The U.S. Team Looks Different. But it Sounds Different, Too.
On the heels of the U.S. Men’s Rugby World Cup victory, the U.S. Women’s Rugby Team has been playing for the 2015 World Rugby Sevens Series title and for a spot on the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England. However, it will be a different team this year.
Rugby Sevens is back, and it means more than ever before to women’s rugby fans. But how different is this year’s team?
The New-Look U.S. Women’s Rugby Team
As it is with the men’s team in the World Cup, the women have a new-look team. There are changes, and it’s a bit of a head-scratcher.
It used to be the case with the U.S. that the team followed in the same footsteps as their male counterparts. The team was one of the best in the world, and in their minds, they were one of the best teams in men-only sports.
But that’s not the case anymore. The U.S. Women’s Sevens team has a unique look this year. Gone are the blue jerseys, in is a pink-and-white design that is slightly cooler than last year’s gold-and-blue combo. The team has changed the color of the team’s socks, too.
But while the team is changed, the roster has remained the same. The only change this season was in the coaches’ chair.
This will be No. 1 for the team, but it’s not the main reason for the new-look women’s team.
“We’re trying to bring more speed — we’ll have a lot more speed — and get better at spreading the ball more,” coach Tom Ritchie told USA Today. “We’re going to work on getting our hands around the ball more, and we’ll probably get better at that. We’re going to probably have to work it a little bit more, because we’re not the biggest guys in the world, and our hands are not the biggest guys in the world.”
In a statement, Ritchie noted that the team is “looking to play a very fast and attacking rugby game to go along with the ball game that we are good at.”
If Ritchie can get the team to run faster and
