You won't find Gary Gold having a big party just yet, not with Ireland on the horizon and a World Cup to worry about.

But for most USA fans, the Eagles' prospects at the Rugby World Cup, where the United States has won just three times in 25 games, have improved dramatically. The USA is 9-0 in test matches in 2018, 16-3-1 since Gold took over, and ranked #13 in the world, the highest the team has ever been.

Gold wants more.

"There were improvements against Romania," said the USA coach. "We had some aspects of play where we put in a lot of time and attention, and we got fairly good results. We improved our attacking shape and our defense in quite difficult conditions. But we need to keep improving.

"We don’t want to put ourselves in a position of having to defend 10-12 phases at a time," Gold continued. "We have to understand how to make the game more economical for us and how not to put ourselves in difficult positions in the field. That way, we can conserve our energy."

It takes a long time for that to be second nature, he added, and now, "we're going to be playing a team for whom it's second nature in Ireland."

The good news? The Eagles, after squandering a couple of key scoring opportunities in the first half, took control of the game in the second period.

"We were very clinical in the second half against a big, strong, physical team," said Gold. "They put us under pressure but we were able to put the game well and truly out of reach."

The USA scrum continues to be an up-and-down ... sometimes crushing the opposition, sometimes getting into trouble ... but overall it's better than the historical record. The USA lineout has been really strong. Cam Dolan stole several lineouts, and any number of jumpers and lifters have made the lineout a solid attacking platform.

"That was due to Shawn," said Gold, speaking of forwards coach Shawn Pittman. "We felt if we got up early and put them under pressure, we could bank on the fact that there wasn’t an easy plan B for Romania, and that was true."

Dolan has been a monster this fall, and really all 2018. But it's been a full-squad effort, as well. 

Notable in the game against Romania was that neither team even attempted a penalty kick for goal. This pretty much never happens in international rugby, especially in a competitive game (as opposed to a blowout). USA captain Blaine Scully acknowledged that he probably should have called for a kick at goal at the end of the first half. 

Against Ireland, taking points where you can get them will be hugely important, in part to make sure the Irish defense stays honest.