Kurt Weaver wears a lot of hats in American rugby, and one of them is referee. He’s a good ref, and I like how he keeps his voice calm and his instructions clear. But … American referees tend to be hard on American teams when they are refereeing international games. I’ve seen it a great deal.

In this game, Weaver let Harlequins players seal off in the rucks, or just flop down on the ball. That was frustrating, but also a good lesson for some of the Eagles players.I would have liked to have seen a yellow card when Harlequins killed the ball on the tryline late in the game. That might have led to a try rather than a penalty goal. 

But I have two incidents worth complaining about:

This first one came at 74 minutes, after an interception seemed to get Harlequins a scoring opportunity. Folau Niua makes a brilliant tackle, and Andrew Durutalo, who is not in the ruck, is taken out illegally bu flanker Jack Clifford - no call. Somehow Durutalo returns to the fray after the Eagles steal the ball then lose it. He comes through the gate to drive over the ball, and is tackled by Clifford, who never retreated onside. Three no-calls, and then a penalty against the USA.

This play didn’t result in points for Harlequins, but did take time off the clock.

Secondly, in this penalty referee Weaver allows, but from nowhere near the mark. We know we see referees always call back a quick one if it’s not near the mark. Here the Harlequins player is well ahead of the mark. The result of this play is a try for Harlequins. Might they have scored otherwise? Maybe.

Of course, had the kick at the end of the play not bounced off Cam Dolan's boot, then the Eagles have a lineout there and they likely save the situation. Conversely, had Weaver called the play back, Harlequins would have kicked for touch and taken the lineout, and possibly scored anyway.