England survive Samoa scare to complete clean sweep in Pool D

A late converted Danny Care try spared England's blushes as they overcame Samoa 18-17 in a thrilling Rugby World Cup pool game in Lille on Saturday.

Samoa will rue not coming out on top in a match they should have won but Care's 73rd minute crossing, converted by Owen Farrell, decided the result.

Ollie Chessum picked up England's other try on a day that Farrell surpassed Jonny Wilkinson to become England's all-time leading Test points scorer.

Meanwhile, Samoa's two tries came from wing Nigel Ah Wong while Lima Sopoaga contributed seven points off the tee as the islanders impressed.

Samoa finally discovered their mojo in the climax to a disappointing group campaign and they fell metres short with one last do-or-die assault that if successful would have produced a first-ever victory in the fixture.

A lingering sense of injustice hung over an early decision ― made once the conversion had been taken ― to chalk off Duncan Paia'aua's try for a hard-to-detect knock-on that would have propelled the underdogs 19-8 ahead.

Until this night in Lille, England had not conceded a try for 160 minutes but they were breached twice by Samoa wing Ah Wong ― and it could have been more.

Their only consistent weapon was the driving line-out and Fiji will have watched the events at Stade Pierre-Mauroy with interest, seeing how rattled Steve Borthwick's side became when faced with an incisive, off-loading attack.

England's pack made an early impact but it was the sharp handling of Farrell and Joe Marchant that led to their first try in the 10th minute as Manu Tuilagi motored forwards before sending Chessum over in the left corner.

Tuilagi tore through the midfield once again as Samoa continued to be picked apart at will with George Ford and Farrell dovetailing well and their next drive ended with a penalty from their captain that saw Wilkinson's record finally broken.

Play became ragged and England suffered as a result, their sloppy handling allowing Samoa to attack and the Islanders showed skill to thread the ball to wing Ah Wong for a classy try.

Blue shirts poured through gaps in the favourites' porous defence and they were unpicked again when Lima Sopoaga hoisted a crossfield kick for Ah-Wong to produce an inch-perfect finish.

Nothing seemed to be going right for England as they infringed at a line-out but they enjoyed a stroke of luck when Paia'aua's score off Alex Mitchell's poor clearance kick was disallowed.

A sloppy Farrell pass intended for Tuilagi invited more pressure and after going through several phases in which the try-line was tested Samoa ended the spell with a Sopoaga penalty.

England were losing every moment and they chose to play their trump card by bringing on Marcus Smith at Ford's expense with Farrell moving to fly-half.

They appeared to have scored when their pack dragged Samoa into the trenches but Chessum's try was ruled out and then Marchant was denied because of a forward pass.

Farrell landed one penalty but the shot clock expired on a second attempt and England were thrown a lifeline when Tumua Manu was shown a yellow card for tackling Farrell in the air.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇼🇸 Relief for England as Danny Care crosses. #ENGvSAM #RWC2023pic.twitter.com/7NlbUXnlW3

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 7, 2023

Pinned back by scrum after scrum, Samoa eventually cracked when replacement scrum-half Care raced through a large gap and once Farrell converted England were back in front.

A last-gasp attack by Samoa almost swept them over but excellent scramble defence kept them out and the dream of an upset was extinguished.

The teams

England:  15 Freddie Steward, 14 Joe Marchant, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Owen Farrell (c), 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Jamie George, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Theo Dan, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 George Martin, 20 Billy Vunipola, 21 Danny Care, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Ollie Lawrence

Samoa:  15 Duncan Paia'aua, 14 Nigel Ah-Wong, 13 Tumua Manu, 12 Danny Toala, 11 Neria Fomai, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Jonathan Taumateine, 8 Steven Luatua, 7 Fritz Lee, 6 Theo McFarland, 5 Brian Alainu'u'ese, 4 Sam Slade, 3 Michael Alaalatoa (c), 2 Sama Malolo, 1 Jordan Lay
Replacements:  16 Seilala Lam, 17 James Lay, 18 Paul Alo-Emile, 19 Sootala Fa'aso'o, 20 Alamanda Motuga, 21 Melani Matavao, 22 Christian Leali'ifano, 23 Miracle Faiilagi

Referee:  Andrew Brace (IRFU)
Assistant Referees:  Nika Amashukeli (GRU), Chris Busby (IRFU)
TMO:  Brian MacNeice (IRFU)

Japan edge 14-man Samoa to set up winner-takes-all clash with Argentina

Japan picked up their second win of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, beating a 14-man Samoa 28-22 on Thursday, which gives their knockout hopes a boost.

With Argentina expected to claim five points against Chile over the weekend, the Brave Blossoms will then face Los Pumas in a winner-takes-all showdown.

This result at the Stadium de Toulouse means that England will finish as Pool D winners due to their head-to-head record against both Japan and Argentina.

Samoa are subsequently out of the running for the knockout stages, with this their second defeat out of three games ahead of facing England on October 7.

Japan, who reached the last eight for the first time four years ago as hosts, opened the scoring in the 13th minute when Lappies Labuschagne stretched over in the corner and Rikiya Matsuda converted.

A penalty from D'Angelo Leuila got Samoa, without captain Chris Vui through a late change, on the board, but Matsuda's kick soon restored Japan's advantage.

Michael Leitch added another try in the corner before Samoa's Jonathan Taumateine was sent to the sin bin after a shoulder barge in the build-up.

Japan hooker Shota Horie was then shown a yellow card for making head-on-head contact as he stood up in a challenge with Seilala Lam, which went to the TMO for a bunker review but was not upgraded.

Samoa ― whose final pool match with England is in Lille next weekend ― made the most of their man advantage, Lam touching down following a driving maul to go into the break trailing 17-8.

Samoa soon found themselves a man down when Ben Lam was sent to the sin bin after the TMO spotted a high tackle into the side of Labuschagne's head.

Japan extended their lead as Kazuki Himeno was driven over in the corner, but the usually reliable Matsuda failed to convert.

Things then got worse for Samoa when Lam's card was upgraded to a red before Matsuda again found his range to push Japan further in front at 25-8.

Kotaro Matsushima sprinted clear for what Japan thought was a bonus-point try, but it was ruled out for the slightest of knock-ons from Dylan Riley in the build-up.

🇯🇵 Michael Leitch finishes off a lovely Japan try. #JPNvSAM #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/yplw3Zw8mz

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 28, 2023

Samoa, though, kept themselves in touch as Duncan Paia'aua went over in the corner, which Leuila converted from a tight angle only for fly-half Matsuda to push Japan clear again with another long-range penalty.

