The Kansas Jayhawks proved too good for Wakatipu Rugby Club's Presidents XV at the Queenstown Events Centre on Saturday, winning 31-22.
Jayhawks hooker Grant Lechtenberg said the Wakatipu game was a learning experience for the team: "It was a pretty good game with typical New Zealand weather - fog and light rain.
Our strength is our backs so we tried to utilise that as much as possible," he said.
Lechtenberg said he and his team-mates were keen to learn from matches in "the best rugby-playing nation in the world", as they sought to improve the standard of the game in the United States.
"We are quite juvenile in the sport. Most of us start playing rugby at 19 or 20, [while] New Zealanders start at 4 or 5, so we don't understand the game as well.
"It's great to be able to play against some experienced players," he said.
Wakatipu Rugby Club committee member Craig Stewart donned his boots for the first time in seven years to play the Jayhawks.
"We are very happy to have them here and they are very welcome to come to Queenstown again," Stewart said.
The Jayhawks continue their tour of New Zealand with matches against Canterbury University tomorrow, Oriental Rongotai in Wellington on May 31 and Plimmerton on June 3 before heading back to the US on June 4.
