Mattel is riding the women's rugby wave, with the toymaker celebrating October 11th's International Day of the Girl by transforming "a coalition of four powerful role models and professional rugby players from across the globe" into Team Barbie.
Earning the Barbie doll treatment are Team USA Olympic bronze medalist Ilona Maher, England's newly crowned Rugby World Cup champion Ellie Kildunne, 2021 Olympic silver medalist for France, Nassira Konde, and New Zealand legend Portia Woodman-Wickliffe — a two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time World Cup champion.
Notably, the four new dolls will feature "an all-new body sculpt" to celebrate the strength of each player "with a straighter, more athletic torso, visibly defined arms, shoulders, and legs, plus sculpted core and back muscles."
"If sharing my story can inspire other young girls to believe in themselves the way I have, then I'll have truly made an impact," said Maher in Monday's press release. "Being part of Team Barbie is about showing girls that confidence isn't something to shy away from, but something to own."
"We believe that girls can be, and do, anything," added Mattel's SVP of Barbie Krista Berger. "By showcasing the stories of incredible role models whose confidence has fueled groundbreaking success, we're showing girls that the future of sports – or wherever their passion takes them – is theirs to claim, with Team Barbie cheering them on."
Women's rugby is having a moment, with Mattel getting in on the action following England's successful 2025 Rugby World Cup run, which drew record crowds and spiked global interest this summer.
How to purchase the Team Barbie collection of rugby stars
Mattel's Team Barbie collection of rugby stars will hit the shelves in 2026.
The USA Women's Eagles still have a shot at a 2025 Rugby World Cup knockouts run thanks to a dramatic 31-31 draw against Australia on Saturday — putting all the pressure on next weekend's group-stage finale.
After falling to host nation — and world No. 1 — England in the tournament's record-breaking opener, the now-No. 8 US squad kept their World Cup dreams alive by pulling level with the No. 7 Wallaroos.
Saturday's thrilling draw brought drama to the competition's mostly lopsided pool-play results so far, and spoiled what would have been a guaranteed spot in the quarterfinals for Australia.
"The mood is disappointment because we were so close [to a win]," said US star Ilona Maher following the game. "But also excitement because there is more to play for in that we're not going home just yet. We're definitely proud of the fight."
With England officially clinching the top spot in Pool A, Team USA now needs a blowout win over No. 15 Samoa with at least four tries scored (called a bonus point), as well as an Australian loss to England without a bonus point — plus a positive score differential over the Wallaroos — to advance.
How to watch Team USA at the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup
The No. 8 USA will close out their group-stage run by taking on No. 15 Samoa at 8:30 AM ET on Saturday, before awaiting their fate when No. 7 Australia plays No. 1 England at 12 PM ET.
Live coverage of all 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup games streams on Paramount+.
The 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup is off to the races, setting a new tournament attendance record as 42,723 fans watched top-ranked host nation England claim an opening-day victory over the USA on Friday.
Set inside Sunderland's Stadium of Light, England's Red Roses downed the No. 9 Women's Eagles 69-7 to open the recently expanded 16-team tournament.
"The fans definitely made a statement. You made that one really special," said England full back and Player of the Match Ellie Kildunne after Friday's historic game. "Thank you to everybody that came, having rugby in the North is pretty special as well."
This year's US squad features superstar Ilona Maher as well as several of her fellow rugby sevens Olympic bronze medalists.
"We talk a lot about playing as we can, there were moments out there when we moved the ball really well and we gelled," said Maher following the loss. "I think the hope is that we unlock that and we do that because we have so much potential."
How to watch Team USA at the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup
On the heels of an opening slate dominated by lopsided scorelines, group-stage play in the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup will continue through September 7th before the quarterfinals hit the pitch on September 13th.
The USA will be back in action this Saturday, kicking off against No. 7 Australia at 2:30 PM ET.
Live coverage of all tournament games will stream on Paramount+.
The 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup has arrived, as top-ranked host nation England takes on world No. 10 USA to kick off pool play in the 10th edition of the international competition on Friday afternoon.
Featuring rugby superstar Ilona Maher alongside several of her fellow 2024 Olympic bronze medalists, the Women's Eagles will battle in the group stage through September 6th, looking to first secure a spot in the mid-September quarterfinals before aiming for their first World Cup title since winning the inaugural 1991 tournament.
