The USA team trained during Scotland’s 45-10 victory over Japan on Wednesday, so the players didn’t get to watch a game between two of the teams they are still to play.

In fact, the Eagles face Scotland on the 27th, and maybe the coaches figured they wanted the players to concentrate on their own performance, not that of the opposition.

"That decision was made above my pay grade,” said USA lock Hayden Smith, who also is conscious of the fact that Scotland has four days between games and the USA a week. "When we play Japan, they’ll have had more rest and we’ll be tired. Every team has to deal with it at some stage."

Most talkative Wednesday were the front-rowers, as two Washington-produced props, Titi Lamositele and Olive Kilifi held court with the media.

Lamositele mostly fielded questions about playing for Saracens in England.

“It’s like a second home for me here,” said the Chuckanut U19 (Ferndale, Wash.) product. “Being around really good players from other international teams at Saracens helps a lot.”

At the same time, knowing the Eagles will likely face a heavily Scottish crowd at Elland Road in Leeds, Lamositele said he relished the hostile environment.

“It helps me personally,” said the prop. “It makes it more special when people are going against you and it gets you more pumped up.”

Meanwhile, Kilifi, who plays for the Seattle Saracens and started playing rugby as a high-schooler in the Seattle area, the rumor is that he has been getting notice from some of the women working at the hotel in Leeds. Kilif laughed that off.

“That surprises me. Us front-rowers don’t usually get the first looks.” Kilifi agrees with Lamositele about playing in front of a hostile crowd.

“It gets me more pumped and I focus better when I personally feel like there’s something big up against me,” said the prop who turns 29 on Monday.

"Hopefully [by then] we’ll have beaten Scotland and we’ll be in a good position to get to the quarterfinals,” said Kilifi. “That was my goal and the goal for the team before we came here.”

Even if they can’t get out of the group, the Eagles are still eying 3rd place and an automatic place in the 2019 Rugby World Cup. 

“It’s really important for us because we can qualify for the next World Cup and it can give us time to focus on improving our game and moving up in the rankings, and just getting better overall,” said Kilifi.