Born in the USA but made in the PWR: How the league is crucial to USA World Cup hopes

Sione Fukofuka has a Monday tradition: a strong cup of coffee and six and a half hours of PWR footage to watch, analyse and review.

As England prepare to start their Rugby World Cup campaign in front of a record crowd at Sunderland's Stadium of Light, there will be plenty of familiarity with their USA rivals.

Eagles coach Fukofuka has named 14 players from six different clubs in his starting line-up who featured in the league last season, including winger Ilona Maher, whose two-month spell with Bristol Bears made headlines around the world.

And it’s not just the USA – there are 130 PWR players across nine teams in the 16-team tournament, underlining the league's strength in international depth.

"It's a great product and I obviously watch a lot of it. Having our players going up against some of the best in the world for their clubs has to make a difference for us when it comes to international rugby," he said.

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Maher is the first to admit she wouldn’t be lining up against the Red Roses had it not been for her seven-match stint with the Bears.

More than 9,200 fans attended Maher’s first home game for Bristol at Ashton Gate – easily double the team’s previous record – while 7,000 watched her final appearance against Gloucester-Hartpury.

READ MORE: Botterman ready for Maher showdown

Maher, part of the USA’s bronze-medal-winning team at the Olympics, is the most-followed rugby player online with over nine million followers across Instagram and TikTok.

But her sole mission with Bristol was making the transition from sevens to the 15-a-side game, so she could feature in Fukofuka's plans for this tournament.

“The PWR was just an incredible experience for me,” she added, ahead of her World Cup debut. “I can’t tell you how much I learned in those two months. I got to play with and against some of the best players in the world and that only makes you better.

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“I’m a sevens player and it was like learning a completely different game. When I got into the USA 15s set-up I felt so much more confident because we were doing things I’d already done at Bristol. Everything felt seamless.

“I don’t want to be in this team because of who I am and the profile I have. I want to bring value when I’m on the field, and the PWR helped so much with that.”

Since the start of 2017, John Mitchell’s England have won 87 matches, lost just four, and are undefeated since a narrow defeat to New Zealand in the last World Cup final three years ago.

It’s in the psyche of American sport never to be knowingly undersold, but the USA are dreaming big of an upset, despite the overwhelming odds against them. Ranked tenth in the world, it would be easy to arch an eyebrow at their bold ambition of reaching the semi-finals in the weeks ahead.

Since a narrow defeat to Japan in Los Angeles in April, the Eagles have lost four of their last five games. However, Fukofuka deliberately plotted a demanding run-in, with all those defeats coming against higher-ranked opponents.

“I think our expectations are doable, they are not crazy,” added Maher. “We are being realistic. We can get to the semi-finals.

“Sometimes being ambitious can be a hindrance, but it can also really motivate you. I know we can capitalise on this moment.”

If the USA do achieve their lofty ambitions, then the PWR will have played a key role in that success, according to Rachel Johnson, who began her Exeter Chiefs career in the league's first season and made 64 appearances before announcing her retirement this summer.

"I joined the Exeter Chiefs five years ago during a time when there wasn’t any sort of professional set-up in the US," she said.

"To come here, have paid coaches, world-class players and different structures to play in was tremendous – not just for your growth as an athlete physically but also mentally and tactically in terms of understanding the game." 

USA Eagles forward Georgie Perris-Redding insists familiarity only breeds respect as she prepares to face hosts England in the Rugby World Cup opener.

Perris-Redding was born in Detroit but has played all her rugby in England’s north-west, from her junior career at Waterloo to her current role as Sale Sharks captain in the PWR.

“I can’t hide my northern accent, especially in this team,” she said.

“I was rehabbing a long-term injury when the draw first came out and I saw we’d be playing England.

“I realised what a huge moment it would be for the sport, but I had to put it to the back of my mind – it just felt too far away to get excited about. But now we’re here.

“It’s the best draw for us, playing the Red Roses first. All the pressure is on them, all the eyes are on them, and we know how capable they are.

“We’ve just got to perform to our potential. We need to put together that full 80-minute performance that’s perhaps been missing recently – and we know we’re capable of that.”

Perris-Redding’s involvement in Sione Fukofuka’s squad looked in jeopardy after a horror injury – in the last minute of the last game of the 2023–24 season – when playing for Sale last summer.

She underwent immediate surgery to repair a ruptured ACL, torn MCL and damaged meniscus, but required another operation earlier this year.

“I couldn’t sit down or stand up without it hurting, so this match felt a very long way away,” she added.

“Injury is part of professional sport, but missing out on games and training camps was really tough. I stayed connected with everyone, but it was still a pretty dark and lonely place.

"I missed rugby more than ever; it was frustrating but nothing worth having comes easy."

Captain Kate Zackary has played a key role for Ealing Trailfinders since her switch from the Chiefs, scoring six tries as the London side finished seventh.

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And while matches with Australia and Samoa will likely decide the world number ten side's knockout fate, she thinks playing England first is a blessing.

"This is a World Cup – anything can happen," she said. "How many times have we seen that in the men’s World Cup or a football World Cup, especially in the opening match?

"No-one expects us to win this game. We want to create a few surprises, a few momentum shifts, and then capitalise on them in the moment.

"England have all the pressure on them. We just have to show up and play."

With more than 330,000 tickets already sold, and prices starting at just £5 for children and £10 for adults, fans are encouraged to secure their tickets now via tickets.rugbyworldcup.com