The USA men’s national team can do better than Saturday’s performance, so says Eagles head coach Gary Gold.

Winning was nice, especially given that the Eagles have never beaten Samoa before, but Gold knows his team can play better, and expects them to against Romania this weekend.

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“I didn’t think it was a great performance by us at all,” Gold told FloRugby. “I am delighted by the result; we did very well to get into a 15-0 lead and we put Samoa under severe pressure. But during that time I think we needed to get one more try to give us some space.”

Then Samoa came back, scoring three converted tries to lead 21-15 before Cam Dolan’s score right before halftime made it a one-point game.

“Our tackles have to be better,” said Gold. “We missed tackles and we made it difficult for ourselves. This week we’re looking at those fundamentals and working on our defense.”

Still, there were plenty of positives. While Gold didn’t see a full 80-minute effort, he did see good moments from everyone. 

“Overall the most encouraging aspect was the grit and the fight from the guys,” said Gold. “When it mattered most, in a one-score game, we did what we needed to do. That lineout and the drive to get that penalty was great to see.”