The try that made it all happen centered not so much on where any USA player was, but where Scotland’s star chose to put himself.

The kicking back-and-forth between the USA and Scotland didn’t really produce any grand gains for either team. And then just about midway through the second half, AJ MacGinty saw a chance.

“The game was so tight, obviously we just didn’t want to, sort of, play in our own half, so just putting them under a bit of pressure … and Stuart Hogg he’s standing there and his kick - he’s got such a good boot …”

Hogg, the Scotland captain is also the team’s best player, and as fullback he was crucial in keeping the USA honest. But then he changed it up.

 “He actually chased that one and left their back row down there. It’s such a greasy ball, I’m just trying to put it up there, and I was actually going to try [to] smash him when he caught, and luckily it went through his hands.”

That would be young No. 8 Matt Fagerson, who could not handle the slick ball, and let it fall.

“I bounced right up to me and … Hanco just happened to be there.”

Hanco Germishuys had chased on along with MacGinty, especially as left wing Marcel Brache had to retreat when the kick was made because he was in an offside position. 

After the game, Germishuys was asked if he was out of position on that play. He smiled and said: “Maybe; you never know.”

Well you do know. Germishuys was in the right place as always, and while MacGinty didn’t appear to look his way, the flyhalf felt his teammate’s presence, and slipped a one-handed pass to the Nebraska high school product, and over he went.

And while Germishuys gets the credit for the try, MacGinty had his hands, and his brain, all over it.

“AJ MacGinty was the best player on the field by far,” said Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend (who knows a little bit about being a world-class flyhalf). And to put a final note on it all, MacGinty did what Hogg could not, and booted the conversion from the touchline. That decision-making, that execution, and that conversion, made sure the USA beat Scotland on Saturday.