The inaugural Americas Rugby Championship was a wonderful experience and proved invaluable for all involved. We could have won the competition, but ultimately didn't deserve to as we let the opposition in through inexperience. We need to look to the positives: if we'd won the ARC, it may have covered up some necessary work-ons required with our people and within our processes.

While our last two defeats -- against Brazil and Uruguay -- would have been disappointing for our supporters, it was very much a development exercise.

Results weren't something I was chasing and, for me, there were no highlights or lowlights. Everything we experienced was beneficial as I was able to observe each player and how they work during good times and tough times both in the U.S. and away from home in South America.

The management and coaching group need to be commended as we were never able to field the same side twice because the roster was pre-selected by High Performance as a result of late appointments.

As the tour unfolded, we got progressively younger as a side and were lighter on leadership. We utilised 44 players in total over the month-long competition -- 38 of which were amateurs -- and 25 players were capped for their country for the first time.

I now understand better than ever the entire landscape of American rugby and it's clear to me what players I have at my disposal, what the right inputs are and the correct processes we have to follow in order to meet the plan. We have a medium-term goal and long-term vision in place, as far as the development of USA Rugby is concerned, and have already established a solid foundation in terms of culture and climate.

What I've discovered is that there is great diversity between east to west and north to south. There are contrasting styles between the coasts stateside, and it's a long way to the middle of the country. On the east coast, a northern hemisphere kind of player exists as it tends to be a colder clime, whereas on the west coast there's a huge Polynesian player base and a southern hemisphere-type player is abundant within the warmer weather conditions.

"With an Elite Eagles Training Squad set to be named for our June inbound Tests, there will be accountability for all to meet the new standards. If players don't, we'll have look to others who are able to do so." John Mitchell on raising standards

There are some really exciting and promising playing talent within USA rugby but as a management group, we have sought to re-establish standards, measurements and protocols for testing the players' strength and conditioning levels.

With an Elite Eagles Training Squad set to be named for our June inbound Tests, incorporating a mix of players from the ARC, there will be accountability for all to meet the new standards. If players don't meet the standards, we'll have look to others who are able to do so.

Many of the players have had a low training age -- the cumulative time spent training for a specific sport -- and low training loads. As a consequence, the volume of competition during ARC was quite a new experience for them.

The greenness of the playing group was underpinned by the fact that we had the lead in three matches with less than five minutes remaining on the clock and yet failed to end up on the right side of the scoreboard. American players possess a great work ethic, are willing to learn and are receptive to new information, but inexperience exists in terms of game management.

My game philosophy -- to attack all areas of space and defend for long periods with a greater patience when without the ball -- is foreign to the decision-makers in the team because they have been very much ball-focused and haven't been afforded the opportunity to play that way before. They actually miss out on attacking chances because they look to where the ball is coming from as opposed to looking out, seeing where it's available and communicating effectively.

Likewise, we are having to standardise and ask our players to remove poor habits. Penalties leave negative pictures for referees and cost the team by giving away easy possession and stop us from building additional pressure on the opposition.

I believe we'll eventually gain traction in that area, but the habit is to be introspective. The players still have plenty to learn in terms of executing basics under pressure, fatigue, connectedness and team work. The true value of becoming more connected and working together on both attack and defence lies in the ability to build pressure on the opposition. It's about asking the players to change their mindsets.

What excites us now is creating our best team from those we used in the ARC, plus our overseas-based players and the exciting backline talent from our Rio Sevens squad, when they become available.

While the Olympics is the priority, we will be close to full strength towards the end of the year and then be able to start building continuity in personnel, which is vital in achieving team coherency.