The 14 men battled on and pulled the deficit back again when Christian Leali'ifano dived over and then converted his own try, but Japan held out to set up a potential winner-takes-all clash with Argentina in Nantes.

The teams

Japan:  15 Lomano Lemeki, 14 Kotaro Matsushima, 13 Dylan Riley, 12 Ryoto Nakamura, 11 Jone Naikabula, 10 Rikiya Matsuda, 9 Naoto Saito, 8 Kazuki Himeno (c), 7 Pieter Labuschagne, 6 Michael Leitch, 5 Amato Fakatava, 4 Jack Cornelsen, 3 Jiwon Gu, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Keita Inagaki
Replacements:  16 Atsushi Sakate, 17 Craig Millar, 18 Asaeli Ai Valu, 19 Warner Dearns, 20 Kanji Shimokawa, 21 Kenta Fukuda, 22 Seungsin Lee, 23 Tomoki Osada

Samoa:  15 Duncan Paia'aua, 14 Ed Fidow, 13 Tumua Manu, 12 D'Angelo Leuila, 11 Ben Lam, 10 Christian Leali'ifano, 9 Jonathan Taumateine, 8 Sa Jordan Taufua, 7 Fritz Lee (c), 6 Taleni Seu, 5 Theo McFarland, 4 Steven Luatua, 3 Paul Alo-Emile, 2 Seilala Lam, 1 James Lay
Replacements:  16 Sama Malolo, 17 Jordan Lay, 18 Michael Alaalatoa, 19 Brian Alainu'u'ese, 20 Alamanda Motuga, 21 Melani Matavao, 22 Neria Fomai, 23 Danny Toala

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (SARU)
Assistant Referees:  Ben O'Keeffe (NZR), Craig Evans (WRU)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (SARU)

Argentina see off Samoa to keep Rugby World Cup knockout hopes alive

Argentina bounced back from their opening Rugby World Cup loss to England by beating Samoa 19-10 in a disappointing Pool D game at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

The rain didn't help but there was little entertainment and attacking quality on show, with Los Pumas grinding out a vital win in the race for the knockouts.

Emiliano Boffelli scored his team's only try and also contributed 11 points off the tee while Nicolas Sanchez landed a late, long-range penalty to seal victory.

For Samoa they were eager to build on their recent triumph over Chile but they struggled to fire a shot and now have an upward task if they are to qualify.

Their only try in Saint-Etienne came late through replacement hooker Sama Malolo to set up a nail-biting finish for Los Pumas but they saw out the win.

Any pre-match pressures for Argentina were eased when Samoa full-back Duncan Paia'aua was sent to the sin-bin in the opening minute of the contest.

His absence was felt as Los Pumas hit the front with Boffelli going over in the right-hand corner before converting his own try.

Three successful penalties from the Edinburgh wing followed, with a Christian Leali'ifano penalty getting Samoa on the board in the first half.

Samoa's defence held firm in the latter stages as they pushed to get back into the game and Malolo's try ― converted by D'Angelo Leuila ― put the cat among the pigeons.

However, Argentina, who finished fourth at the 2015 World Cup but failed to get out of the pool stage in Japan four years ago, held on and wrapped up the win through Sanchez's penalty.

The loss to England presented the possibility of another early exit but securing the points here gives them hope of continuing on and they now face South American rivals Chile in Nantes next Saturday.

An out-of-sorts Samoa, meanwhile, will now need results against potentially both Japan and England if they are to sneak into the quarter-finals.

The teams

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 19 Pedro Rubiolo, 20 Rodrigo Bruni, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Nicolas Sanchez, 23 Lucio Cinti

Samoa:  15 Duncan Paia'aua, 14 Nigel Ah-Wong, 13 UJ Seuteni, 12 Tumua Manu, 11 Ben Lam, 10 Christian Leali'ifano, 9 Jonathan Taumateine, 8 Steven Luatua, 7 Fritz Lee, 6 Theo McFarland, 5 Chris Vui (c), 4 Brian Alainu'u'ese, 3 Paul Alo-Emile, 2 Seilala Lam, 1 James Lay
Replacements:  16 Sama Malolo, 17 Charlie Faumuina, 18 Michael Alaalatoa, 19 Taleni Seu, 20 Sa Jordan Taufua, 21 Melani Matavao, 22 D'Angelo Leuila, 23 Danny Toala

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO:  Brett Cronan (Australia)

Strong second half hands Samoa a bonus point win over Chile

Samoa flexed their muscles in the second half to power to a 43-10 win over Chile in their Rugby World Cup clash in Bordeaux on Saturday.

Tries late in the first half and several in the second were enough to keep a brave Chile side at bay despite their best efforts.

Samoan fly-half Christian Leali'ifano opened the scoring with a penalty in the third minute before Chile responded with the first try of the game as the robust Matias Dittus crashed over in the fifth minute, with Santiago Videla kicking the conversion.

Leali'ifano would add two further penalties in the ninth and 14th minute before a lengthy lull in the scoring as both sides jostled for position, with Chile pushing hard to get back on the scoreboard whilst Ulupano Seuteni was in the sin bin for a dangerous tackle.  They managed a penalty through Matias Garafulic in the 29th minute, but this was cancelled out by the Samoan pivot, who kicked a penalty of his own in the 36th minute.

Samoa finally crossed the whitewash for the first time on the stroke of halftime through a well-worked Duncan Paia'aua converted try to take the lead into the break.

🇼🇸🇨🇱 A late surge sees Samoa take the lead into the break. #RWC2023 #SAMvCHI pic.twitter.com/q51SK3VZ0A

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 16, 2023

Everything began to go the way of the Pacific side, who flew out of the blocks with a brilliant try from Jonathan Taumateine only two minutes after halftime.  This time, the conversion was missed.

It was not long until the next try for Samoa which came in the 47th minute through Fritz Lee, before Sama Malolo scored one of his own in the 52nd.  Leali'ifano missed the first of the two conversions.

The sides traded yellow cards with replacements Ereatara Enari (Samoa) and Alfonso Alvarez (Chile), which slowed down the scoring as fatigue set in.  Chile would have another player sin-binned for repeated infringements as Esteban Inostroza spent the final 10 minutes on the sideline.

It was a brave effort from Chile, but ultimately, the quality of Samoa shone through in their victory as Malolo crossed over for a try in the final minute, which Lima Sopoaga converted.

