Pacific Four 2026 – USA vs Canada – ARN Guide

The final round of the Pacific Four will see the USA hosting traditional rivals Canada in Chicago on Friday night. Last week’s results have thrown some doubt on what otherwise might have been an easy prediction. Can the Eagles get a first win over the Maple Leafs since 2019?

FORM GUIDE

Current World Ranking: 7 (74.34 points)
2026-04-17 – USA 33, Australia 12 (Kansas City)
2026-04-11 – USA 15, New Zealand 48 (Sacramento)
2025-09-06 – USA 60, Samoa 0 (York)
2025-08-30 – USA 31, Australia 31 (York)
2025-08-22 – England 69, USA 7 (Sunderland)

Current World Ranking: 3 (89.78 points)
2026-04-17 – Canada 14, New Zealand 36 (Kansas City)
2026-04-11 – Canada 24, Australia 0 (Sacramento)
2025-09-27 – England 33, Canada 13 (London)
2025-09-19 – Canada 34, New Zealand 19 (Bristol)
2025-09-13 – Canada 46, Australia 5 (Bristol)

STARTING LINEUP CHANGES

	IN	OUT
3	Alivia Leatherman	Keia Mae Sagapolu
9	Abigail Paton	Cassidy Bargell

	IN	OUT
6	Pamphinette Buisa	Fabiola Forteza

NOTES

• it will be a special match for Jack Hanratty, who goes head-to-head against former colleague Kévin Rouet… Hanratty is a Canadian citizen who spent several years coaching their national programs… the two coaches will have intimate knowledge of each other’s styles and techniques
• Ealing Trailfinders prop Alivia Leatherman gets the start at tighthead for the Eagles… Abigail Paton is set for a first start at scrumhalf
• uncapped Olivia Woods joins the bench as reserve tighthead… she will pack down alongside twin sister Reece who props on loosehead side
• injury to Fabiola Forteza sees Pamphinette Buisa returning to Canada’s back row… Sophie de Goede shifts to her preferred No8 spot, with Julia Omokhuale moving from flank to lock

QUOTES

Jack Hanratty (Head Coach)

“It’s no secret to us – and especially myself, the style and speed of which Canada want to play. We had and still have targets of a top-3 finish in this year’s PAC4 tournament. To compete with a top-three team in the world, we have to be at our best for 80 minutes. After Sacramento, we knew we had to make improvements in our rugby IQ backing momentum with momentum.”

“In Kansas City, we focused on controlling the controllables and staying connected and focused despite the weather and time delays. We’ve come to Chicago, wanting to take the momentum from not just the performance, but the win, and hone in on our ability to review, recover and execute in back to back performances – like we would need in a Rugby World Cup. We really wanted to earn a win in this campaign and have done that, but this will be another level of test for us to end off a really positive first tour of the 2029 cycle.”

“Our 19-20 year old half back pairing is one of the most common questions I get around the team. We need to build depth in these positions but both Abs (Paton) and Bella (Vogel) are performing brilliantly at training and in games and deserve the opportunity to take the keys.”

Kévin Rouet (Head Coach)

“Last week was a wakeup call for us. So far, we’ve had a very short preparation time leading into our first two games but now we have had a full week to focus on getting back to the way we play the game and what has made us successful.”

“The players don’t need much motivation for this game, it’s always fun to play against the USA but we have to follow our game plan and play to our identity. We have to be physical, execute on the small details of our game and control the tempo.”

PREDICTION

Inclement weather has been a feature of the tournament so far but won’t affect proceedings on Friday. Canada will be very disappointed with their run-out against New Zealand, while the USA take great confidence from a strong win over Australia. On paper the odds still lean strongly towards the Maple Leafs but can Hanratty’s influence and some youthful vigor inspire the Eagles to a famous victory? Canada are favorites on the road in Chicago.

TEAMS

USA
1 Hope Rogers, 2 Kathryn Treder, 3 Alivia Leatherman, 4 Hallie Taufo’ou, 5 Erica Jarrell-Searcy (capt.), 6 Hann Humphreys, 7 Georgie Perris-Redding, 8 Freda Tafuna, 9 Abigail Paton, 10 Bella Vogel, 11 Erica Coulibaly, 12 Katana Howard, 13 Emily Henrich, 14 Bulou Mataitoga, 15 Alev Kelter

Replacements: 16 Paige Stathopoulos, 17 Reece Woods, 18 Olivia Woods, 19 Kapoina Bailey, 20 Tessa Hann, 21 Cassidy Bargell, 22 Kristin Bitter, 23 Telesi Uhatafe

CANADA
1 Brittany Kassil, 2 Emily Tuttosi, 3 DaLeaka Menin, 4 Julia Omokhuale, 5 Laetitia Royer, 6 Pamphinette Buisa, 7 Gabrielle Senft, 8 Sophie de Goede, 9 Justine Pelletier, 10 Taylor Perry, 11 Aurora Bowie, 12 Alex Tessier (capt.), 13 Shoshanah Seumanutafa, 14 Asia Hogan-Rochester, 15 Claire Gallagher

Replacements: 16 Kiki Idowu, 17 Sierra Gillis, 18 Brooke Rempel, 19 Ashlynn Smith, 20 Rachel Smith, 21 Lizzie Gibson, 22 Mahalia Robinson, 23 Chloe Daniels

MATCH INFO

Date: Friday, April 24
Venue: SeatGeek Stadium, Bridgeview
Kickoff: 19:30 local (17:30 Pacific, 20:30 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: partly cloudy, 68°F (20°C), wind NW 11-17mph (18-27km/h)
Broadcasts: Paramount+ (USA), TSN 2 (Canada), Sky Sports (New Zealand), RugbyPass TV

OFFICIALS

Referee: Amber McLachlan (Australia)
Assistants: Amelia Luciano (USA) & Emma Gallagher (Canada)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)

HISTORY

HEAD-TO-HEAD (45): Canada 29, USA 16
2025-08-01 – Canada 42, USA 10 (Ottawa)
2025-05-02 – USA 14, Canada 26 (Kansas City)
2024-04-28 – USA 7, Canada 50 (Carson)
2023-04-01 – Canada 50, USA 17 (Madrid)
2022-10-30 – Canada 32, USA 11 (Auckland)
2022-10-23 – Canada 29, USA 14 (Auckland)
2022-06-05 – Canada 36, USA 5 (Tauranga)
2021-11-05 – USA 13, Canada 26 (Glendale)
2021-11-01 – USA 9, Canada 15 (Glendale)
2019-11-24 – USA 27, Canada 54 (Chula Vista)
2019-11-20 – USA 0, Canada 19 (Chula Vista)
2019-07-10 – USA 20, Canada 18 (Chula Vista)