Usa Risk All With Nine Changes For Australia In Women’s Rugby World Cup

It whitethorn beryllium only nan 2nd week of nan Rugby World Cup but it is triumph aliases bust for truthful galore teams this play and fewer games person that emotion much than nan USA’s showdown pinch Australia successful York connected Saturday evening.

In galore ways, this is nan crippled of nan round: and possibly nan tourney truthful far. The 2 sides began successful contrasting manner but location were fewer surprises successful that regard, pinch Australia racking up a record people successful defeating Samoa and nan United States coming up short against tourney favourites and hosts England connected nan opening night.

Victory for nan Wallaroos successful York would guarantee qualification pinch a information to go, assuming England conclusion Samoa connected Saturday. In nan Pacific Four bid this year, Australia ran retired winners by 27-19 and connected insubstantial astatine slightest would beryllium considered favourites to progress. But while a capacity akin to past weekend’s opener would beryllium satisfying , Jo Yapp is clear astir nan 1 point which matters supra each else. “The quality this week is it’s each astir nan win,” she said.

“If it’s not pretty, that’s OK, but it’s astir getting nan triumph this week and we cognize that.” Yapp will still beryllium without skipper Siokapesi Palu owed to a ft problem that kept her retired connected nan opening weekend, pinch nan Wallaroos making 4 changes to nan 23 that defeated Samoa truthful handsomely successful Salford.

But nan second-rower Michaela Leonard will clasp her spot and make her 40th Test quality for Australia, becoming only nan 3rd subordinate to deed that landmark. “She’s conscionable a really master jock successful her attack to everything,” Yapp said. “That has past allowed her to execute what she’s achieving this weekend.”

While Australia are looking for overmuch of nan aforesaid again connected Saturday, for nan USA, they are already successful now-or-never territory. Defeat by England was hardly a astonishment but it was ever going to inevitably heap nan unit connected this fixture, which had been earmarked by everyone arsenic an early knockout fixture. The victor of this crippled astir apt qualifies for nan quarter-finals.

Michaela Leonard will make her 40th Test quality for Australia against nan USA. Photograph: Molly Darlington/World Rugby/Getty Images

That is simply a constituent intelligibly not mislaid connected nan USA coach, Sione Fukofuka. He has made a staggering 9 changes to nan broadside that were beaten by England pinch a big-name omission too, arsenic nan centre and seasoned of 3 Olympics Alev Kelter is dropped from nan 23 entirely. “There were ever going to beryllium immoderate changes,” Fukofuka said successful nan run-up to nan game.

“If we execute well, get nan result, we’ll gain ourselves nan opportunity to play beyond nan excavation stages. Obviously it’s a must-win crippled truthful we’ve sewage to effort and make immoderate clear decisions astir our guidance truthful location was a spot of a scheme successful spot and past evidently immoderate injuries.”

Emily Henrich will move successful from nan helping to switch Kelter and partner Ilona Maher successful nan centres pinch Cheta Emba and Erica Coulibaly connected nan flanks. With nan imaginable of Samoa successful nan last information of fixtures adjacent weekend, nan USA cognize that if they tin raise their crippled successful York connected Saturday, qualification will beryllium wrong their grasp.

Lose, however, and their World Cup travel will beryllium complete earlier it has moreover really begun. The stakes couldn’t beryllium higher.