Teams

Samoa:  15 Duncan Paia'aua, 14 Danny Toala, 13 Ulupano Seuteni, 12 Tumua Manu, 11 Nigel Ah-Wong, 10 Christian Leali'ifano, 9 Jonathan Taumateine, 8 Steven Luatua, 7 Fritz Lee, 6 Taleni Seu, 5 Theo McFarland, 4 Chris Vui, 3 Michael Alaalatoa (c), 2 Seilala Lam, 1 James Lay
Replacements:  16 Sama Malolo, 17 Jordan Lay, 18 Paul Alo-Emile, 19 Sam Slade, 20 Sa Jordan Taufua, 21 Ereatara Enari, 22 Lima Sopoaga, 23 Ed Fidow

Chile:  15 Inaki Ayarza, 14 Santiago Videla, 13 Domingo Saavedra, 12 Matias Garafulic, 11 José Ignacio Larenas, 10 Rodrigo Fernandez, 9 Marcelo Torrealba, 8 Raimundo Martínez, 7 Clemente Saavedra, 6 Martín Sigren (c), 5 Santiago Pedrero, 4 Pablo Huete, 3 Matias Dittus, 2 Tomas Dussaillant, 1 Javier Carrasco
Replacements:  16 Diego Escobar, 17 Salvador Lues, 18 Esteban Inostroza, 19 Javier Eissmann, 20 Alfonso Escobar, 21 Ignacio Silva, 22 Benjamin Videla, 23 Pablo Casas

Venue:  Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux

Referee:  Paul Williams (NZR)
Assistant Referees:  Angus Gardner, James Doleman (NZR)
TMO:  Brett Cronan (RA)

Samoa give Ireland fright of their lives in Rugby World Cup warm-up clash

Ireland were given a mighty scare by Samoa in their final Rugby World Cup warm-up fixture as they held on to defeat the islanders 17-13 in Bayonne.

Trailing 10-7 at the interval before a further Lima Sopoaga penalty extended the margin to six points on 46 minutes, Ireland managed to avoid a shock defeat.

Crossings from Conor Murray and Rob Herring in the second period to go with Jimmy O’Brien’s first-half score ultimately proved enough to seal the victory.

Duncan Paia’aua had grabbed his side’s only try of the game on 36 minutes as Samoa sent a message to their pool rivals that they are a threat this World Cup.

The win at a sold-out Stade Jean Dauger could come at significant cost for Ireland after Cian Healy, who departed just 21 minutes into his 126th Test outing, added to Ireland’s front-row concerns.

Andy Farrell’s planning has already been complicated by ongoing injury issues for Healy’s fellow loosehead Dave Kilcoyne and hookers Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher, although he expects the trio to be available in the coming weeks.

The head coach, whose side begin the World Cup on September 9 against Romania in Bordeaux, was also forced into a change ahead of kick-off as a “niggle” for wing Keith Earls afforded a chance to Jacob Stockdale.

Heavy rain and forecasts of thunderstorms in south-west France did not deter a capacity crowd from turning out, with the slippery conditions contributing to a series of fumbles.

A fine Murray tackle denied Samoa an early lead before Jack Crowley’s pinpoint cross-field kick allowed Mack Hansen to gallop down the right wing and give full-back O’Brien a simple finish for his maiden Test try.

Ireland have unsettling memories of this stadium, having endured a bruising affair – dubbed the Battle of Bayonne – against the host club ahead of the 2007 World Cup.

Physicality was at the forefront of this encounter and Farrell’s men suffered a setback when the hobbling Healy was assisted off the pitch by medical staff and replaced by Jeremy Loughman.

Unfamiliar in white shirts and blue shirts, Ireland’s mix-and-match line-up were struggling to find their rhythm.

They ended the half 10-7 behind after Paia’aua intercepted a Stuart McCloskey pass inside his own half to brilliantly race clear and dive over, before Sopoaga added the conversion and a subsequent penalty.

Samoa, who will be England’s final pool-stage opponents in early October, were facing a tier one nation for only the second time since losing 47-5 to Ireland at the 2019 World Cup.

A second penalty from former Wasps fly-half Sopoaga stretched their lead early in the second period before Stockdale’s kick over the top was gleefully dotted down by the diving Murray, albeit Crowley’s wayward conversion left Ireland a point behind.

Jimmy the rocket! 🚀#TeamOfUs pic.twitter.com/bdAfVUkdjK

― Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) August 26, 2023

The world’s top-ranked side finally regained the lead 17 minutes from time when replacement hooker Herring bulldozed over from a line-out maul.

Crowley’s conversion attempt was charged down before James Ryan was held up on the line to keep the contest firmly in the balance.

Roared on by the mostly-French crowd, Samoa refused to roll over and continued to cause problems.

Yet, on a day when Fiji stunned England at Twickenham, they ultimately fell short of producing a further major shock as Ireland survived a significant wake-up call which could yet prove expensive due to Healy’s premature exit.

Samoa end Pacific Nations Cup in style with bonus-point win over Tonga

Samoa proved too strong for Tonga in their final round Pacific Nations Cup encounter in Apia on Saturday as they clinched a deserved 34-9 bonus-point victory.

As the scoreline suggests, the home side were full value for their win as they outscored their visitors by four tries to none with hooker Sama Malolo, flanker Miracle Fai’ilagi, inside centre Duncan Paia’aua and replacement scrum-half Melani Matavao crossing the whitewash.

Fine goal-kicking from Alai D’angelo Leuila

Their other points came via the boot of fly-half Alai D’angelo Leuila, who finished with a 14-point haul after he slotted four conversions and a couple of penalties.

For Tonga, fly-half William Havili added a penalty before his replacement, Otumaka Mausia, also succeeded with a couple of three-pointers off the kicking tee.

The visitors were fastest out of the blocks and opened the scoring in the third minute via Havili’s penalty but Samoa were level by the 17th minute when Leuila landed his first shot at goal.

Five minutes later, Samoa took the lead when Malolo crossed for the opening try from close range before Mausia reduced the deficit when he landed his first penalty in the 28th minute.

Mausia and Leuila then traded penalties during the closing stages of the first half which meant Samoa held a slender 13-9 lead when the teams changed sides at the break.

Strong finish from Samoa

Samoa stepped up a couple of gears on attack after half-time and they were rewarded in the 46th minute when Fai’ilagi scored his try off the back of a rolling maul deep inside Tonga territory.

The next 10 minutes was an arm wrestle as the sides battled to gain the ascendancy but it was the home side who scored next as Paia’aua crossed for a well-taken try and with Leuila adding the extras they were in control of proceedings.

