United States Crushes Samoa in Women’s Rugby World Cup
In a crucial encounter to keep their quarter-final aspirations alive, the United States achieved a resounding victory over Samoa with a score of 60-0 this Saturday. The match, played in York, saw the Eagles secure the necessary bonus point in just 30 minutes, putting pressure on Australia, who would face England later in the day.
The situation was clear: if Australia didn’t get a bonus point, whether winning or losing, the point difference would be the deciding factor. This meant that the United States needed Australia to lose by 75 points or more and not get a bonus point for four tries to advance.
Aware of the importance of the match, the United States took to the field with determination from the start.
Ilona Maher, one of the key figures of the team, won a crucial possession in the midfield, which allowed the attack to start. Freda Tafuna was in charge of opening the scoring.The second try came after a well-executed play from a touch line, where veteran Hope Rogers found a space in the set piece to score in her fourth World Cup.
Samoa, known for its fighting spirit, showed resilience, forcing its rival to work hard for the third try, which was again the work of Rogers from close range. The fourth try, crucial for the bonus point, came after a spectacular play by Keia Mae Sagapolu, with scrum-half Cassidy Bargell finishing the play under the posts.
With the bonus point secured, the objective focused on increasing the point difference, needing a margin of 135 points to surpass Australia in case the point difference was the tiebreaker.
The Eagles played with more ease, and player Erica Coulibaly scored her team’s fifth try in the first half, finding space on the left wing.
The points kept flowing after the break. Erica Jarrell-Searcy scored shortly after the restart, followed by Tafuna’s second try, who has stood out as a try-scoring machine in this tournament.
After another phase of resistance from Samoa, Tafuna completed his hat trick.
The United States could regret the lack of points from the foot, with only five conversions from ten tries. However, Tafuna did his part, scoring his fourth try shortly after the hour mark.
Olivia Ortiz, who came off the bench, scored the team’s tenth try, bringing the score to 60 points and maintaining a slight hope of reaching the quarter-finals.
