Wales’ narrow 26-24 defeat by the USA feels encouraging because the team has rapidly improved under head coach Sean Lynn. After a winless World Cup and Six Nations, Wales have become competitive, adventurous and capable of challenging a top-six nation, giving supporters renewed optimism ahead of their October Tests in Japan.

The defeat exposed Wales’ remaining weaknesses, particularly costly errors during the final stages, despite their attacking progress and 12 tries across their first two WXV matches. Several players have emerged or regained confidence, while Wales’ ranking has risen to 11th after falling to an all-time low of 13th; the squad now believes it can win these matches and must become more clinical.