And in the 64th minute Matavao pounced on a lineout from Tonga which went awry deep inside their half and sealed the home side’s win and their bonus point when he crossed for their fourth five-pointer.

Flying first-half blitz seals Fiji a victory over Pacific Island rivals Samoa

Fiji made it two from two in 2023 after defeating Manu Samoa 33-19 in their second Pacific Nations Cup clash on Saturday in Apia as they continue to build towards Rugby World Cup 2023.

Hooker Tevita Ikanivere dotted down on either side of centre Iosefo Masi’s 14th-minute try, with winger Selestino Ravutaumada adding a fourth as the Fijians romped to a 30-5 lead ― fly-half Caleb Muntz adding two conversions and two penalties.

Christian Leali’ifano’s unconverted try was Samoa’s only points of the first half as they struggled to contain the Fijians.

Samoa were able to cut the deficit in the second half thanks to tries from winger Tumua Manu and captain Fritz Lee, but in the end, Fiji did enough in the opening half to secure the 33-19 victory.

Tevita Ikanivere claims a brace

After a stellar season with the Fijian Drua in Super Rugby Pacific, Ikanivere opened the scoring with a quickly taken penalty just seven minutes into the clash ― this coming after Leali’ifano missed a just chance to put Samoa ahead with a penalty just three minutes prior.

Fiji captain Semi Radradra set up his centre partner Masi, who was on debut, for his try with a brilliant skip pass to further the visitors’ lead.

After Ikanivere grabbed his second in the 17th minute, it was looking grim for the hosts as they were leaking a point a minute, trailing 17-0.

Samoa finally got on the board through Leali’ifano in the 20th minute as he crossed the whitewash, but it was from the kind performance that earned the side a 24-22 victory over Japan last week.

Fiji had the final say of the half as Ravutaumada sped down the touchline to score his side’s fourth try, with Muntz adding the conversion and two more penalties.

The hosts looked to mount a comeback with a bright start to the second half as Manu scored six minutes after the break, and captain Lee dotted down just after the hour mark.

However, the deficit was just too large as Muntz added just three points to Fiji’s tally in the second 40 minutes.

The win keeps Fiji at the top of the Pacific Nations Cup standings on 10 points as they look set to take the title off Samoa as they make the trip to Japan next week for their final match.

Speaking after the game, Fiji captain Radradra said, “The first half, we really did well, but we let them come back in the second.  Hopefully, we can make some improvements for next week.”

Samoa skipper Lee said that his side could take some learnings from the clash:  “There’s a lot of things to work on, but there’s definitely a lot of positives as well,” the number eight said.  “We’ve got to move on towards the World Cup, and we look forward to playing next week (against Tonga).”

Rugby World Cup concern for Japan following ‘disappointing’ form

Quarter-finalists from 2019, Japan, continue to struggle ahead of the upcoming Rugby World Cup, leaving their head coach Jamie Joseph with plenty to correct.

The Brave Blossoms began the Pacific Nations Cup in frustrating fashion after going down 24-22 to Samoa on Saturday.

Michael Leitch’s red card no doubt played a significant part as the Pacific Islanders touched down three times after the back-row departed the field.

It summed up the Asian side’s struggles since the last World Cup, who have lost their last seven encounters.

Improving the discipline

“I am really disappointed obviously with the result.  It is very difficult to win a Test with a man down with 50 minutes to go,” Joseph told Kyodo News.

“We were confident at half-time in our own ability and playing.  The game was always on edge even though we were a man down all the second half.

“We did well and stayed in the game until the very end but we were not quite good enough.  If we had not lost a player, then I think the result would have been a little different.

“We need to be better all-round in skill and discipline.”

Japan battled well against a talented Samoa side but confidence is evidently low as Joseph blamed the errors from their experienced players for the narrow defeat.

“I thought our forwards kept us in the game,” he said.  “They defended very well against a very direct and physical side.  We put them under pressure at line-outs and that stopped their flow and that kept us in the game.

“The young guys did well and made an impact.  The guys dropping the ball were the experienced players.  In Test matches, there is pressure, and we need to be better under pressure.”

Samoan delight

In contrast to the Japanese, Samoa were delighted with both their result and performance as they opened their Pacific Nations Cup campaign in fine style.

“It was exactly what we needed as a team.  We were put under a lot of pressure and are very happy to come away with the win,” said Samoa coach Seilala Mapusua.

“Our new players were put under a lot of pressure, and it is exactly what I was hoping for.  This was their opportunity to put their hand up for a ticket to France, and some played really well and took their opportunity.

“We achieved what we wanted.  First and foremost, to win and then to test ourselves against a top 10 side in the world.”

Impressive Italy dominate Samoa in Padua

Italy started their Autumn Nations Series with a brilliant 49-17 win over Samoa on Saturday afternoon.

Samoa applied the pressure in the first 10 minutes but failed to score any points before Italy found their feet, kicking a penalty in the 11th minute through Tommaso Allan and scoring two tries in as many minutes through Ignacio Brex Juan and Pierre Bruno.  Allan kicked both conversions.

Allan would add another penalty before the visitors had to end the first half with a man down after Nigel Ah Wong was yellow carded for dangerous play.

Italy wing Monty Ioane made the most of the numerical advantage, scoring either side of half-time to put his team in the driver’s seat.  Paolo Garbisi kicked a penalty just before the break, while Allan missed one conversion but added two points for the second try in the 47th minute.

Samoa then began to find a foothold in the game and, despite the scoreline, kept playing hard until the ball bounced their way.  Centre Ulupano Seuteni crossed for the visitors’ first try in the 52nd minute, with D’Angelo Leuila slotting the conversion.

The hosts were dialled in and responded only three minutes later through debutant Lorenzo Cannone, with Garbisi kicking the conversion on this occasion.

Garbisi then crossed the whitewash for a try of his own in the 63rd minute, which Pierre Bruno converted.

From then on, the game opened up, suiting Samoa, who scored two unconverted tries in the last 10 minutes through Duncan Paia’aua and Theo McFarland.

14-man Ireland power past Samoa to reach quarter-finals

Ireland claimed a 47-5 victory over Samoa in their final Rugby World Cup pool fixture in Fukuoka, despite a first-half red card for Bundee Aki.

In an entertaining match, played at a fast pace, Ireland did well to dominate proceedings after Aki received his marching orders.  This, for making contact with the head of Ulupano Seuteni with his shoulder in a tackle 10 minutes before half-time.

