Australia hold off US for last spot in Women's Rugby World Cup quarterfinals

Australia lost and won and the United States won and lost at the Women's Rugby World Cup on Saturday.

Australia took the last quarterfinal spot despite a 47-7 hiding from England in Brighton.

The U.S. scorched Samoa 60-0 earlier but they were not enough points as the Eagles missed the quarterfinals for the first time in 11 years on points difference.

England won its 30th successive test, tying its own world record streak that ended when it lost the 2022 World Cup final to New Zealand. England hasn't lost since. The Pool A winner will play Scotland in the quarterfinals next weekend.

Australia will face Pool B winner Canada, which put away the Scots 40-19 in Exeter.

Also, Fiji won its first ever international against Wales 28-25 in a game that was attended by William, the Prince of Wales and patron of Welsh rugby. His wife, Kate, the Princess of Wales and patron of English rugby, was in Brighton to watch England.

After the big win by the U.S., Australia would fail to reach the quarterfinals only if it lost by at least 76 points and didn't get a bonus point.

That looked far less likely from the sixth minute when hooker Adiana Talakai crashed over following a scrum penalty for the Wallaroos and a lineout drive.

Also in the first quarter, fellow front-rower Eva Karpani was held up over the line and England's only points were a Jess Breach try from a forward pass. Australia's storming start rattled England into uncharacteristic errors in front of a near sell-out crowd of 30,443.

But when they strung 12 phases and lock Abbie Ward scored in the 32nd, the Red Roses had clicked and pulled away on the back of ever-reliable forward power. Six of their seven tries were by forwards.

Sadia Kabeya and Kelsey Clifford went over twice, along with Ward and Sarah Bern, who finished the game in the sin-bin. Their 47 points were the second most Australia have ever conceded in the World Cup.

“We have trust in the plan,” Kabeya said. “We did what we needed to do. We've got huge carriers across our forward pack. We've got threats across the park, our forwards can't take all the credit.”

England's only apparent concerns were injuries to prop Hannah Botterman, who suffered a back spasm, and fullback Ellie Kildunne, the 2024 world player of the year who took a heavy knock to her head.

Australia celebrated making the last eight by hoisting their coach Jo Yapp, a former England World Cup captain. Yapp is leaving the Wallaroos after the World Cup after nearly two years in charge.

The U.S. put pressure on Australia in their quarterfinal race by delivering a 10-try win to stay in contention. Australia prevailed on points difference, plus-33 to the Eagles' minus-2.

“We put our whole hearts on the line, that's all I can ask for," Eagles captain Kate Zackary said.

Flanker Freda Tafuna scored four tries. Tafuna was given a hat trick against Australia in their 31-31 draw last weekend but, post-match, one of her tries was awarded to prop Hope Rogers, the Eagles' most capped player.

Rogers scored two more against Samoa.

Tafuna, named the best U.S. collegiate player for the last two years, started the Americans' points chase with a try from her own half in the sixth minute.

They had the four-try bonus point by the 27th. But with points so badly needed, McKenzie Hawkins was replaced as the goalkicker after missing her first three attempts and Gabriella Cantorna took over. She landed five of seven.

Samoa, playing its first World Cup in 11 years, was spirited and fought to the end. It enjoyed a purple patch while U.S. replacement wing Kristen Bitter was in the sin-bin but the Eagles were just as determined not to concede. Flanker Georgie Perris-Redding stripped Samoa in a tackle between her own posts, and Zackary made a try-saving tackle on Samoa's Taytana Pati Ah-Cheung.

Tafuna's fourth try sent the U.S. past 50 points in a World Cup match for the first time in 15 years.

No. 2-ranked Canada overpowered Scotland in Exeter to move into the quarterfinals with a third straight bonus-point win.

“I really think we’re prepared for (the quarterfinals),” captain Alex Tessier said.

Underdog Scotland made Canada miss 27 tackles but Canada always found another gear to slip into, especially through its pack.

Of Canada's six tries, five were by front-rowers and the penalty try came from a pushover attempt that was illegally collapsed by Scotland. Canada hooker Emily Tuttosi was the player of the match for scoring twice.

Prop McKinley Hunt opened Canada's scoring, and Scotland replied through wing Rhona Lloyd in their only visit to the 22 in the first half.

