It may be only the second week of the Rugby World Cup but it is win or bust for so many teams this weekend and few games have that feeling more than the USA’s showdown with Australia in York on Saturday evening.
In many ways, this is the game of the round: and perhaps the tournament so far. The two sides began in contrasting fashion but there were few surprises in that regard, with Australia racking up a record score in defeating Samoa and the United States coming up short against tournament favourites and hosts England on the opening night.
Victory for the Wallaroos in York would guarantee qualification with a round to go, assuming England defeat Samoa on Saturday. In the Pacific Four series this year, Australia ran out winners by 27-19 and on paper at least would be considered favourites to progress. But while a performance similar to last weekend’s opener would be satisfying , head coach Jo Yapp is clear about the one thing which matters above all else. “The difference this week is it’s all about the win,” she said.
“If it’s not pretty, that’s OK, but it’s about getting the win this week and we know that.” Yapp will still be without captain Siokapesi Palu due to a foot problem that kept her out on the opening weekend, with the Wallaroos making four changes to the 23 that defeated Samoa so handsomely in Salford.
But the second-rower Michaela Leonard will retain her place and make her 40th Test appearance for Australia, becoming only the third player to hit that landmark. “She’s just a really professional athlete in her approach to everything,” Yapp said. “That has then allowed her to achieve what she’s achieving this weekend.”
While Australia are looking for much of the same again on Saturday, for the USA, they are already in now-or-never territory.
Defeat by England was hardly a surprise but it was always going to inevitably pile the pressure on this fixture, which had been earmarked by everyone as an early knockout fixture. The winner of this game most likely qualifies for the quarter-finals.
That is a point clearly not lost on the USA coach, Sione Fukofuka. He has made a staggering nine changes to the side that were beaten by England with a big-name omission too, as the centre and veteran of three Olympics Alev Kelter is dropped from the 23 entirely. “There were always going to be some changes,” Fukofuka said in the run-up to the game.
“If we perform well, get the result, we’ll earn ourselves the opportunity to play beyond the pool stages. Obviously it’s a must-win game so we’ve got to try and make some clear decisions around our opposition so there was a bit of a plan in place and then obviously some injuries.”
Emily Henrich will move in from the wing to replace Kelter and partner Ilona Maher in the centres with Cheta Emba and Erica Coulibaly on the flanks. With the prospect of Samoa in the final round of fixtures next weekend, the USA know that if they can raise their game in York on Saturday, qualification will be within their grasp.
Lose, however, and their World Cup journey will be over before it has even really begun. The stakes couldn’t be higher.
Wales are also in last chance saloon to make their mark on this tournament. Substantive changes to the lineup for their match in Salford against Canada on Saturday are a last-ditch effort to try and salvage their hopes, barely a week into the tournament for a team that reached the last eight in New Zealand at the last World Cup.
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A devastating 38-8 loss to Scotland – who were ranked lower than them at the time – has left their hopes hanging by a thread, effectively needing to upset second-ranked Canada in order to have a realistic chance of progress to the knockout stages.
The Wales coach, Sean Lynn, has reshuffled his lineup with seven changes to try to keep their hopes alive with Scotland fancied to beat outsiders Fiji in Saturday’s second game at the Salford Community Stadium in Pool B.
“All 23 players selected have been told to be brave and to have no regrets when they walk off the field on Saturday,” said Lynn.
Wales had already lost co-captains Alex Callender and Kate Williams to injury suffered against the Scots, meaning flanker Bethan Lewis captains for the first time as she wins her 60th cap.
Ireland’s head coach, Scott Bemand, has also made several changes to his starting XV for Sunday’s match against Spain in Northampton. Molly Scuffil-McCabe replaces Aoibheann Reilly at scrum-half, while Anna McGann is preferred to Beibhinn Parsons on the right wing.
Loosehead prop Ellena Perry, hooker Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald, lock Eimear Corri-Fallon, openside flanker Claire Boles and No 8 Grace Moore come into the pack but star player Aoife Wafer is still not fully fit to begin her campaign.
Bemand’s side launched their Pool C campaign with a 42-14 success over Japan and will secure qualification for the quarter-finals with a second successive bonus-point win at Franklin’s Gardens. Ireland conclude the pool stage on 7 September against defending champions New Zealand in Brighton.