USA Selects head coach Scott Lawrence will want to see a better performance in the Americas Pacific Challenge when the tournament resumes on Wednesday.

The USA team gave away a winning position and lost to Tonga A, going from 30-22 up to 39-30 down. Defense around the breakdown was lacking at critical moments, and Tonga A scored at least three tries exploiting that issue.

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"Urgency around the fringe defense was a big deal," said Lawrence, and really what he means there is that players had to move father to plug holes — including the hole behind the ruck, which was exploited for the game-winning try.

"It was a strange game, very stop-start and disjointed," said Lawrence. "But we created some exciting opportunities — opportunities we can build off on attack."

That included a well-executed try off a set piece finished by Tim Maupin, and an open-field counter-attack try scored by Vili Toluta'u. Ryan Matyas was instrumental in both, but the USA Selects also visited the Tonga A red zone several times and came away with little.

"We just need to trust our abilities a bit more," said Lawrence.