Tess Feury on 'huge step forward for USA Rugby'

Tess Feury believes that the USA's Test match series ahead of the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup will prepare the team better than ever before.

A nine-year veteran of the Women's Eagles, the 29-year-old was in Washington D.C. last week as her nation confirmed a six-match series that will take place this year.

The Women's Eagles will start that run of games on home soil against Japan on Saturday 26 April, as part of a double header with Major League Rugby side Rugby FCLA, before starting their Pacific Four Series the following Friday against Canada in Kansas City, Missouri.

Then travelling to the Southern Hemisphere to play Australia and New Zealand, Sione Fukofuka's side will return home to play Fiji on Saturday 19 July.

It will be a day to remember at Washington D.C.'s Audi Field, where the Men's Eagles will host England to conclude their own home three-match series, after playing the Netherlands and Spain the weeks prior.

These fixtures come hot on the heels of the nation's bronze medal at the Olympic Games last summer, Ilona Maher's rise to international stardom and the start of Women's Elite Rugby last weekend.

Now looking to harness this rise in popularity in rugby before hosting the men's and women's Rugby World Cups in 2031 and 2033.

"This series of matches is a huge step forward for USA Rugby, specifically the Women’s Eagles," Feury said.

"The Test matches we have had in the past 10 years, especially before World Cups, has never been enough to allow us to properly prepare to perform on the international stage.

"But this year will be different. We have a tonne of Test matches, including three home Test matches to prepare us for the World Cup this August. It is definitely exciting.

"Women’s rugby is on the rise around the world. With the Olympics last year, Ilona Maher and WER starting, there are so many opportunities to get women’s rugby out there to new fans, supporters and investors.

"It is just a very exciting time to be in women’s rugby. I have been around this sport for 20 years and it is the people that make it so special and finally, the players, the staff and everyone behind women’s rugby is starting to get noticed and the recognition they deserve.

"I am looking forward to that continuing to grow and us continuing to make a splash worldwide."

If selected for Fukofuka's squad later this year, Feury will play at her third Women's Rugby World Cup.

The back scored a try for the New York Exiles over the weekend as her team slipped to a last-gasp 29-27 loss to the Boston Banshees.

Having spent the Premiership Women's Rugby season with Leicester Tigers, this three-match series shows signs of a significant step forward for her team.

Experiencing a three-year gap between home matches from 2021 to 2024, the opportunity to play in front of home support is something that is not taken for granted, but the qualified nurse, who believes a send-off against Fiji is the perfect preparation to take on England in the Women's Rugby World Cup opener this August.

"A double header in our nation’s capital in a World Cup year, I can’t think of a better way to get fans excited for what’s to come with USA Rugby," Feury said.

"Just to have those home matches across the country, we can build different fan bases.

"It used to be 'come watch us play’, but we didn't have a home game for two years, now we can say we have three home games, and then it’s the World Cup, and then we’re hosting the World Cup in 2033.

"Fans need something to look forward to, and right now we’re putting the platform for that to happen.

"Being able to see a sporting event live is really what makes you fall in love with the game.

"It is when you can take the opportunity to find somebody on the field you can relate to, it is where you can learn the rules and experience the culture of the game.

"People having the opportunity to see us play live this summer, it is just going to get them geared up to become fans and see the World Cup on home soil in a few years."

2025 USA Rugby Match Series

• 26 April – USA Women vs. Japan, Wallis Annenberg Stadium, UCLA, Los Angeles (double header with the Major League Rugby match featuring RFCLA vs. San Diego Legion)

• 2 May – USA Women vs. Canada, CPKC Stadium, Kansas City, MO

• 5 July  – USA Men vs. Netherlands, American Legion Memorial Stadium, Charlotte, NC

• 12 July – USA Men vs. Spain, American Legion Memorial Stadium, Charlotte, NC

• 19 July – Double Header: USA Men vs. England & USA Women vs. Fiji, Audi Field, Washington, D.C.