Jonathan Sexton led the way for Ireland with an 18-point haul courtesy of a brace of tries and four conversions.  Their other points came via tries from Rory Best, Tadhg Furlong, Jordan Lamour, CJ Stander and Andrew Conway while Joey Carbery succeeded with two conversions.

For Samoa, who had two players sent to the sin bin, Jack Lam crossed the whitewash.

Ireland were fastest out of the blocks and took the lead in the fourth minute courtesy of Best’s try which came off the back of a lineout drive deep inside Samoa territory.

Sexton slotted the conversion and the Pacific Islanders were dealt a further setback shortly afterwards when Seilala Lam was yellow carded for a high tackle on Jacob Stockdale.

With a numerical advantage, Ireland were always going to dominate and shortly after Lam was sent to the sin bin Furlong set off on a barnstorming run inside Samoa’s 22 where he burst through four tackles before crashing over for his side’s second five-pointer.

That was the only points scored during Lam’s stint on the sidelines but Ireland continued to dominate and midway through the half Sexton crossed the whitewash after Lamour did well in the build-up.

Despite that onslaught from the Irish, Samoa came back strongly and opened their account in the 28th minute when Lam scored his try from close quarters despite the attentions of two defenders.

Just before the half-hour mark, Aki received his marching orders but Ireland still finished stronger during the opening period and led 26-5 at half-time after Sexton crossed for his second try shortly before the interval.

#RWC2019

FULL TIME SCORE: IRELAND 47-5 SAMOA #TeamOfUs #ShoulderToShoulder #IREvSAM pic.twitter.com/4SR6MKb9jL

— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) October 12, 2019

Ireland’s numerical disadvantage did not prove too costly and they continued to hold the upper hand after the restart.  And in the 48th minute, they extended their lead when Larmour dotted down after gathering a well-timed long pass from Conor Murray.

They spent the next 20 minutes camped inside Samoa’s territory, although they were frustrated by a solid defensive effort from their opponents, who also committed a plethora of penalties during that time.  In the 59th minute, the Pacific Islanders suffered a further setback when TJ Ioane was also yellow carded for a cynical defensive foul close to his try-line.

Five minutes later, Stander crossed the whitewash from close quarters for his side’s sixth try and in the 70th minute Conway scored his five-pointer by diving onto a perfectly weighted grubber kick from Carbery behind Samoa’s try-line.

That sealed an emphatic win for the men from the Emerald Isle as well as their spot in the tournament’s quarter-finals.  They will face either New Zealand or South Africa in the play-offs, depending on the outcome of the match between Japan and Scotland which is set to be played in Yokohama on Sunday.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Best, Furlong, Sexton 2, Lamour, Stander, Conway
Cons:  Sexton 4, Carbery 2
Red Card:  Aki

For Samoa:
Try:  J Lam
Yellow Cards:  S Lam, Ioane

Ireland:  15 Jordan Larmour, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 James Ryan, 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rory Best (c), 1 Cian Healy
Replacements:  16 Niall Scannell, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Jean Kleyn, 20 Peter O’Mahony, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Andrew Conway

Samoa:  15 Tim Nanai-Williams, 14 Ahsee Tuala, 13 Alapati Leiua, 12 Henry Taefu, 11 Ed Fidow, 10 Ulupano Seuteni, 9 Dwayne Polataivao, 8 Jack Lam (c), 7 TJ Ioane, 6 Chris Vui, 5 Kane Le’aupepe, 4 Teofilo Paulo, 3 Michael Alaalatoa, 2 Seilala Lam, 1 Logovii Mulipola
Replacements:  16 Ray Niuia, 17 Paul Alo-Emile, 18 Jordan Lay, 19 Piula Faasalele, 20 Josh Tyrell, 21 Pele Cowley, 22 Tusi Pisi, 23 Kieron Fonotia

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Romain Poite (France), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

Japan still unbeaten after victory over Samoa

Japan retained their unbeaten status at the Rugby World Cup when they notched a 38-19 win over Samoa at City of Toyota Stadium on Saturday.

In a fast-paced and entertaining encounter, momentum between the sides ebbed and flowed throughout but the Brave Blossoms held a slight edge throughout and secured the win despite a brave effort from their opponents.

Yu Tamura led the way for Japan with an 18-point haul after kicking three conversions and four penalties while Timothy Lafaele, Kazuki Himeno, Kenki Fukuoka and Kotaro Matsushima scored their tries.

Henry Taefu scored all Samoa’s points courtesy of a converted try and four penalties.

The Brave Blossoms made a terrific start and were up 6-0 after eight minutes courtesy of two penalties from Tamura, but Samoa reduced the deficit when Taefu also slotted a three-pointer off the kicking tee in the 10th minute.

With points on the board, the Pacific Islanders’ confidence started to grow and they dominated proceedings over the next 10 minutes.  They drew level in the 16th minute when Taefu added his second penalty after Michael Leitch infringed at a ruck.

Japan regained the lead when Tamura succeeded with his third penalty in the 25th minute and Samoa were dealt a further setback shortly afterwards when TJ Ioane was yellow carded for a late and dangerous tackle on Matsushima.

The Brave Blossoms made full use of their numerical advantage as they started to run the ball from all areas of the field.  That tactic reaped reward shortly after Ioane’s exit when Matsushima put his side on the front-foot with a brilliant run deep inside Samoa’s 22.  He was eventually brought to ground close to his opponents’ try-line but the ball was recycled quickly and shifted wide to Lafaele, who crossed for the opening try.

Tamura added the extras but five minutes later Taefu reduced the deficit with his third penalty and the teams changed sides at half-time with Japan holding a 16-9 lead.

Great scenes as Japan and Samoa shake hands after a tough encounter, where the hosts kept their hopes of a quarter-final spot well and truly alive. #JPNvSAM #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/Ut2vbI82XN

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 5, 2019

Japan had a chance to extend their lead five minutes into the second half when Tamura lined up another penalty but his effort was wide of the mark.  Luckily for the World Cup hosts, the Pacific Islanders continued to concede penalties and in the 51st minute Tamura made up for his earlier miss when he succeeded with his fourth three-pointer off the kicking tee.

Soon after, Japan extended their lead when Himeno crossed the whitewash off the back off a lineout drive inside Samoa’s 22.  Tamura’s conversion was successful but the next 20 minutes proved to be an arm wrestle with Samoa coming back strongly during that period.

And in the 73rd minute, the Pacific Islanders launched an attack from a lineout on Japan’s five-metre line and Taefu rounded off from close range after Kane Le’aupepe and Jack Lam came to the fore with strong carries in the build-up.

