The USA Selects claimed an impressive scalp by beating Uruguay in Montevideo with a hometown ref.

Despite being shorthanded for about 40% of the game, the Selects held on 13-3, scoring their one key try while a man short.

Head Coach Mike Tolkin was somewhat muted in his happiness about the game, maybe because two marginal yellow cards to Ollie Kilifi, which meant one big ol’ red card,  will keep the Seattle prop on the bench for the next game, against the Argentina Jaguars.

“It was good given our first game out,” said Tolkin. 

But what he was pleased with was the fact that yellow cards to John Cullen and Kilifi, and then the red to Kilifi, didn’t bring the team down. In fact, they seemed to grow stronger.

“This team works and prepared extremely hard and has developed great character and commitment,” said Tolkin. “I commented on it after camp and I think that backing up of each other showed tonight when the chips were down. The mental skills that we now do with the help of Steve Durant came into play as we kept composure in a trying circumstance to get a good road win, especially with veterans like Thiel and Hall not playing.”

Some veterans came up big - John Quill is just unflinching, and Lou Stanfill, playing the wily veteran leader, put it all out there. Shalom Suniula, Robbie Shaw, Zach Fenoglio all had either good moments, or, in Shaw’s case, a long period of just getting work done. Seamus Kelly, the game day captain, deserves credit for keeping the team on keel.

But there were some impact players, as well. Moto Filikitonga made a few errors, but was the USA’s best option for getting through the Uruguayan defensive line.

“Once Moto started hitting the line with pace in the second half, he was tough to stop,” said the coach. You can work with that. 

There was also the addition of Kyle Sumsion and AJ MacGinty, who both made key contributions.

“AJ hit a great ball to Sumsion to create good momentum that led to a penalty and points,” Tolkin said. “[MacGinty] had an impact, especially with the late points to seal the match.”

MacGinty set up the try with a smart kick, nailed a touchline conversion, and then a long kick to touch set up a penalty, which he kicked. That kind of performance gets you more time.

Tolkin also had kind words for his defense, and well he should as they held Uruguay to three points (thanks in part to a couple of missed kicks). 

“The defense was organized and scrambled very well, covering half the game down a man,” he said. “We didn't miss many tackles, but we want the line speed to improve and be more active in that area. The back three covered a lot of ground.”

Another positive? The scrum. The USA Selects earned a couple of penalties in the scrum and won a couple against the head. When they scrummed with seven men they were under pressure, but it wasn’t a disaster, and could have been. In open play, the forwards were good, and scored on a maul, but Tolkin wants cleaner and quicker ball out of the rucks, and there’s work to be done there.

“We need to be more urgent to get to the breakdown and to be more physically dominant at the contact area and getting past the ball,” said the coach. “Uruguay was tending to pin the player and ball in the ruck and we need to deal with that with brute force and precision at the first supporting players' arrival.”

And that, along with the startling physicality of play, is the thing most players need to adjust to when they are new to international play. International referees allow ball-killing more than in domestic play, and international players are very good at slowing down ball. The solution is usually very direct and violent, but it also requires precision. The USA might have won this game on grit and heart and teamwork and self-belief, and those are all wonderful things, and the younger players especially learned that they have to do more to open the game up so they can play the way they want.