After expanding from 12 to 16 teams this year, the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup is gearing up to be the biggest edition of the international 15s tournament on record, with over 40,000 tickets already sold for Friday's blockbuster opening matchup.
However, Maher and the US have a steep hill climb in Pool A, with the US set to first tackle two-time champion England before facing No. 6 Australia and No. 15 Samoa over the next two weeks.
"Our focus for the first match of the [World Cup] is very much on ourselves and executing our game plan to put pressure on England," said USA head coach Sione Fukofuka. "We know they have big external expectations on them… so we are quietly going about our work, building confidence, and looking forward to performing."
Meanwhile, reigning champions No. 3 New Zealand will start hunting their seventh overall and third straight World Cup title in Pool C against the likes of No. 5 Ireland, No. 11 Japan, and No. 13 Spain.
Taking on Pool B leaders No. 2 Canada will be No. 8 Scotland, No. 9 Wales, and No. 14 Fiji, while tournament underdogs No. 25 Brazil will face an uphill climb in Pool D against No. 4 France, No. 7 Italy, and No. 12 South Africa.
How to watch Team USA in the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup
The No. 10 USA Women's Eagles will open their 2025 Rugby World Cup campaign against world No. 1 England at 2:30 PM ET on Friday.
Live coverage of all tournament games will stream on Paramount+.
Women won big at Wednesday's 2025 ESPY Awards, with star athletes from across women's sports earning top honors for outstanding performances over the past year.
Leading the charge was seven-time Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Simone Biles with ESPYS for both Best Athlete, Women's Sports and Best Championship Performance for her trio of golds at last summer's Paris Games.
"Six-year-old me, who first started tumbling on my parents' sofa in the living room, is floored to be standing before you right now," Biles shared in one of her speeches.
Biles's Team USA teammate Suni Lee, who brought her doctor to the awards, won Best Comeback Athlete after battling kidney disease to return to top the Olympic podium.
The night's Best Breakthrough Athlete was USA Rugby star and 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Ilona Maher, who used part of her speech to encourage young women and girls, telling them to "Take up space. Pitch it faster. Run harder. Put another plate on the bar. And never tone it down."
Also snagging honors as the top athletes in their respective sports were Coco Gauff (Best Tennis Player), Caitlin Clark (Best WNBA Player), Katie Taylor (Best Boxer), and JuJu Watkins (Best College Athlete, Women's Sports).
Meanwhile, USWNT icon Alex Morgan and WNBA legend Diana Taurasi shared this year's Icon Award in recognition of the new retirees' impacts on their respective sports.
"Our mission has always been very similar," Morgan said in her acceptance speech alongside Taurasi. "We fought to leave our game in a better place than where we found it."
Off-court efforts earn 2025 ESPY Awards
Sports leaders whose impact surpassed the proverbial playing field also took home trophies on Wednesday night.
In recognition of her foundation's commitment to promoting diversity and providing tennis opportunities to underserved communities, US legend Sloane Stephens won this year's Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award.
Later, Penn State volleyball head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley earned a standing ovation alongside her Jimmy V Award for Perseverance.
Schumacher-Cawley, who became the first woman to helm a national title-winning volleyball team by leading her Nittany Lions to the 2024 NCAA Championship last December, did so while battling breast cancer.
"Cancer changed my life, but it didn't take it," said an emotional Schumacher-Cawley. "It didn't take my belief, it didn't take my spirit, and it didn't take my team."
Women's sports came up big in last week's 2025 ESPY Awards nominations, as superstars like WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson, USWNT attacker Mallory Swanson, US Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, and others vie for the annual honors.
The Las Vegas Aces forward earned spots on the shortlists for both Best WNBA Player as well as Best Athlete: Women's Sports, where she's up against Biles plus US track and field icons Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Gabby Thomas.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark will also compete for Best WNBA Player alongside Wilson, Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier, and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, with Clark also topping the Best Record-Breaking Performance shortlist.
Women's soccer also stole the spotlight, with the USWNT earning a Best Team nod while forward Mallory Swanson nabbed Best Comeback. Fellow Triple Espresso star Trinity Rodman's Olympic quarterfinal overtime goal also snagged a nomination for Best Play.
