It’s tough to lose 74-6 but the sting can be tempered by winning some respect.

It’s obvious from the way players greeted each other after Saturday’s USA v New Zealand test in Chicago that the victors held respect for their hosts.

And in the interests of bridging the same international gap, Goff Rugby Report editor Alex Goff chatted briefly with New Zealand TV commentators Tony Johnson, Grant Nesbitt, and former All Black scrumhalf Justin Marshall.

“We felt the entire event was wonderful,” said Johnson. “Being in this venue and seeing this crowd, but also how we were hosted and taken care of was just first-rate.”

As for the USA team, “I though they did a lot things very well. They looked quite good with the ball,” said Nesbitt. “There’s obviously a gap and the All Blacks are the top team in the world, but it was a good game.”

“It was a real game of rugby, and that’s all you can ask,” added Marshall, who was also asked to compare the preparation of getting together for five sessions (how the USA did) and being together for several months, playing tough games every two weeks (as New Zealand has). “The difference is huge,” said Marshall. “That unity you get is a big part of it.”

All three commentators had further nice things to say about how the city of Chicago, and USA Rugby hosted them, and more nice things to say about how hard to USA played. It was obvious which was the better team Saturday, but that doesn’t mean the Eagles left with nothing.