"Disappointing", the United States finds out how much it has to go



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TOKYO – The United States came to the Rugby World Cup in hopes of continuing their improvement over the last 18 months with Gary Gold, but the Americans' first game was a reminder of how much still remained to do – especially among the fundamentals of the core rugby team.

The Eagles' 45-7 defeat to England on a sunny evening under the roof of the Kobe Misaki Stadium on Thursday night was by no means an unexpected result, all the more so. that the team of Eddie Jones is one of the best nations of Japan, with a team that has been built at this tournament for four years.

And although they were not at all bothered, the Eagles were incredibly limited in the attack and then evicted their proper possession inside half of England. There was also the late posting of flanker John Quill, who had clearly not followed Reece Hodge's news this week, after hitting Owen Farrell with a hefty charge at the same time. shoulder that would probably end the American tournament.

Eagles coach Gary Gold told ESPN before the tournament that his team would take a "pragmatic" approach to his attack. Although this may be a good idea of ​​the current position of this team, it will have to be a little more expansive. if she wants to be more competitive compared to other level 1 teams, Argentina and France, then press for victory against Tonga at this tournament.

To their credit, the Eagles have never given up. And when, after 80 minutes, the Americans were finally willing to move the ball, the United States were rewarded with a Bryce Campbell post-siren attempt that made the crowd of spectators at the Kobe Misaki stadium roar.

"I'm proud of the guys they did not spill. It's just a fantastic group of guys who really want to work very hard, but we've been taught lessons today, "said Gold. "We lost all aspects of the game, we lost the collisions, we lost the determined piece, we lost on the defense and more importantly we lost the shot."

The United States simply did not find an answer to the rolling maul of England – in the lineup that is incredibly hard to stop close – nor to George Ford's kickoff, and also suffered tremendous pressure melee. England have scored two tries since the start of the match, after Ford opened the scoring bout between American defenders for five minutes, which remained a powerful weapon throughout.

The initial defeat of David Ainuu after four minutes of play, which offered a injury to the umpire referees, did not at all help the referees, while referee Nic Berry did not help. had more choice than to reward the dominance that had allowed the English strikers to overtake the top of their opponents several times.

The United States did well to fight in defense to prevent two more English tries in the first period. But since they had only 34% of the possession of the ball and they were already asked to create 28 more tackles than their opponents at half-time, it was almost inevitable that other cracks would appear in the ball. defense of the Eagles during the recovery.

England had led 19-0 at half-time and extended that margin by five others with a try of Joe Cokanasiga seven minutes into the second period, when it became clear that the Crazy race that threatened the Americans was quickly dry.

Thus, he proved that England added new tests through Ruaridh McConnochie, Lewis Ludlam and Cokanasiga, to find comfortable winners, a performance that satisfied coach Eddie Jones.

This has always been a huge challenge for the Eagles and their areas of improvement will be easily identified during the video viewing session. Thursday night's match will also remind them where they stand in the world of rugby, regardless of the progress of the last 18 months, and the mountain that remains to climb before actually reaching the first place in rugby.

"I do not think we were credible tonight, not by our standards," said Gold. "We are a better rugby team than that, we are no better than England, but we are a better rugby team than that."

Maul's defense, a piece more assured both on alignment and on the fray, and a desire to be a little more adventurous in attack, should start at the top of the list of preparatory work before the Americans do not meet France in Fukuoka next Wednesday.

Fifty-four missed tackles out of the 100 more than they had to make as England is also a serious concern, and points to the need to prepare to play a little more with the ball as they do it. had made in the last minute of the match.

Constant improvement in all these areas and a lower margin of defeat against another Group 1 team are quite possible, as well as a final victory against other nations, Tonga.

"There is a lot to learn from this and all the credit goes to England for putting us under the amount of pressure under which we were under and ruthlessly exploiting some of the areas in which we need work," he said. said Eagles captain Blaine Scully. said when asked how his team would rebound.

"Although we are slightly disappointed by the performance, our reaction defines us, so it is our ability to look back and learn what we can learn from it, to introduce ourselves to the work of tomorrow and to try to improve ourselves. to improve our next week's performance. "

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