2019 ARC Round 1 - Chile vs USA

Gold: Eagles 6 1/2 Out Of 10

Gold: Eagles 6 1/2 Out Of 10

Gary Gold weighs in on the USA perform

Feb 2, 2019 by Alex Goff
Miss Pass Special: Gary Gold Looks To The ARC

USA head coach Gary Gold wasn't enormously impressed with his team's 71-8 defeat of Chile, but did add that the buildup hadn't been easy.

Commenting after the game, Gold said he'd give the performance a "solid six-and-a-half" out of 10, noting that the team got away from its plan at times.

"When we did what we set out to do I thought were very effective," said Gold. "We worked off the ball well, scored some very good tries. We did put them under a lot of pressure, but I think we made a lot of soak tackles and gave them a lot of momentum."

Gold praised his team's defensive structure and physicality, but lamented his squad's turnover rate, which killed some promising scoring opportunities and gave Chile momentum. 

"Tough conditions," added Gold. "Lots of travel this week; very very hot. So really happy how the guys came together, concentrated hard for 80 minutes, and got a deserved victory against a young team."

Next the USA travels to Cipolletti in Argentina to take on Argentina XV. Over the three years of the ARC, the USA is 1-0-2 against Argentina XV - two tries and a 17-10 win.

"We realize that next week's challenge is going to be significantly more difficult against a much more experienced Argentinean team," said Gold.