US faces Australia and Italy plays South Africa in key pool games at Women’s Rugby World Cup

LONDON (AP) — The all-embracing feeling of all 16 teams after their first game at the Women’s Rugby World Cup was relief.

Years of dreams followed by weeks in camps strained the anticipation among the players, whose excitement was energized when they walked into electric stadium atmospheres unlike many had experienced.

Nearly all 16 teams celebrated a win in some way; eight of them on the scoreboard, and some by simply appearing. But all 16 were happy to finally get going last weekend.

Defending champion New Zealand admitted to being over-excited, Japan to starting too nervously, and Samoa, after 11 years away, to being overwhelmed.

“I went through the whole game like I couldn’t breathe, like I couldn’t play my usual game,” 20-year-old France winger Kelly Arbey said of her World Cup debut. “When it was over, all the stress dropped and it hit me what I was living.”

Key matchups

The United States plays Australia on Saturday in a game that will probably decide who joins pool-mate England in the quarterfinals. The U.S. has a 6-3 overall record against the Wallaroos but lost the last matchup 27-19 in May in Canberra. The U.S. is coming off its heaviest World Cup loss, 69-7 to England, and Australia is coming off its biggest World Cup win, 73-0 over Samoa.

Italy-South Africa is another key game to find the expected quarterfinalist behind France in their pool. The Azzurre have a 3-0 record against the Springbok Women but won only 23-19 in Cape Town last September, when yellow cards to both made a big difference.

Team news

Flanker Zoe Aldcroft, the captain of title favorite England, will miss the rest of the pool stage after injuring her knee in the opener against the U.S. Aldcroft was made captain in January and will miss her first game all year.

Wales co-captains Alex Callender and Kate Williams have also been ruled out from playing Canada because of injuries, making back-rower Bethan Lewis skipper for the first time.

Australia captain Siokapesi Palu remains sidelined since her foot injury on July 12 against New Zealand in Wellington. She had her first full training only on Thursday and looks set to make her World Cup bow against England next week.

Canada lock Tyson Beukeboom will tie ex-men’s player Aaron Carpenter as the most-capped Canadian player when she plays her 80th test against Wales.

Off the field

Ticket sales have passed 400,000, exceeding even the organizers’ hopes. Website and social media engagement are also way up on the 2022 World Cup.

“We’re going to smash it even more,” thrilled World Cup manager director Sarah Massey said.

She expects fans to snap up tickets for the quarterfinals and semifinals when they’re sure where their teams are headed. The first weekend drew 85,000-plus spectators across all eight games, including a world women’s test record of 42,723 for the England-U.S. opener.

Quotes

“I need you to hear me: A scoreboard cannot measure the value of this team. Win or lose, your worth does not change. You’re more than a result.” — Fiji winger Michella’e Stolz in a message to teammates after criticism following their 65-7 loss to Canada

“Every inch that you can take off a team like (England), you know you can do it against other teams.” — U.S. captain Kate Zackary

“We are still learning about being No. 2 in the world … . It’s about building confidence to see if we can then deliver.” — Canada coach Kevin Rouet

Full schedule

Here’s this weekend’s schedule of pool games:

Saturday

Canada vs. Wales, Manchester, 1100 GMT

Scotland vs. Fiji, Manchester, 1345 GMT

England vs. Samoa, Northampton, 1600 GMT

United States vs. Australia, York, 1830 GMT

Sunday

Ireland vs. Spain, Northampton, 1100 GMT

New Zealand vs. Japan, Exeter, 1300 GMT

Italy vs. South Africa, York, 1430 GMT

France vs. Brazil, Exeter, 1545 GMT

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Foster Niumata, The Associated Press