Japan finished the stronger, however, and were soon on the attack deep inside Samoa’s half.  And after several phases, the ball was taken out wide to Fukuoka, who crossed for their third try in the 76th minute.

The closing stages was a tense affair as Japan went in search of the bonus-point try and they achieved that feat when Matsushima crossed the whitewash late on.

The result means the Brave Blossoms move above Ireland into top spot in Pool A which sets them up nicely ahead of their final pool match against Scotland in Yokohama on October 13.

The scorers:

For Japan:
Tries:  Lafaele, Himeno, Fukuoka, Matsushima
Cons:  Tamura 3
Pens:  Tamura 4

For Samoa:
Try:  Taefu
Con:  Taefu
Pens:  Taefu 4
Yellow Card:  Ioane

Japan:  15 Ryohei Yamanaka, 14 Kotaro Matsushima, 13 Timothy Lafaele, 12 Ryoto Nakamura, 11 Lomano Lemeki, 10 Yu Tamura, 9 Yutaka Nagare, 8 Kazuki Himeno, 7 Pieter Labuschagne (c), 6 Michael Leitch, 5 James Moore, 4 Wimpie van der Walt, 3 Jiwon Koo, 2 Atsushi Sakate, 1 Keita Inagaki
Replacements:  16 Shota Horie, 17 Isileli Nakajima, 18 Asaeli Ai Valu, 19 Uwe Helu, 20 Hendrik Tui, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Rikiya Matsuda, 23 Kenki Fukuoka

Samoa:  15 Tim Nanai-Williams, 14 Ahsee Tuala, 13 Alapati Leiua, 12 Henry Taefu, 11 Ed Fidow, 10 Ulupano Seuteni, 9 Dwayne Polataivao, 8 Jack Lam (c), 7 TJ Ioane, 6 Chris Vui, 5 Kane Le’aupepe, 4 Piula Faasalele, 3 Michael Alaalatoa, 2 Seilala Lam, 1 Jordan Lay
Replacements:  16 Ray Niuia, 17 Paul Alo-Emile, 18 James Lay, 19 Senio Toleafoa, 20 Josh Tyrell, 21 Pele Cowley, 22 Tusi Pisi, 23 Kieron Fonotia

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Angus Gardner (Australia), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Scotland kick-start campaign by hammering Samoa

Scotland got their Rugby World Cup campaign back on track with a dominant 34-0 triumph over an awful Samoa team in Kobe on Monday.

The Scots were excellent in the first half and went 20-0 ahead at the interval via converted Sean Maitland and Greig Laidlaw tries, while Laidlaw added a penalty and Stuart Hogg kicked a drop goal.

Steve Jackson’s men, meanwhile, were quite frankly abysmal.  Disorganised, passive and lacking any sort of idea of what they were supposed to be doing, the Samoans barely troubled the 2015 quarter-finalists.

They remained on the back foot in the second period as Scotland controlled possession and territory, leading to a penalty try for the Six Nations side.  All that was needed for the ideal 80 minutes was the bonus-point score and it came via another penalty try.

After the disappointment of their display against Ireland, this was the ideal way to respond by the Scots.  The intensity was prevalent as they regularly smashed their opponents’ forwards backwards while there was plenty of ambition in attack.

Conditions made free-flowing rugby difficult, however, and Laidlaw’s early penalty were the only points in the opening quarter.

Both teams were making a number of errors but Scotland were in the ascendancy and they were soon rewarded for their endeavour.  Having overplayed slightly, the half-backs took control and three brilliantly executed kicks led to the first try as Russell found Maitland out wide to finish.

#RWC2019 #ITVRugby @Scotlandteam

📁My Computer

📁 Rugby World Cup

📁 Best Passes

📂 Finn Russell pic.twitter.com/LGAoKEQ6SV

— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) September 30, 2019

It was thoroughly deserved on the balance of play and, buoyed by that score, the Scotsmen soon touched down for the second time.  Once again, the playmakers were prominent when their fly-half broke through and found Jamie Ritchie.  The flanker then passed to Laidlaw and the scrum-half did the rest, evading Tim Nanai-Williams’ poor attempted tackle before crossing the whitewash.

The scrum-half converted for the second time for a 17-point buffer before that was increased to 20 after Hogg’s excellently taken drop goal.

Jackson needed a response from his charges but Samoa continued to struggle in the second period and it was only a matter of time until Scotland extended their lead.

They were far too good for the disappointing Pacific Islanders and duly moved closer to securing the bonus-point when they were awarded a penalty try.

Ed Fidow was yellow carded as a result of the indiscretion and it left the Samoans in disarray.  To their credit, they battled and prevented their opponents taking advantage of the extra man.

It was only after Fidow returned did the Scots finally manage to score the crucial fourth try.  Once more, Samoa’s – and the left wing’s – discipline was at the heart of it when Maitland went charging towards the line.

With the Saracens player using the wet conditions to dive early, Fidow slid in illegally with his knee to prevent him touching down.  Unsurprisingly, another penalty try and yellow card, which resulted in a red, was forthcoming and ended a miserable night for Jackson’s men.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Tries:  Maitland, Laidlaw, Penalty try 2
Cons:  Laidlaw 2
Pens:  Laidlaw
Drop goal:  Hogg

For Samoa:
Yellow Cards:  Fidow 2

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Blade Thomson, 7 Jamie Ritchie, 6 Magnus Bradbury, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Willem Nel, 2 Stuart McInally (c), 1 Allan Dell
Replacements:  16 Fraser Brown, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 George Horne, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Duncan Taylor

Samoa:  15 Tim Nanai-Williams, 14 Belgium Tuatagaloa, 13 Alapati Leiua, 12 Henry Taefu, 11 Ed Fidow, 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Melani Matavao, 8 Jack Lam (c), 7 TJ Ioane, 6 Chris Vui, 5 Kane Le’aupepe, 4 Teofilo Paulo, 3 Michael Alaalatoa, 2 Ray Niuia, 1 Logovii Mulipola
Replacements:  16 Seilala Lam, 17 Paul Alo-Emile, 18 Jordan Lay, 19 Piula Faasalele, 20 Josh Tyrell, 21 Pele Cowley, 22 Ulupano Seuteni, 23 Kieron Fonotia

Referee:  Pascal Gaüzère (France)
Assistant Referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Samoa kick off pool campaign with bonus-point win

Samoa got their Rugby World Cup campaign off to a winning start as they beat Russia 34-9 with a try bonus-point at Kumagaya Rugby Stadium.

