Having lost 85-0 last week the USA Men’s National Team is under a bit of a microscope.
There’s little to sugarcoat—they didn’t play well. They were overmatched by a Scotland team that didn’t have all their established stars. They failed to score. The silver linings were hard to find. No injuries. The Eagles did give up a ton of points, but also had periods where they stemmed the flow and came close to scoring.
But, while those linings don’t seem to have much silver in them, there is reason to believe that the USA could fix enough of their issues to compete with Georgia.
“I don't want the first time that Jason or Erich Storti or any of our players that play Australia, the first time that they go into a Tier 1 test match, they're playing in front of 60,000 peopl,” said Head Coach Scott Lawrence. “We have to go through those experiences, and \we have to know where we stand. I think the second thing is, is we need to be more thoughtful about our experiences, so, and our scheduling.”
Playing Scotland outside the Reg. 9 window, meaning some overseas pros don’t have to be released, was a tall order that the Eagles seem to be asking of themselves year after year. The idea is that it’s still a trial by fire that has its uses.
And its lessons, but while the team wants to take lessons, they don’t want to take on the burden long-term.
“The message came from Jason [Damm],” said Lawrence. “And it's very clear. They started after the game on Saturday, … we're sportsmen, and you have to treat heavy wins, heavy losses the same way, and that is with neutral thinking. We start to get on to the next game, review the last one, and get on to the next game as quickly as possible. We didn't live in it, for too long, and I think a one-on-one I had with a player earlier this week, I said, you know, Scotland beat us once, they can't beat us twice.”