Dating back to 1993, the ESPYS recognize the most impactful sports stories of the year, including Best Player, Best Comeback, and Best Team.
This year's women's sports nominees feature several 2024 winners, including Clark (Best College Athlete, Best Record Breaking Performance), Biles (Best Comeback Athlete), and Wilson (Best Women's Sports Athlete, Best WNBA Player).
Individual women and women's teams across the sports world will be on hand when the awards hit the red carpet later this month, with the likes of US rugby star Ilona Maher, US gymnast Suni Lee, golfer Nelly Korda, US ski legend Lindsey Vonn, NCAA basketball standout JuJu Watkins, and tennis icons Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka among the 2025 nominees.
How to watch and vote for the 2025 ESPY Awards
The 2025 ESPY Awards will kick off on July 16th at 8 PM ET, airing on ABC.
Fan voting for the awards will close three hours before the start of the ceremony.
USA Rugby star Ilona Maher is stepping back into the spotlight, with the 2024 Olympic bronze medalist set to be the subject of an upcoming docuseries created by actor Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine, the production company announced last Friday.
With Maher serving as both star and one of the show's producers, Hello Sunshine is teaming up with Ross Greenburg Productions and Range Sports to develop the project, which details Maher's life both on and off the field. Maher's sister, Olivia Maher, will also serve as an executive producer of the docuseries.
"Ilona Maher is a force of nature," Hello Sunshine head of unscripted Sara Rea told The Hollywood Reporter. "Ilona shows unwavering resilience during the tough times and grounded authenticity while sitting on top of the world. She's funny, witty, thoughtful, and unapologetic. Quite simply, she's both relatable and extraordinary, and we are honored to tell her story."
Since her Paris Olympics breakthrough with Team USA, Maher has added a runner-up finish on Dancing with the Stars, a Sports Illustrated cover, and a successful podcast entitled House of Maher to her growing resume.
"I constantly feel like I have something to say," Maher said. "I'm a female athlete in a sport that does not get the attention it deserves in the US and yet I've been able to create this massive brand for myself through my own personality and authenticity."
The USA Rugby women's 15s shattered the sport's US attendance record on Friday, welcoming 10,518 fans to Kansas City's CPKC Stadium for the Eagles' matchup against Canada.
Though the world No. 9 ranked US fell short in their come-from-behind push, falling 26-14 to No. 2 Canada in the opening game of the 2025 Pacific Four Series, Friday's crowd gave the players a massive off-field victory.
"To see the crowd be over 10,500 like that was absolutely fantastic in this women's purposely built stadium, and to debut rugby here in that stadium as well," said USA captain Kate Zackary after the game.
Even Canada's athletes lauded the significance of the record-setting crowd, despite the overwhelmingly US cheers from the home fans.
"Being here in North America and having 10,000 people coming to watch women's sports was so amazing," remarked Canada's Sarah-Maude Lachance.
Rugby's rise spurs exponential growth
After the Eagles secured Olympic bronze in rugby sevens last summer, the sport gained significant momentum.
The national attention captured by 2024 Olympians like superstar Ilona Maher earned USA Rugby a multimillion-dollar investment, helped fuel a new domestic league, and minted fresh fans en route to Friday's attendance record.
In the long-term, that growth could turn the US-hosted 2033 Rugby World Cup into a marquee national event.
For the rugby faithful, however, the biggest win is seeing those new to the sport become lifelong fans.
"Everyone I talked to after [Friday's] game who didn't know what rugby was, [I hope] has fallen in love with it," said Zachary.
How to attend the next USA Rugby game
The Eagles will take aim at breaking Friday's attendance record in Washington, DC, on July 19th, when they'll face No. 16 Fiji in a send-off game before August's 2025 Rugby World Cup in England.
Tickets to the Audi Field doubleheader, which also includes the US men's side against England, are available online now.
Two top-flight USA Rugby teams are hitting the turf this weekend, as the Eagles Sevens lands in LA for the 2025 HSBC SVNS World Championship while the Eagles 15s continue their friendly series in Kansas City.