Hunt would have had a second try but the ball was cynically jolted from her grasp by Scotland No. 8 Evie Gallagher, who was yellow-carded. Scotland's seven-woman scrum was then monstered by Canada's for the penalty try.

Canada then swept from halfway for Tuttosi to reach out and score for 19-5 at halftime.

Gallagher returned from the sin-bin in the second half to score from a great attacking line and trail 19-12, but Canada's forwards took charge again with tries by Tuttosi and replacement props Brittany Kassil and Olivia DeMerchant.

In between, Scotland wing Francesca McGhie scored her sixth try of the tournament, tying Canada's Julia Schell and the Eagles' Tafuna for the tournament lead.

Fiji held on in a chaotic thriller in Exeter to earn its second ever World Cup win and extend Wales' longest World Cup losing streak to six matches.

Wales dominated the second half and scored more tries overall — five to four — but failed to land any goalkicks while Fiji's Litiani Vueti converted all four of hers.

Fijiana center Josifini Neihamu starred with two tries on the back of her forwards' power, and secured the victory with a last-minute jackal near her own try-line.

“The steal at the end was more important (than my tries) because that is for my teammates and for my country,” Neihamu said.

The result of the first international between the teams was not just a boon for the Fijiana, who are appearing at only their second World Cup, but also for their coach Ioan Cunningham, who coached Wales from 2021-24 and to the World Cup quarterfinals in 2022.

After the Fiji players tossed him in the air and threw water on him, Cunningham said, “We've got an incredible group of athletes who can really do special things on the field. My task has been to get that out of them, get them to express themselves and play with no fear, and we showed that today.”

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

Fiji's Josifini Neihamu in action during the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 pool B match between Wales and Fiji at Sandy Park, Exeter, England, Saturday Sept. 6, 2025. (Ben Birchall/PA via AP)

Canada's Courtney O'Donnell, bottom, tries to tackle Scotland's Evie Gallagher, right, during the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 Pool B match between Scotland and Canada, at Sandy Park, in Exeter, England, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (Ben Birchall/PA via AP)

Britain's Kate, Princess of Wales, centre, attends the fan's wave during the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 Pool A match between England and Australia at the Brighton and Hove Albion Stadium, in Brighton and Hove, England, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

England's Sadia Kabeya tackles Australia's Siokapesi Palu during the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 Pool A match between England and Australia at the Brighton and Hove Albion Stadium, in Brighton and Hove, England, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (Andrew Matthews/PA via AP)

Britain's Prince William attends the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 pool B match between Wales and Fiji at Sandy Park, Exeter, England, Saturday Sept. 6, 2025. (Ben Birchall/PA via AP)

USA's Freda Tafuna, right, scores her sides seventh try of the game during the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 Pool A match between USA and Samoa in York, England, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)

USA's Alev Kelter, center, and Samoa's Faalua Tugaga, right, challenge for the ball during the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 Pool A match between USA and Samoa in York, England, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)

Canada's Paige Farries, center runs with the ball, during the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 Pool B match between Scotland and Canada, at Sandy Park, in Exeter, England, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (Ben Birchall/PA via AP)

Canada's Asia Hogan-Rochester, center, in action during the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 Pool B match between Scotland and Canada, at Sandy Park, in Exeter, England, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (Ben Birchall/PA via AP)

Federal immigration agents deployed to Minneapolis have used aggressive crowd-control tactics that have become a dominant concern in the aftermath of the deadly shooting of a woman in her car last week.

They have pointed rifles at demonstrators and deployed chemical irritants early in confrontations. They have broken vehicle windows and pulled occupants from cars. They have scuffled with protesters and shoved them to the ground.

The government says the actions are necessary to protect officers from violent attacks. The encounters in turn have riled up protesters even more, especially as videos of the incidents are shared widely on social media.

What is unfolding in Minneapolis reflects a broader shift in how the federal government is asserting its authority during protests, relying on immigration agents and investigators to perform crowd-management roles traditionally handled by local police who often have more training in public order tactics and de-escalating large crowds.

Experts warn the approach runs counter to de-escalation standards and risks turning volatile demonstrations into deadly encounters.

