The USA men's sevens team, fifth in the HSBC World Series in 2016-17 and with the World Sevens Player of the Year in its lineup, went 0-3 on day one of the Dubai Sevens on Friday.
Playing in a hugely difficult Pool D with New Zealand, Samoa, and Argentina, the USA team could not concoct a victory, but it's not really all that dire of a situation.
Argentina 22, USA 14
A try from the USA's Stephen Tomasin in the first half and then Carlin Isles early in the second half put the Eagles up 14-12 in their Pool D opener, but the Pumas scored twice at the end of the game to win it.
However, the big news in that game was that Perry Baker is out of the tournament after going down with an injury in the first half and injury reserve Naima Fuala'au is not on the roster. Losing Baker, even with Isles available, was a massive blow.
Samoa 26, USA 14
Next up it was Samoa, a program that six years ago was among the best on the globe. A new infusion of cash means Samoa may be on the rise again, and it showed well against the USA in Dubai, scoring two quick tries and leading 26-7 with almost no time left. Danny Barrett scored at the end of the first half for the Eagles, and Maka Unufe did so at the end of the second to bring the final margin to 26-14.
New Zealand 22, USA 12
The USA tried to salvage some pride against New Zealand, and much like the Eagles did against Argentina, they came back to make it a game. Isles scored early, and Martin Iosefo touched down on a lovely grubber play to make it 12-12 early in the second half.
But once again, the opposition scored two late tries to pull away, this time 22-12.
For the USA team, this 0-3 start is a blow but not a debilitating one. The Eagles now look to the Challenge Cup, where they will face off against Canada with a chance to score more points in the standings. But it's also the first day of a long season and plenty more rugby to be played.
The USA is not that far off the pace.
"Tomorrow is a new day and a new challenge," Eagles coach Mike Friday said. "We need to reflect on today's lessons and reset, determined to secure the eight points on offer to us."
Meanwhile, New Zealand and Samoa took the top two spots in Pool D. Fiji and Australia ruled in Pool C. England and Scotland led Pool B, and South Africa and Kenya took the top two places in Pool A.