U.S. Women’s Rugby Team highlighting sport ahead of match in KC
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Ahead of taking the pitch on Friday, the U.S. Women’s Rugby team highlighted the growth of the game, the current match series across America, and playing the match against Canada at CPKC Stadium.
“USA and Canada, we’ve been rivals for a very long time,” said Hope Rogers, who plays the prop position on the team. “We’re quite similar in a lot of ways. We both play a very physical game, a very fast game, up-tempo. I think you’re going to see that all come to life and hopefully the USA is going to come out on top.”
On Wednesday, the team and a panel of local sports leaders discussed a wide range of topics, from the push to bring matches in the Men’s and Women’s Rugby World Cup to Kansas City in 2031 and 2033 respectively, to playing the upcoming game in the first stadium built for a professional women’s sports team.
“How groundbreaking is that and then to get to play in it?” said Ilona Maher, who plays center position. “It means a lot to us. This is a part of the country who loves sports and if we can get them tuning into rugby, I think that can change our sport as well.”
The interest in rugby has been increasing over the years. The team hopes to continue shedding a light on the sport.
“The beauty of rugby is team,” said head coach Sione Fukofuka. “There are 15 players on the field and all of our elements require everyone working together. They’ll see strong women, they’ll see independent women, they’ll see women who have sacrificed a lot to play this sport that they love. That’s exciting because it’s role modeling, right? I think someone said earlier: if you can see it, you can be it.”
The game is expected to be the largest-attended match in U.S. Women’s rugby history, smashing the previous record. The team says if this is your first time watching the sport, you can expect a great game.
“You’ve got continuous, like soccer,” said team captain Kate Zachary, the No. 8 position on the team. “You have physicality, like American football with the tackles. There’s going to be things you don’t understand, like scrums. All you need to know is there are big, strong groups of people pushing against each other. What you’re going to get at the end of the day is a super exciting, fast paced match that you’re not going to be able to take your eyes off of.”
The match is set for Friday at 7:30 at CPKC Stadium.
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