The first games of the 2013 Senior Nations Cup are in the books! USA and Canada have both walked away with wins. In the first match of the tournament, England took an early lead against Canada with a second-minute penalty kick from Megan Goddard. From there it was a very back and forth affair as each team took turns scoring at will. The last few minutes of the match were particularly exciting as England led 25-24 with time running out. Canada was not done though as Magali Harvey again found open space and linked beautifully with her fellow Canadian speedsters to strike the deciding blow. The win for Canada must be delicious as they avenge their loss to the England in the Nations Cup Final last year.

Read Canada’s match report here.

Read England’s match report here.

Watch the match video here.

In the second game, the Eagles took an early lead as well against South Africa in the fifth minute through U20 Nations Cup standout Hope Rogers. From there USA’s Flyhalf Sadie Anderson slotted a penalty kick to pad the lead a bit. South Africa walked back to the kick off at that point and those watching may have thought their spirit was broken. How wrong that thought was, South Africa chased that kick down and immediately put USA under great pressure. This pressure continued until the USA defense cracked as South Africa’s Mathrin Simmers showed her 7s prowess to dodge a tackle in the 18th minute and outmaneuver Christy Ringgenberg for their first try. Similar to the first game, this match was like a ping pong match as the tries flowed from both teams. USA came out on top in the end though, beating South Africa 32-22.

Read USA Rugby’s match report here.

Read South Africa’s match report here.

Watch the match video here.

The next set of Nations Cup matches are on Aug 3, 2013! Don’t forget that all the matches will be webcast & you can join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook by using #NationsCup.

View the entire schedule, results and available rosters here.

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