"Firstly, the boys put in a lot of hard work in the run up to the game. The facilities we enjoyed in Boston were excellent and then they produced a quality performance in very trying conditions," he said. "The areas we had been identifying prior to the game, accuracy at the breakdown, our shape in attack and our pace and execution of passing in the backline, were certainly addressed in a positive way. We had to come from behind and showed patience and character to get ourselves back into the games. Individual like  Barry Murphy, Keith Earls and Billy Holland really grasped the opportunity to put themselves forward for selection and that's always pleasing to see."

" But overall I felt it was an excellent week. The  major objectives of the week were to progress in our game, to be in a touring environment and to get a quality game against good opposition in laying down a marker for the season. Those objectives were certainly met.

?We are happy to be able to walk away with this win. We knew coming into this match that the U.S. would provide tough competition and they didn't disappoint. To be able to put up 46 points against the U.S. was no easy feat.?