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American set to break new ground with Reds in Super Rugby Women’s

Charli Jacoby poses for a portrait during the USA 2021 Rugby World Cup headshots session at the Pullman Hotel on October 02, 2022 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Hannah Peters - World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)

Charli Jacoby will tell you cheerleading and rugby union have a lot in common.

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And the Chicago prop, set to become the first American to play in Australia’s rebranded Super Rugby Women’s, would know.

Jacoby was a 20-year-old student at Ohio’s Kent State University when her classmates, who had some rugby experienced, convinced her to ditch the pom poms and pack into a scrum.

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“You’d be surprised how much it translates,” the 34-year-old told AAP ahead of the Queensland Reds’ grand final rematch with Fijiana Drua on Sunday at Ballymore.

“The guys holding up the girls in cheerleading, it’s like a lineout … lots of teamwork and coordination.

“The girls on my floor at Kent State told me to come along that day and it was a lot of fun. I never knew rugby existed.”

Jacoby then scoured YouTube to learn how to scrum and 14 years later she is a 24-capped American prop who has played in a World Cup and in England’s Premier 15 with Exeter and Loughborough.

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The qualified primary school teacher plans to retire from playing after the next World Cup and transition into coaching as the country prepares to host the men’s Rugby World Cup in 2031 and women’s event in 2033.

Former Reds women’s assistant coach Sione Fukofuka is now the USA women’s head coach while Wallaroos fullback Lori Cramer has returned to the Reds from the NSW Waratahs after a season in Exeter with Jacoby.

“I love everything set piece, I love defence,” Jacoby said.

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“Coming here, I joke that when I leave Australia – it’s less structured than in England – I better have some footwork because I’m so used to running hard and straight.

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“To play here and take home all I learn … we don’t have many coaches that have been in high performance environments like this.

“And everyone needs a good personality hire, and I think I bring that.”

Jacoby’s scrum craft will aid last year’s beaten grand finalists as much as her booming voice and all-round presence.

“What an American to bring,” Cramer said.

“She’s definitely the loudest out there; an absolute foghorn for a set of lungs.

“Someone like Charli with character and technical knowledge, it’ll be great for our younger girls.”

Grant Anderson has taken over as Queensland coach while centre Cecilia Smith will assume the captaincy after Shannon Parry’s retirement.

The Reds have finished runner-up five times in the competition’s six-year history.

Cramer, who also finished second in her season with the Waratahs, needs no reminding.

She expects the two-time defending champions Drua to be even tougher to beat with another pre-season of conditioning to match their sheer talent.

Wallaroo forward Liz Patu has been named for her Reds return just eight months after the birth of her child.

Test debutants Faitala Moleka and Tabua Tuinakauvadra will aid the ACT Brumbies’ building effort.

They’ll play the Waratahs on Saturday at Allianz Stadium, the hosts desperate to improve on last season’s semi-final exit after four-straight titles.

“It was hard,” Waratahs captain Piper Duck said on Thursday.

“That’s my first time ever being kicked out in the semi finals, so it definitely hurt.

“But it’s just made us hungrier.”

The Melbourne Rebels have recruited Wallaroos captain Grace Hamilton while Trilleen Pomare and Michaela Leonard, who played with Jacoby at Exeter, will lead the Western Force.

They have named 11 new faces in the side to play the Rebels in Friday’s season opener at Perth’s HBF Park, including Reds five-eighth Renae Nona and flanker Lucy Dinnen, the 2021 Super W player of the season.

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J
JW 1 hour ago
Where is the new breed of All Black 10?

Players like Prendergast and Finn Smith already have a few seasons at top club level under their belt and are now test players, at an age when NZ players make their debuts in SR.

That’s just a difference in standards. You’re confusing SR for being their local domestic comps, where it’s more accurately comparable to Champions Cup, apart from that teams are happy to throw games as it’s in a bit of a limbo in terms of importance atm.


All these kids have been playing for a comparable NPC team for years now. Sam is no where near ready for tests but he has a great temperament, much like Sextons, that makes it a good choice to speed up his development. He wasn’t even a comparable Super Rugby starter before playing for Ireland, so not a great comparison.


Fin would be much better example, but then England don’t have 3 world class Test tens in front of him (not that I’d put Beauden their but obviously in terms of young NZ players chances, he is). Would he otherwise have debuted at the same age as Fergus Burke (injury and leaving withstanding), around 24, a couple of years later? England also aren’t as pedantic to who they give jerseys to, in NZ a test jersey is very hard earned for the most part.


In general I think the effects are as you say, but the only difference is the money involved, as you yourself said, their paths are just as all over the show being loaned out playing for clubs etc. My solution to that, and what you perceive as the problem, would be to introduce university football that utilitizes the large investment they have into high performance sport.

86 Go to comments
J
Jennifer Ross 3 hours ago
One rule for Europe's copycats, another for the Springboks

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Regards.

28 Go to comments
J
Jennifer Ross 3 hours ago
One rule for Europe's copycats, another for the Springboks

The topic of recovery services and the efficacy of Wizard Hilton Cyber Tech warrants a closer examination. Recovery services are a critical component of any comprehensive cybersecurity strategy, as they provide the means to restore systems, data, and operations in the event of a breach or other disruptive incident. Wizard Hilton Cyber Tech is a leading provider in this space, offering a suite of advanced recovery solutions designed to ensure business continuity and mitigate the potentially devastating impacts of cyber attacks. At the core of their offerings is a robust, AI-driven platform that continuously monitors systems, detects anomalies, and triggers rapid, automated recovery procedures. This allows organizations to bounce back quickly, often with minimal downtime or data loss. Wizard Hilton’s approach also emphasizes the importance of comprehensive testing and simulation, putting recovery protocols through their paces to validate effectiveness and uncover potential weaknesses. Additionally, their team of seasoned cybersecurity experts provides hands-on guidance, tailoring solutions to the unique needs of each client. By combining cutting-edge technology with deep industry expertise, Wizard Hilton Cyber Tech has established itself as a trusted partner in the realm of recovery services, empowering organizations to safeguard their most valuable digital assets and ensure business resilience in the face of ever-evolving cyber threats. Contact: for assistance,

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28 Go to comments
J
JW 3 hours ago
Where is the new breed of All Black 10?

JJ and DMac shows how little attention you actually pay to the substance of the articles.

What do you mean by that? For lack of an answer from you I’d suggest yuo need to look at the game again and then read your article. Because although I’m not going to again but I did quickly review the videos and they all match correctly with my perception.

JTPL is shifting towards overseas players being JQP in future

No they’re not, thats a flatout lie Nick. You can find an article on here with their CEO where they want more out of their deals but it’s standard professional sports fair, nothing underhand like the NH does. I find that quite foul that you would share such a view.


I suppose the new World Club League thats starting would die for the best ABs even for just a year, and probably set them up even better. Mo’unga hadn’t done enough to earn a sabbatical though. This is where NZR needs to start questioning itself. You can’t blame the player if the NZR are not even interesting in offering you a contract. In situations where say NZR aren’t able to reach 70% of the offer I think a great starting point would be for them to be treated differently than someone who just left for money. NZR could say make that player immediately eligible if NZR decide to make a fair offer and they sign to return, with players putting in their overseas contracts a right to leave early if they resign back with NZR.


Even with Japans fading desire for sabbaticals I still think NZ can make it a good destination and have many reciprocal agreements with JRFU and the JRLO teams. The situation still very much favours NZ and Australia but it’s upto them to make the most of it or the JRFU won’t see any reason to be the ones always giving the favours.

86 Go to comments
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