USA U18s Hope to Take Canada Lesson into Corendon Finale

But the beauty of a tournament like this is that you get another shot at playing the way you want.

Exits

Head Coach Dom Wareing took a little issue with GRR's assertion that the U18s played too much in their own 22, saying the USA team played only 16 phases in their red zone, averaging only two phases per possession. However, he did acknowledge there were key moments when they didn't do that.

"There were two instances when we did try to play out of there and did so poorly, which cost us; otherwise pretty efficient."

That, really, was a function of getting away from what got them a 22-5 lead.

A Lead Can Disappear

Wareing said the team will make no major changes or adjustments when they play Netherlands on Sunday, except "get back to the way we have been practicing and preparing. We didn't ask many questions of the Canada defense on many occasions after the early scores and failed to keep the pressure on them by playing to our strengths. Instead we got one-dimensional and predictable."

Often when players say they took their foot off the gas, it isn't really about effort; it's more often just a lack of using the tools in their toolbox. The USA team needed to paly like it was tied when they were far ahead, and when they were ahead by a small margin, needed to play like that, not as if they were losing.

"We'll aim to not repeat the same mistakes," said Wareing. "We're disappointed not to have won but credit to Canada on taking their chances well and pushing us to the final whistle."

So Sunday the USA plays Netherland, which comes into the game 2-0 after close wins against Canada (27-20) and Belgium (19-15). Netherlands has size. They're the tallest nation in the world, and you can see that in 4, 5, 7, and 8. Tey have power and strength in the front row, although shorter front-rowers can sometimes get leverage under taller ones. They defend well. Netherlands was better than Belgium and perhaps stronger than the scoreline indicates. They gave up a penalty try on a rather stupid late tackle, and take that play out of it they might have won by more.

All of that might indicate that the USA will see better value in keeping the ball alive, and making the Netherlands defense work hard. A scrum-lineout battle might not be their best event. A battle where the USA keeps their composure throughout would be good.