By Priscilla Jepchumba
In the Eagles’ first playoff against Japan in Kitakyushu, the game ended in a 17:17 draw.
However, in the return match in Shizuoka, the USA prevailed with a narrow 11-8 victory over Japan and secured a 1-0 series victory at the Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa thanks to a last-minute penalty from McKenzie Hawkins.
Kathryn Treder, the Women’s Eagles’ vice-captain and hooker, scored an early try just seven minutes into the game to put the tourists on the scoreboard.
Nevertheless, Japan took the lead at half-time thanks to a try from Seino Saito and a penalty from Ayasa Otsuka.
Six minutes into the second half, Hawkins levelled the score at 8-8 with a well-crafted kick, and with just moments to go, she held her nerve to secure the win by sending the ball through the posts.
The win saw the USA climb two places to seventh in the world women’s rugby rankings, regaining the positions they lost after the previous draw. Wales and Italy each dropped one place. Japan, meanwhile, remains in 11th place.
“Thank you all for coming. It was a great competition that lasted 80 minutes. In the end, both teams clearly could have won and we respect the talent of the Sakura 15. We would have liked to have played smarter and played in the right areas of the field more often. We clearly had a lot of character in defense to keep coming back and winning the ball,” said Eagles coach Sione Fukofuka after their victory.
Eagles captain Tess Feury was delighted after the win. “Thank you to the fans for being here. This is a fantastic crowd and stadium. It’s been two really great weeks of games,” said Feury.
“We started all over again this week and it was chaotic at times, but our work ethic prevailed in the end and we were able to stay calm and get the win,” she said. “It wasn’t as pretty as we would have liked, but I think we really pulled it off.”
The USA had dropped two places to ninth place after a thrilling 17-17 draw with Japan in Kitakyushu in their last meeting with Japan.
Meanwhile, the USA will make its top-flight debut next month, playing against England, France and Ireland in Canada.