Alapati Leiua (2), Afaesetiti Amosa, Ed Fidow (2) and Rey Lee-Lo crossed for the islanders, with Tusi Pisi adding two conversions off the tee.

For Russia this is their second pool defeat after they lost the tournament opener to Japan on Friday.  Yury Kushnarev kicked their nine points.

Next up for Samoa is the task of facing Scotland, Japan and then Ireland as they look to spring a shock and progress to the knockout stages.

It was a first half low on scores but full of incident as Samoa were lucky to receive two yellow cards, with both surely needing to have been red.

First Lee-Lo was sin-binned after making a high hit on Russia full-back Vasily Artemyev, which clearly made contact with his head.  However, TMO Graham Hughes advised referee Romain Poite to consider the slight dip before impact from Artemyev, which saved the Samoa centre.

While that was contentious, just two minutes later on the half-hour Samoa hooker Motu Matu’u was also sin-binned after flying in and making head on head contact with the Russia full-back.  The former was clearly knocked out from the impact and would also get a spell in the bin.

Before those incidents there was some scoring action as Leiua crossed expertly on the right wing for an unconverted crossing on 16 minutes.

#RUSvSAM #RWC2019 #RWCKumagaya pic.twitter.com/ikrkDr8piA

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 24, 2019

But Russia worked themselves back into the game well and two penalties from Kushnarev nudged them in front at 6-5, which was how it stayed until the break as both sides enjoyed a breather.  Russia though must have been upset with the refereeing calls and being just one point up.

Their lead would be ended just five minutes into the second half when Samoa number eight Amosa crossed, despite being tackled high by Russian prop Kirill Gotovtsev.  He was the third player in the game to be shown a yellow card, this before Pisi was wayward with the extra two.

Following a well-struck Kushnarev drop-goal, Samoa sparked back into life as a lovely inside ball saw Fidow scorch over from 20 metres out, with Pisi making it 17-9 with the simple conversion on 50 minutes before Fidow was over again, this time on the left wing to make it 24-9.

Samoa were now cruising and Lee-Lo was next to cross for their fifth try of the game on 62 minutes and it was fitting that man-of-the-match Leiua would add the gloss late on as he raced over for his brace.

The scorers:

For Russia:
Pens:  Kushnarev 2
Drop goal:  Kushnarev
Yellow Card:  Gotovtsev

For Samoa:
Tries:  Leiua 2, Amosa, Fidow 2, Lee-Lo
Cons:  Pisi 2
Yellow Cards:  Lee-Lo, Matu’u

Russia:  15 Vasily Artemyev (c), 14 German Davydov, 13 Vladimir Ostroushko, 12 Dmitry Gerasimov, 11 Kirill Golosnitskiy, 10 Yury Kushnarev, 9 Vasily Dorofeev, 8 Nikita Vavilin, 7 Tagir Gadzhiev, 6 Vitaly Zhivatov, 5 Bogdan Fedotko, 4 Andrey Ostrikov, 3 Kirill Gotovtsev, 2 Stanislav Selskii, 1 Valery Morozov
Replacements:  16 Evgeny Matveev, 17 Andrei Polivalov, 18 Azamat Bitiev, 19 Andrey Garbuzov, 20 Anton Sychev, 21 Dmitry Perov, 22 Ramil Gaisin, 23 Vladislav Sozonov

Samoa:  15 Tim Nanai-Williams, 14 Alapati Leiua, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Henry Taefu, 11 Ed Fidow, 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Dwayne Polataivao, 8 Afaesetiti Amosa, 7 TJ Ioane, 6 Chris Vui (c), 5 Kane Le’aupepe, 4 Teofilo Paulo, 3 Michael Alaalatoa, 2 Motu Matu’u, 1 Logovii Mulipola
Replacements:  16 Ray Niuia, 17 Paul Alo-Emile, 18 Jordan Lay, 19 Senio Toleafoa, 20 Josh Tyrell, 21 Melani Matavao, 22 AJ Alatimu, 23 Ulupano Seuteni

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)
Assistant Referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Seven-try England see off Samoa

England made it three wins out of three in their November internationals as they overcame Samoa 48-14 at Twickenham on Saturday.

Tries from Mike Brown, Alex Lozowski, Elliot Daly (2), Henry Slade and Semesa Rokoduguni saw them past Samoa in a scrappy showing.

Piula Faasalele and Chris Vui crossed for Samoa, who bounced back admirably from last week's loss to Romania with a spirited display.

England raced out of the blocks and were looking in red hot form when full-back Brown crossed after just two minutes, following flanker Maro Itoje's smart pick and go from 15 metres out.  Ford added the extras off the tee as Samoa looked rocked with a big scoreline in the offing.

The hosts continued to dominate and on 10 minutes went over for their second try, this time Lozowski finished off good work from wing Daly and Jamie George after Tim Nanai-Williams spilled a high kick.  Ford was wayward with a relatively simple conversion, which kept it at 12-0.

Samoa then admirably quelled the attacks and launched one of their own three minutes later, crossing through Faasalele with a carry.

But England hit back with the only further try before the break as lock Ewels barged over on 29 minutes, adding to Ford's earlier penalty.

Coming out for the second-half at 22-7 in front, it was expected that England would ease away of Samoa.  However, they were frustrated until the hour mark as Samoa were strong at the breakdown, regularly getting over the ball to win relieving penalties that halted the hosts.

But cometh the hour cometh Daly who finished well, stepping inside off his wing with the pressure finally telling as England went 29-7 up.

That seemed to release the shackles for Jones' men and they had their fifth try when replacement scrum-half Ben Youngs fed outside centre Slade brilliantly with a flat pass to make it 36-7 with the conversion on 70 minutes.

