The USA needed to do well against Canada on Saturday in Halifax, Nova Scotia, if only to tell the world that the Eagles didn't beat Scotland by fluke. After 80-plus minutes and six tries, the USA accomplished most of what it wanted in a 42-17 win over Canada to wrap up the Eagles' 2018 Summer Series.

Sure, they fell behind again, but this time only 3-0 and it took Canada 16 minutes to get there. And then, right after, the USA scored a try.

"We were under a lot of pressure and we knew we would get Canada's best," said USA captain Blaine Scully. "We also knew we'd have to weather storms throughout. For us, it was about resetting."

Head coach Gary Gold added that he felt his team is playing some smart rugby and following the game plan.

"We have a good confidence in our process," Gold said. "We certainly started a lot better than in other games. The really positive point is that once we did concede some points... we didn't panic."

The same could be said about the fact that a couple of the players who set the defensive tone weren't there, and others stepped into the fray. Samu Manoa was a force, as usual. Ben Landry relished getting a start, and Nick Civetta was tough in tight.

In the backs, Nate Augspurger's biggest contribution could well have been some crucial early tackles and Will Hooley looked very cool at fullback.

The team has certainly found its character and also found that playing defense and using your big forwards to make the gain line doesn't mean you're not fun to watch. The USA logged six tries on Saturday, and it's the try-scoring that is of note.

In eight games this year, the USA team has scored 46 tries—almost six a game. Last year, the Eagles were about the same (a little lower in strike rate, in fact), but in 2015-16, the USA (playing, overall, tougher opposition) scored 33 tries in 19 games, a strike rate less than a third of what it is now.