USA Head Coach Mike Tolkin is delighted to get out of Bucharest with a victory, no matter how difficult.

Despite the warm welcome by the Romanian people, which included the naming of the challenge trophy between the two nations the Pershing Cup, the inviting of the Marine Corps Color Guard to present the colors, and 90 or so loud and proud US Marines in the stadium, Bucharest was a tough place to play.

First of all there was the desire for revenge. The last time these two teams played, Romania was not good, and lost 34-3. They were embarrassed, and eager, very eager, to put in a better performance. There was also the fatigue factor. The Eagles had flown from Chicago to Romania on Sunday and had precious little time to prepare.

And don’t forget that about half the team - all seasoned professionals - were not with the squad. The entire deep three and most of the second row/back row had to be revamped because the pros were with the team. So you had the loss of experience (at least), and the disruption of changing the lineup.

Despite this, the Eagles never trailed, and won 27-17. They won despite being under huge pressure in the scrums, misfiring consistently on their lineouts, and running into penalty trouble. About the only thing that went their way was that Romania’s Florin Vlaicu was not kicking well.

So that’s why Tolkin was delighted.

“If feels great to get out of Romania with a win,” the coach told Goff Rugby Report. “I am really proud of what the guys did. We changed up almost the entire forward pack and they did really well. The backs played a really good game. Defensively I thought we were really strong.”

On the negative side, the Eagles gave up too many penalties, penalties that set up Romania for their two tries. And they were penalties that the coach said weren’t necessary.

“We were defending so well tat we just needed to be patient and keep defending and we would turn the ball over,” he said. “But we got impatient. We thought we’d have more ball than we did, and I thought we did a really good job of using the ball we had.”

And using the possession they had was enough. Tolkin said the lineout timing will be fixed, and the restarts should be better next week when they face Tonga in Gloucester in England. The scrums remain a question but Tolkin says they will be better, too.

“We really only had one session with this group in the scrums, and with a little more time we will be better,” he said. “But to play the way they did and battle the way they did with the difficulties we had was great. We played with a lot of energy and enthusiasm, and I’m proud of them.”

Notes: Lou Stanfill earned his 50th cap Saturday. Tim Stanfill (no relation) got his first start and scored a try, giving him (counting the USA Selects) five tries in his last three international starts. The Eagles seemed to address some of their red zone questions with two tries off possession inside the Romanian 22.

Greg Peterson, the Waratahs lock, ran on for his first cap. Mike Petri kicked his first drop goal of his international career.

“I don’t know, he has a good soccer background,” said Tolkin. “It was a nice play.”

The Eagles get center Thretton Palamo available for the next two games. Palamo started for Saracens in the LV= Cup against the Ospreys in a 21-9 win. Flanker Scott LaValla also returns for the USA after playing for Stade Francais Saturday in their loss to Clermont.