Patience may well be the key tool in the USA's toolbox this weekend.
Their forwards can win ball, win scrums, and use lineouts as a launching pad; they can defend; they can score tries through their backs and as a team ... but it could all come very slowly against Hong Kong. Goodness knows it came slowly against Kenya.
And yes Hong Kong lost 42-14 to Portugal, but around 30 minutes it was 14-7. Hong Kong, as USA Head Coach Gary Gold said, will want to bash you up front. The Eagles will have to weather that storm and not expect to run in five tries by the end of the first quarter.
After a slow start the Eagles did put 68 on Kenya last week. Captain and flyhalf AJ MacGinty certainly needs his side to be quicker out of the blocks this time, but recognizes this is a different opponent.
“We weren’t executing the way we wanted in the first half, but there was a lot of space coming up late and shape was good and comms were good so we were able to move the ball about, said the captain. “It’s definitely going to be a lot tougher [vs Hong Kong]. Those opportunities won’t come so freely so we’ve just to got to be prepared to take them when we do have them.”
“Towards the end of that game in the last 20 minutes started to open up,” added fullback Mitch Wilson. “I think we had to chisel away up front for a large portion of that game. So when AJ came on to his benefit we were able to to move the ball around a bit more and play with the rugby ball.”
