Lyle hopes USA win will garner support at home

Japan 26 USA 39

Today's hard-fought 39-26 win over Japan at Gosford ended a record run of 10 successive defeats in the tournament and gave Lyle and his team-mates some reward for the sacrifices they have made coming to the competition.

Lyle was one of three professional members of the USA starting line-up who have taken pay reductions in order to compete, while the rest of the side are part-time players who have had to take a break from their day jobs.