Samoa survived a stirring second-half fight-back by the USA to win 21-16 in San Jose and get their Pacific Nations Cup rugby campaign off to a winning start.
The Manu scored all of their points in the first half, with tries from captain Alesana Tuilagi, full-back Ahsee Tuala and 11 points from the boot of first five Patrick Fa'apale giving the visitors a 21-3 buffer at the break.
But the USA returned from the sheds a different team, dominating possession and launching wave after wave of attack on the Samoan line.
Their persistence paid off with a try to replacement prop Titi Lamositele but Samoa held on for the victory.
Coach Stephen Betham was a relieved man at the final whistle.
"Certainly a game of two halves but it was a good tester for us. We started well but it's one of those things - we had to gauge where all the players are - and we've got a lot of work to work on some of the new boys and it's a learning curve. They played well as individuals and I think that's the key word: if we want to close these games out we've got to act as a team and close them out early".
Fiji and Japan also got off to a winning start in their PNC openers, beating Tonga and Canada respectively.
Manu Samoa captain Alesana Tuilagi and coach Stephen Betham. Photo: Supplied
