A slim 10-7 victory isn’t exactly a rout, but the Eagles will take it.

Women’s National Team Head Coach Pete Steinberg wanted to test some players and see what worked against Wales. The Eagles were the better side, said Steinberg, but there is a lot of room for improvement.

Wales is an experienced and savvy side, very good at slowing the ball down and boasting, as of today, a 50-cap player, as outside center Elen Evans achieved her half-century with her start.

The heavy rain before the game made for difficult handling conditions, and played into the hands of the tough, ball-slowing Wales team.

“We had five players who were not with us at the Can-Ams,” Steinberg told the Goff Rugby Report. “We do lack for experience in international play and I think we had difficulty getting the quick ball that we wanted. But at the same time, we had trouble handling the ball.”

There were 22 scrums in the game, with Wales getting the put-in 16 times, as the Eagles set themselves up well on offense only to see chances hit the muddy Welsh turf.

But, Vanesha McGee, out of international 15s since 2011, showed she knows how to convert a scoring chance and scored the crucial try, Kate Daley led bravely as captain and Bui Baravilala acquitted herself well in her debut. There were other positives, as well.

“We defended really, really well,” said Steinberg. “We just did it too much. And our scrum was very solid when we’d had some issues before.”

But, added Steinberg, as he looks ahead to a non-cap game against England on Wednesday and a test match next weekend, “against England we have to be more accurate.”