USA Men’s National Team Head Coach Mike Tolkin acknowledged Tuesday that he threw a few players to the wolves, but it’s something he has to do at some point.

The team he ran out against the Argentina Jaguars was quite inexperienced, while the Argentina team had a large contingency of regular Pumas, many of which had a key role in the 54-6 victory for the hosts in Salta.

“That will be their Super 18 team come 2016,” said Tolkin. “Our lineup made it even more of a challenge.”

The lineup included several players who had never played senior international rugby.

Still, there were positives. Tolkin told Goff Rugby Report that he was pleased with the team’s set piece performance, especially i the first half. Argentina did get three tries from scrums near the USA line, but none from a pushover - two were simple scrum wins and a couple of phases and over they went. The other was a penalty try for an early break from the scrum by one of the flankers.

“Our line speed and dominant tackles were not there in the first half,” added Tolkin. “In the second half it was better, but we expended a lot of energy in the first half and wore down come the second. In attack, we did not show composure. We rushed to [pass] instead of holding the ball and playing through phases and putting them under some pressure.”

Harsh lessons, but lessons Tolkin wanted his newer players, especially, to learn.

“We had a decent amount of possession, but we did not hold it nearly long enough,” said the coach. “It was a very difficult challenge for a group of inexperienced amateurs playing pros, but having said that, I expect more from our guys, and they were disappointed with their efforts today as well.”

The lineup will change for the second match against the Jaguars on May 2. Tolkin has seen every player, and he will select it on form, not on who needs to get time.