France defeated the USA 33-9 in the 2019 Rugby World Cup, and maybe when people look at this score well in the future they will think it was a relatively easy win for the French, but it wasn't.

At 65 minutes the score was 12-9. The Eagles were just as good as the USA. Both teams got out of scary scoring opportunities for the opposition with some desperate defense. IN the end, France was able to open the game up a little bit more to get those elusive tries, while the Eagles had to settle for three AJ MacGinty Penalties.

Despite the fact tha France committed more penalties, they were let of at least once with a warning for a professional foul on the goalline when they should have received a yellow card.

The USA weathered a long period of pressure in the first eight minutes, and were eventually burned by a chip over the top that Yoann Huget to chase down. The Eagles got back on the front foot after a powerful drive from Eric Fry produced a penalty in the scrum, and eventually after a few surges to the line, MacGinty thumped over the kick.

But France replied. This time with a penalty advantage on Camille Lopez kicked to the corner and Alivereti Raka raced in to nab it and score. But after that the USA stomped down on the French attack. The Eagles were still vulnerable under the high ball, but tenacious in defense, led by Bryce Campbell, Tony Lamborn, and Marcel Brache, held France scoreless for the remainder of the half.

In addition, the Eagles got right down to the French tryline, and had a penalty for offside. They tried to push the advantage, didn't score, and took the easy three points. However, this was where referee Ben O'Keeffe, who had already warned France for killing the ball, could have shown a card.

That made it 12-6 at halftime, and a brilliant piece of work from ike Te'o, that was built upon by Fry, Brache, and Blaine Scully, got the USA in the French 22. But somehow France got out of it. Eventually, at the 62nd minute, more solid USA defense forced a dropped ball. MacGinty tapped the ball sideways with his foot, picked it up, and then grubbered it sight-unseen. The resulting melee ended up with a French penalty. MacGinty was perfect on the kick and it was 12-9 with 15 to go.

From there, France opened it up. A little bit of luck on a kick saw Gael Fickou put away, and right from the restart Baptiste Serin again found the Americans wrong-footed chasing a kick. Jefferson Poirot was in for the last one.

So 33-9, but an effort head coach Gary Gold said made him proud. The USA was right there, but also had to rue not being able to maul the ball over at a critical juncture in the first half. Defensively there were some very brave performances. Nick Civetta was enormous,and Joe Taufete'e put in a ton of work. But the Eagles didn't quite have enough room to run the backs, and under the high ball just weren't clinical enough.

They still missed tackles, but were better in that area than against England in the first RWC game, and that told the tale. The USA gained 174 meters on 80 carries—2.2 meters per carry—while France carried 134 times and made 438 meters, a per carry mark of 3.3.

USA 9
Pens: MacGinty

France 33
Tries: Huget, Raka, Fickou, Serin, Poirot
Convs: Ramos, Lopez 3