USA vs. Italy: Kickoff, Official Lineups and WXV Stakes

Updated Saturday, October 17, 2026: USA and Italy meet in the WXV Global Series at Texas Health Mansfield Stadium in Mansfield, Texas. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. in Mansfield, Central Daylight Time (CDT, UTC−05:00), or 22:00 UTC. Both teams have announced their starting lineups. Italy has also published its full matchday 23, including eight replacements.

USA vs. Italy: match details

The World Rugby match center lists the game for Saturday, October 17, at Texas Health Mansfield Stadium and names Holly Wood as referee. World Rugby schedules the kickoff for 22:00 UTC. Mansfield is on Central Daylight Time (CDT, UTC−05:00) on October 17, making the local start 5:00 p.m. Saturday. This article uses the venue’s time zone, not an assumed reader location.

Kickoff time and the Texas clock

Mansfield is in the Central Time Zone. On October 17, 2026, the local designation is Central Daylight Time, UTC−05:00, so the scheduled 22:00 UTC start converts to 5:00 p.m. CDT on Saturday. The date matters: the National Institute of Standards and Technology says U.S. daylight saving time in 2026 runs through November 1, after this match. The later Central Standard Time offset should not be applied to the fixture.

World Rugby lists the event date and venue, while the USA Rugby schedule gives the 5:00 p.m. Central kickoff. Those details describe one event time: Saturday evening in Texas and 22:00 UTC. The two labels help readers in other time zones follow the same kickoff without shifting the match date or treating an app’s “your time” display as the venue time.

Confirmed starting lineups

USA starting XV

1. Hope Rogers
2. Kathryn Treder
3. Keia Mae Sagapolu-Senele
4. Hallie Taufoou
5. Rachel Ehrecke
6. Kapoina Bailey
7. Georgie Perris-Redding
8. Freda Tafuna
9. Abigail Paton
10. Nina Mason
11. Telesi Uhatafe
12. Bella Vogel
13. Emily Henrich
14. Bulou Mataitoga
15. Ashley Cowdrey

USA Rugby’s team announcement confirms the starting XV. The Eagles return to Mansfield after two away wins to open their WXV campaign: 40–36 against Ireland and 26–24 against Wales. The results show close finishes, so a strong start and clean execution late in the match will matter as much as early territory.

Italy starting XV

1. Vittoria Zanette
2. Vittoria Vecchini
3. Alessia Pilani
4. Giulia Cavina
5. Giordana Duca
6. Francesca Sgorbini
7. Mascia Jelic
8. Elisa Giordano
9. Alia Bitonci
10. Emma Stevanin
11. Francesca Granzotto
12. Beatrice Rigoni
13. Alyssa D’Incà
14. Aura Muzzo
15. Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi (captain)

Italy replacements

Italy’s eight replacements are Silvia Fent, Giorgia Cuoghi, Gaia Dosi, Elettra Costantini, Alissa Ranuccini, Sofia Stefan, Sara Mannini and Gaia Buso. The Italian Rugby Federation’s announcement names the full 23. It identifies Jelic as a debutant in the starting back row and Fent as a debutant among the replacements, giving Italy two players approaching a first cap in this test.

The team sheets establish who is selected, not the reasons for any player’s absence. They do not provide an injury diagnosis or prove that a player left out is unavailable. For late changes, check the World Rugby match center and the two unions’ official channels rather than treating an earlier squad list as the final team sheet.

Recent form and the October rematch

The teams arrive with different results from the opening phase of the global window. USA’s two wins came by four points against Ireland and two against Wales. Italy opened with a 55–21 win over Japan, then lost 41–29 to South Africa after leading during the second half. That leaves Italy with one win and one loss in the WXV campaign before this fixture, while the USA have won both of their first two tests. These records provide context, but they do not predict the outcome in Mansfield.

This is the first of two October meetings between the sides. Italy’s federation and the World Rugby schedule list a second USA–Italy match for Saturday, October 24, at GEODIS Park in Nashville, Tennessee. A result in Mansfield gives both teams a direct measure before that rematch. The October 24 match is a separate fixture, so readers should follow each result on its own.

World Rugby describes the main WXV Global Series as a home-and-away, cross-regional touring model for 12 leading national teams, with each side scheduled for four to six matches in a year. The 2026–28 ranking placements for the series were agreed from the rankings at the end of WXV 2024 and remain fixed through that cycle. That structure makes this a meaningful test within an ongoing international program rather than a knockout final or a table-deciding game.

The larger pathway is Women’s Rugby World Cup 2029 in Australia. World Rugby’s qualification outline reserves places through the 2027 regional competitions, rankings at the end of the 2027 international window, and the 2028 WXV Global Series Challenger. Tonight’s match is not a direct World Cup qualifier. Its value is in the test itself and in the results and ranking picture that develop across the broader cycle. The score should be read in that context rather than as a one-match qualification verdict.

How to follow the match

USA Rugby says its fans can watch the Eagles’ WXV matches on Paramount+. The Italian Rugby Federation says the Mansfield match will be shown live on Sky Sport in Italy. World Rugby’s Where to Watch page lists RugbyPass TV as the general option outside specific local arrangements. Broadcast rights vary by market, so viewers elsewhere should check the service serving their country before kickoff.

For an at-a-glance match check, use the official team lists, the kickoff in Mansfield’s CDT time zone, and the scheduled rematch date together. Set-piece success, discipline and the ability to convert pressure into points are observable measures during the game; a single stat or the opening score alone cannot explain the whole performance. If one team controls possession without gaining ground or scoring, its next phase of play and use of replacements will show whether it has adjusted. The result will provide one part of the WXV picture, with another direct meeting to come in Nashville.

Sources: World Rugby’s series format and qualification outline; World Rugby’s 2026 series overview; World Rugby’s match reports; and NIST’s 2026 daylight saving dates.