The confrontations come amid a major immigration enforcement surge ordered by the Trump administration in early December, which sent more than 2,000 officers from across the Department of Homeland Security into the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Many of the officers involved are typically tasked with arrests, deportations and criminal investigations, not managing volatile public demonstrations.

Tensions escalated after the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a 37-year-old woman killed by an immigration agent last week, an incident federal officials have defended as self-defense after they say Good weaponized her vehicle.

The killing has intensified protests and scrutiny of the federal response.

On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota asked a federal judge to intervene, filing a lawsuit on behalf of six residents seeking an emergency injunction to limit how federal agents operate during protests, including restrictions on the use of chemical agents, the pointing of firearms at non-threatening individuals and interference with lawful video recording.

“There’s so much about what’s happening now that is not a traditional approach to immigration apprehensions,” said former Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Sarah Saldaña.

Saldaña, who left the post at the beginning of 2017 as President Donald Trump's first term began, said she can't speak to how the agency currently trains its officers. When she was director, she said officers received training on how to interact with people who might be observing an apprehension or filming officers, but agents rarely had to deal with crowds or protests.

“This is different. You would hope that the agency would be responsive given the evolution of what’s happening — brought on, mind you, by the aggressive approach that has been taken coming from the top,” she said.

Ian Adams, an assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of South Carolina, said the majority of crowd-management or protest training in policing happens at the local level — usually at larger police departments that have public order units.

“It’s highly unlikely that your typical ICE agent has a great deal of experience with public order tactics or control,” Adams said.

DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a written statement that ICE officer candidates receive extensive training over eight weeks in courses that include conflict management and de-escalation. She said many of the candidates are military veterans and about 85% have previous law enforcement experience.

“All ICE candidates are subject to months of rigorous training and selection at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, where they are trained in everything from de-escalation tactics to firearms to driving training. Homeland Security Investigations candidates receive more than 100 days of specialized training," she said.

Ed Maguire, a criminology professor at Arizona State University, has written extensively about crowd-management and protest- related law enforcement training. He said while he hasn't seen the current training curriculum for ICE officers, he has reviewed recent training materials for federal officers and called it “horrifying.”

Maguire said what he's seeing in Minneapolis feels like a perfect storm for bad consequences.

“You can't even say this doesn't meet best practices. That's too high a bar. These don't seem to meet generally accepted practices,” he said.

“We’re seeing routinely substandard law enforcement practices that would just never be accepted at the local level,” he added. “Then there seems to be just an absence of standard accountability practices.”

Adams noted that police department practices have "evolved to understand that the sort of 1950s and 1960s instinct to meet every protest with force, has blowback effects that actually make the disorder worse.”

He said police departments now try to open communication with organizers, set boundaries and sometimes even show deference within reason. There's an understanding that inside of a crowd, using unnecessary force can have a domino effect that might cause escalation from protesters and from officers.

Despite training for officers responding to civil unrest dramatically shifting over the last four decades, there is no nationwide standard of best practices. For example, some departments bar officers from spraying pepper spray directly into the face of people exercising Constitutional speech. Others bar the use of tear gas or other chemical agents in residential neighborhoods.

Regardless of the specifics, experts recommend that departments have written policies they review regularly.

“Organizations and agencies aren’t always familiar with what their own policies are,” said Humberto Cardounel, senior director of training and technical assistance at the National Policing Institute.

“They go through it once in basic training then expect (officers) to know how to comport themselves two years later, five years later," he said. "We encourage them to understand and know their training, but also to simulate their training.”

Adams said part of the reason local officers are the best option for performing public order tasks is they have a compact with the community.

“I think at the heart of this is the challenge of calling what ICE is doing even policing,” he said.

"Police agencies have a relationship with their community that extends before and after any incidents. Officers know we will be here no matter what happens, and the community knows regardless of what happens today, these officers will be here tomorrow.”

Saldaña noted that both sides have increased their aggression.

“You cannot put yourself in front of an armed officer, you cannot put your hands on them certainly. That is impeding law enforcement actions,” she said.

“At this point, I’m getting concerned on both sides — the aggression from law enforcement and the increasingly aggressive behavior from protesters.”

Law enforcement officers at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

People cover tear gas deployed by federal immigration officers outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

A man is pushed to the ground as federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A woman covers her face from tear gas as federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)