Guildford, Surrey (UK) - A win is a win ... right? The USA beat Ireland soundly (40-3) in yesterday's fifth place semifinal and now look forward to Canada in the teams' final Women's Rugby World Cup test. But is the victory tinged with regret?

"We know it's something we should have done the first time around," coach Kathy Flores admitted. So, yes, there's retribution in the rematch, but a resounding "What if?" also lingers.

But after watching the cup semifinals yesterday, the middle tier is where the USA belongs for now. Granted, it would have been thrilling to give it a go at Twickenham Stoop, but the Eagles concede that their lack of international experience has handicapped their grasp of the game. And while there are some brilliant highlights in the USA's game - namely its scrummaging and outside attack - there are deficiencies, too.

One area in which the USA game has improved immensely is scrummaging. A year ago, the Eagle scrum sufficed, gauging its performance at the Nations Cup, but now it is one of the strongest aspects of the Americans' game. Against Ireland, the USA relied on its scrum to not only counteract penalties against, but also successfully prevent its opponents from building a clean, sturdy attack. The forwards were tremendous.

"We were hoping that we'd have the same dominating scrum that we had in the first game," number eight Mel Denham said. "But we assumed we'd be seeing something different from them.

"They were a bigger challenge this time," Denham continued, "but we worked hard at staying tight and didn't lose any possession."

The lineouts, however, are a perpetual thorn in the USA's side. The Americans opted for the scrum when taking advantage of penalties; a smart choice considering the miscues in the air.

On offense, centers Emilie Bydwell and Amy Daniels, reunited for the first time since Kazakhstan, played well. They charged hard up the middle and held the defense long enough to give their wings the sliver of room they needed on the outside.

"I would have liked to get the ball wide more often," Flores said, "but overall, I was pleased with the attack."

The American wings are so strong - not just wily and quick - but physically strong. On breakaways, the wings and fullback Ashley English were sometimes isolated in the open field and would either fight back to their feet or suspend two or three defenders attempting to drag them to ground.

Flanker Beckett Royce was also a force on the sideline. Royce has yet to play a full game, but the breakaway made the most of her time on the field yesterday. She trailed wing Natalie Marchino for a fine tear down the touch line. She replicated the effort and just as she was about to be tackled, sent a beautiful grubber down the line, much to the crowd's pleasure.

The defense was pretty fired up as well. In the second half, Ireland spent the majority of the first 20 minutes in the USA's territory. The Irish killed their own opportunities, and the defense methodically followed the Irish attack from sideline to sideline until possession was conceded.

"It was wonderful," Denham glowed. "We made a lot of mental errors and dropped a lot of ball in the first game. We worked really hard on our ball retention and knew what we had to do."

No, it wasn't perfect, or necessarily pretty, but it did the job. Canada, which is also looking for some retribution, is the Eagles' final opponent.

"I'm pumped," Denham said of the North American showdown. "It would have sucked if they were in our pool, but it's great that we're going head to head like this. They're our rival and it's perfect that it's ending this way."

A fifth place finish means that the USA will retain the seed with which it entered the tournament, while it marks a downgrade for the Canadians, who entered ranked as #4. Bragging rights are on the table, so the teams' final game will prove a brutal one.