Tafuna reveals she nearly retired before scoring USA's winning try against Ireland

Freda Tafuna scored the decisive try as the USA Women’s Eagles overturned a 12-point half-time deficit to beat Ireland 40-36 in Dublin last Saturday — but the flanker came within a conversation of never playing for her country again.

Tafuna, 23, had resolved to retire from international rugby after the Pacific Four Series, having left the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup in England feeling more drained than at any point in her career. Despite finishing as joint-second top try-scorer at the tournament with six tries, the experience off the pitch had taken a heavy toll.

“I was initially supposed to stop playing with the USA after PAC4,” she said. “I had spoken to Jack about it and I told him PAC4 would be my last tour with the USA because I just wasn’t loving the sport. I was definitely mentally and physically drained during the World Cup. I would probably say that is the most drained I have ever been playing rugby.”

It was new head coach Jack Hanratty who changed her mind. A change in the coaching staff following the World Cup brought Tafuna in for a meeting with Hanratty, whose personality and approach to the game reignited her enthusiasm. “If you know Jack, Jack can convince you and he convinced me,” she said. “I came into PAC4 and I fell in love with rugby again. The coaching staff, the team were amazing. I got that push that I want to go for another World Cup with this staff and roster.”

Tafuna was named player of the match in Dublin, where the USA’s comeback win over Ireland was her favourite moment in an Eagles shirt. She described the atmosphere in the dressing room at half-time and the belief that carried them through the second period, with her try proving the turning point.

“It was a surreal moment,” she said. “I think everyone knew the USA were the underdog team and ‘the USA could never beat a top five team’ but we prepped so hard for this. We went at each other. We had so much film on Ireland. To come out with the win was the most crazy moment I have ever been a part of with the USA.”

“The moment I scored I was smiling because I thought ‘wow we can do this and come out of this game with a win’. It was definitely a sweet moment.”

Reflecting on how close she came to missing it entirely, Tafuna was candid about what Hanratty’s intervention meant. “That is why I give so much props to Jack. If I wasn’t a part of this it would have definitely been something I missed out on. To be a part of it is the greatest feeling ever.”