Over 7,500 fans snapped up tickets to catch superstar Ilona Maher and the rest of USA Rugby's world No. 9 ranked 15s squad take on No. 2 Canada at Kansas City's CPKC Stadium on Friday, less than a week after suffering a narrow loss to No. 11 Japan in LA last Saturday.
This Saturday, however, is all about the No. 6-ranked Eagles Sevens squad, as the US team joins seven other elite rugby nations hunting a 2025 world title in LA.
Saturday's slate of pool play games will see Team USA facing off against No. 2 Australia, No. 3 France, and No. 7 Fiji, with No. 1 New Zealand, No. 4 Canada, No. 5 Japan, and No. 8 Great Britain also battling for one of four spots in Sunday's semifinals.
USA Rugby drops 2025 HSBC SVNS World Championship roster
After finalizing the lineup, USA Rugby revealed its 12-player Eagles Sevens roster on Wednesday, naming six Olympians and six new faces to the 2025 HSBC SVNS World Championship team.
Leading the US this weekend is captain Kristi Kirshe and vice captain Kayla Canett, with the 2024 Olympians joined by four other teammates from the bronze medal-winning squad in Paris — Ariana Ramsey, Alena Olsen, Sarah Levy, and Sammy Sullivan.
After suffering a knee injury in the team's last tour in Hong Kong, star Alex "Spiff" Sedrick — who scored the game-winning try in last summer's bronze-medal game — will miss this weekend's World Championship.
In her stead, fresh faces like national team debutant Ashley Cowdrey earned a nod, joining a US roster with six athletes who've played no more than six HSBC SVNS events.
One of those six new stars is Nia Toliver, who caps her breakout sevens season as one of the 2025 HSBC SVNS Rookie of the Year and Try of the Year nominees.
Rounding out the team are Jess Lu, Autumn LoCicero, Su Adegoke, and Tessa Hann.
How to watch USA Rugby this weekend
The Eagles 15s will contend with Canada at 8:30 PM ET on Friday, before the Eagles Sevens kick off their 2025 HSBC SVNS World Championship run against France at 2:28 PM ET.
All matches throughout the weekend will be available to stream live via RugbyPass TV.
With arguably the most dramatic finish at the Paris Olympics so far, Team USA made the rugby sevens podium for the first time in history by upsetting Australia 14-12 in Tuesday’s bronze medal match.
Following the Olympic debut of the women's game in 2016, the US had never finished higher than fifth place before Tuesday afternoon. They entered the day knowing they’d already secured at least fourth place after clinching a semifinal berth, where they fell to eventual back-to-back gold medalists New Zealand.
Stunning finish clinches Team USA's bronze
The underdog Women's Eagles Sevens faced Rio gold medalists Australia in the bronze medal match, going toe-to-toe to end the first half tied 7-7. After going down 12-7 with what looked like a game-winning try from Australian Maddison Levi, the US blasted a chaotic comeback in the last play of the game.
With 15 seconds left on the clock, Team USA’s Alex "Spiff" Sedrick pulled off an incredible 85-meter run to score a game-tying try as time expired. The try — alongside the two-point conversion attempt it earned — counted despite the clock running out because rugby, like American football, does not end a game mid-play.
Sedrick whipped in the subsequent conversion, ticking the final score up to 14-12 and securing her 2024 squad's place in the Olympic history books.
"It was crazy because I was like no way this is happening. [She’s] been an MVP for me this whole season," teammate and social media star Ilona Maher said of Sedrick after the match.
Medal marks turning point for USA rugby
Not only did today's game marked the first time any US rugby team has medaled in the Rugby Sevens event, it was also the first time the US has medaled in any Olympic rugby event since 1924.
But the historic hardware isn’t the only thing the US will bring home from Paris. The exposure — both from winning a medal and from an influx of support courtesy of celebrities and droves of newly minted fans — has rugby sevens grabbing the kind of attention that can boost a sport’s growth.
Investment in the sport was near-immediate. Mere hours after the US bagged bronze, trailblazing women's sports owner Michele Kang announced her $4 million donation to the team to grow the sport and support its players and staff in the leadup to the 2028 LA Olympics.
USA rugby sevens player Ariana Ramsey summed up the moment post-game: "We did a lot for our program just now. We are gonna bring out so many more fans now that we are actually winning. People are gonna want to see what rugby is about and learn more about our game."