Rogers double helps USA to victory

By Mark Stevens
27/8/22

Exeter Chiefs Women’s prop Hope Rogers crossed twice for tries as the USA Eagles kicked off their two-game European tour with a 21-17 victory over Scotland Women at the DAM Health Stadium.

Rogers scored in each half for the visitors, while Chiefs club-mate Kate Zackary also crossed the whitewash for Rob Cain’s side.

It was, however, Scotland who started the brighter, taking the lead through a Lana Skeldon try, which was converted by Helen Nelson.

The Eagles, though, countered first with a penalty from Saracens back Alev Kelter, before Rogers grabbed her first of the game, the loosehead darting off the back of the ruck to score just wide of the posts.

That lead proved short-lived as Scotland reclaimed the lead when winger Rhona Lloyd latched onto a skip pass to race over in the corner for a second converted score.

Undeterred, the Eagles continued to go about their work and having cut the deficit with a penalty from Exeter fly-half Gabby Cantorna, it was ‘Captain America’ herself Zackary, who claimed their second try, finishing off great approach work from Katana Howard, Rogers and Kelter to score in the right corner.

In a much tighter second half, Nelson kept up her 100 per cent record with the kicking tee to add a penalty to make it 17-16, before Rogers had the final say, tapping through the mark before bulldozing her way to the line.

Post-game, head coach Cain said: "It’s great for this group to get such a well deserved win. There has been a lot of hard work leading up to this in our preseason and we really started to see that come through today. Credit to Scotland, we knew the challenge they would bring and they didn’t disappoint. They were excellent and played some very good rugby themselves.

"Today was about getting the win, having an improved performance from our last outing and showcasing the development in the areas we focused on in Atlanta. The multiple opportunities we created with and without the ball, but were unable to convert showcases how much there is to come from this group. There were some important lessons learnt today, but also some important statements made both individually and as a group."