barbados national rugby union team represents Barbados at the sport of Rugby union. 00
Bermuda	1	1	0	0	100. The Bermuda national rugby union team represents Bermuda in the sport of Rugby union. 00
Canada	42	11	30	1	26. For the Canadian Rugby league team see Canada national rugby league team. 19
Chile	2	1	1	0	50. The Chile national rugby union team (nicknamed Los Cóndores, "The Condors " is a third tier Rugby union nation representing Chile. 00
England	5	0	5	0	0. The England national rugby union team represents England in Rugby union. 00
Fiji	4	1	3	0	25. The Fiji National rugby union team is one of the strongest national rugby union teams of the world and the third from Oceania, even still as a second tier nation 00
France	7	1	6	0	14. The France national rugby union team represents France in Rugby union. 29
Hong Kong	7	3	4	0	42. The Hong Kong national rugby union team is the third tier rugby playing nation of Hong Kong. 86
Ireland	5	0	5	0	0. The Ireland rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in Rugby union, which is a popular sport throughout both the Republic of Ireland and 00
Italy	2	0	2	0	0. For the rugby sevens side see Italian national rugby union team (sevens The Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of 00
Japan	16	12	3	1	75. For the Japanese Rugby League team see Japan national rugby league team. 00
New Zealand	2	0	2	0	0. The All Blacks are New Zealand's national team in Rugby union, the country's National sport. 00
New Zealand Māori	2	0	2	0	0. New Zealand Māori is the name of a Rugby union team that traditionally plays teams touring New Zealand. 00
Portugal	1	1	0	0	100. The Portugal national rugby union team, nicknamed "Os Lobos" Portuguese for "the wolves" is a third tier Rugby union side representing Portugal 00
Romania	5	4	1	0	80. The Romania national rugby union team, nicknamed The Oaks ( Stejarii) have long been one of the stronger European teams outside of the Six Nations 00
Russia	1	1	0	0	100. The Russia national rugby union team is the national team of Russia. 00
Samoa	3	0	3	0	0. The national Rugby union team of Samoa is called Manu Samoa (the name of a famous Samoan chief some 10 generations ago 00
Scotland	3	0	3	0	0. The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international Rugby union. 00
South Africa	3	0	3	0	0. The South Africa national Rugby union team (commonly referred to as the Springboks in English Springbokke in Afrikaans and Amabokoboko 00
USSR	1	0	1	0	0. The USSR national rugby union team was a sporting side that represented the Soviet Union in Rugby union until the early 1990s 00
Spain	3	3	0	0	100. The Spain national rugby union team are a national sporting side of Spain, representing them at Rugby union. 00
Tonga	3	1	2	0	33. The Tonga national rugby union team is nicknamed Ikale Tahi (Sea Eagles. 33
Tunisia	1	1	0	0	100. The Tunisia national rugby union team is the national team of Tunisia, a third tier Rugby union nation 00
Uruguay	9	8	1	0	88. Uruguay has played in the 1999 and 2003 Rugby World Cups They have been playing international rugby since the late 1940s 89
Wales	6	0	6	0	0. The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international 00
Total	150	50	98	2	33. 33

Women's National Team

Main article: United States women's national rugby union team

The U. Team History The United States women's national rugby union team represents the United States in women's Rugby union. S. Women's National Team, officially formed in 1987, has been an international powerhouse since its inception. The Eagles won the first official World Cup in 1991, and finished second in the two following World Cups (1994, 1998). The Eagles have set the standard for international competition, leading an ensuing wave of women's rugby growth and game development worldwide.

The next Women's Rugby World Cup is in August/September 2006 in Edmonton, Canada. Despite finishing 7th in the 2002 tournament, the USA is actually seeded 6th. They are bumped up ahead of Australia, who beat the USA in the 2002 tournament 17-5, because Australia hasn't played any international matches since the last World Cup.

The USA Rugby Women’s National Team had its first test matches in over a year when the Women Eagles traveled to the United Kingdom in January 2006 to play Scotland (Jan. 21), Ireland (Jan. 25) and England (Jan. 29). The team won all three games. The Eagles’ travel squad includes 30 players, including 19-capped veterans.

See also

• Churchill Cup
• North America 4
• Rugby Super League
• Rugby union in the United States
• Rugby World Cup
• Super Powers Cup
• USA Rugby

External links

• USA Rugby Official Site
• Womens Eagles Official Site
• We love rugby Coverage of the Rugby World Cup 2007

Notes and references

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