And there was still time for both sides to add to their tally as first Samoa captain Vui finished superbly on the left for a consolation try before Daly showed his pace to go in under the posts, with Rokoduguni adding the late gloss.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Brown, Lozowski, Ewels, Daly 2, Slade, Rokoduguni
Cons:  Ford 5
Pen:  Ford

For Samoa:
Tries:  Faasalele, Vui
Cons:  Nanai-Williams 2
Yellow Card:  Faasalele

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Jonny May, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Alex Lozowski, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 George Ford (cc), 9 Danny Care, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Chris Robshaw (cc), 6 Maro Itoje, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Jamie George, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Dylan Hartley, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Courtney Lawes, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Piers Francis, 23 Semesa Rokoduguni

Samoa:  15 Ahsee Tuala, 14 Paul Perez, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 Alapati Leiua, 11 David Lemi, 10 Tim Nanai-Williams, 9 Dwayne Polataivao, 8 Jack Lam, 7 TJ Ioane, 6 Piula Faasalele, 5 Chris Vui (c), 4 Josh Tyrell, 3 Donald Brighouse, 2 Motu Matu’u, 1 Jordan Lay
Replacements:  16 Manu Leiataua, 17 James Lay, 18 Hisa Sasagi, 19 Faatiga Lemalu, 20 Ofisa Treviranus, 21 Melani Matavao, 22 Rey Lee-Lo, 23 JJ Taulagi

Referee:  Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO:  Simon McDowell (Ireland)

Scotland edge past Samoa

Scotland scored six tries to claim a hard-fought 44-38 win over Samoa in a high-scoring game at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Tries from Stuart Hogg, Huw Jones, Alex Dunbar, Pete Horne and a Stuart McInally brace proved too much for Samoa who scored through Josh Tyrell, Piula Faasalele, Tim Nanai-Williams, Kieran Fonotia and Ofisa Treviranus.

It was a game in which Scotland would extend their lead only to be pegged back by Samoa who almost always came up with a response.

Nanai-Williams was a revelation at fly-half for Samoa showcasing his versatility and that tried and trusted right boot.  Finn Russell was excellent too for Scotland.

Russell's defence-splitting grubber kicks was arguably the Scots' main attacking weapon.  Stuart Hogg was a very willing chaser, profiting once and almost on another occasion but just couldn't keep the ball in play.

Scotland opened the scoring in the third minute.  After winning an early penalty, the home side passed the ball out wide to the right.  Russell's kick resulted in Hogg getting his chance and grabbing his opportunity with both hands to dot down.  Russell made no mistake with the conversion.

Nanai-Williams responded with a penalty after a Scotland tackler was penalised for not rolling away in the 12th minute but Russell restored his side's seven-point buffer with a penalty of his own after this time Samoa were penalised for not rolling away.

Soon after, Russell extended the lead to a 10-point margin at 13-3 with another penalty before Samoa hit back with an excellent try.  Showing great ball retention as they took the ball through the phases among the forwards before Josh Tyrell manouevred his way over from close range.  Nanai-Willliams made it a three-point game at 13-10 with the Samoans breathing down the Scots' necks as he made no mistake in slotting the conversion.

The Scots scored their second try five minutes before half-time.  Taking a quick lineout, Russell did well to keep the ball alive and it was shifted out toward the left touchline courtesy of an long, flat Ali Price spin pass to Huw Jones who ran a great line with the Samoa defence guilty of being slightly stand-offish.  Jones slipped his tackler and had too much momentum for the covering defender as he bashed over.

And the hosts still had time to extend their lead when McInally went over at the back of a well co-ordinated Scottish driving maul.  Russell added the extras with Scotland taking a 25-10 lead in to the interval.

The second half started just as the first ended with McInally going over in the exact same fashion, the hooker emerging from the melee of bodies after another rolling lineout driving maul.

Soon after, Fa'asalele hit back for the visitors as he burst over after a series of powerful carries from the Samoan forwards.  Nanai-Williams added the extras to make the score 32-17 to Scotland with 51 minutes gone.

And then 10 minutes later, Nanai-Williams further reduced the deficit as he cut through the Scotland defence like a hot knife through butter to cap an impressive performance in the unfamiliar 10 position.

Just when it was starting to look dangerous for Scotland, Dunbar got himself in the try column when he bashed between two tacklers to dot down after substitute fly-half Pete Horne produced a delicate kick over the top which Lee Jones collected and offloaded for Dunbar who ran on to the ball with great momentum and was not going to be stopped.

Soon after, Samoa restored their deficit to six when a really quick pick and go from Fonotia saw the former Crusaders man going over for his score.

But Scotland put the game beyond doubt when Horne turned try-scorer, this time after a beautiful pass from Cornell du Preez meant Horne had a gaping hole to cross the whitewash from 20 metres out.

Samoa, as they proved the whole game, managed to find a response when Treviranus showed great speed and ingenuity as he exploited the empty space behing the ruck with his opportunistic pick-and-go to dot down as it ended 44-38 to Scotland.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Tries:  Hogg, H Jones, McInally 2, Dunbar, Horne
Cons:  Russell 3, Horne
Pens:  Russell 2

For Samoa:
Tries:  Tyrell, Fa'asalele, Nanai-Williams, Fonotia, Treviranus
Cons:  Nanai-Williams 5
Pen:  Nanai-Williams

The teams:

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Lee Jones, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 John Barclay (c), 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Ben Toolis, 3 Willem Nel, 2 Stuart McInally, 1 Darryl Marfo
Replacements:  16 George Turner, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Cornell Du Preez, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Pete Horne, 23 Chris Harris

Samoa:  15 Ahsee Tuala, 14 Paul Perez, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 Reynold Lee-Lo, 11 David Lemi, 10 Tim Nanai Williams, 9 Pele Cowley, 8 Jack Lam, 7 TJ Ioane, 6 Piula Fa'asalele, 5 Chris Vui (c), 4 Josh Tyrell, 3 Donald Brighouse, 2 Manu Leiataua, 1 Jordan Lay
Replacements:  16 Motu Matu'u, 17 James Lay, 18 Hisa Sasagi, 19 Fa'Atiga Lemalu, 20 Ofisa Treviranus, 21 Mealani Matavao, 22 Aj Alatimu, 23 Alapati Leiua

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Paul Williams (New Zealand), George Clancy (Ireland)
TMO:  Simon McDowell (Ireland)

Georgia upset Samoa in Tbilisi

Georgia caused a big upset at Mikheil Meskhi Stadium as they battled past Samoa 16-15 on Saturday, a team sat 11 places above them in the rankings.

The result was some turnaround from last week's 25-23 loss at home to the USA, as the Georgians left nothing in the tank against the islanders.

While they were outscored two to one on the try chart after Alapati Leiua and Jack Lam's first-half efforts, Merab Sharikadze's crossing four minutes after the turnaround put them into a 13-12 lead.

And despite Samoa landing a 70th minute penalty from Tusi Pisi to add to his one from the touchline on the half-hour mark, Georgia full-back Merab Kvirikashbili would be the hero as time ticked on.

Kvirikashbili fired over the final three of his eleven points on the day in added time before the hosts fought off a late barrage until the final whistle.

The scorers:

For Georgia:
Try:  Sharikadze
Con:  Kvirikashbili
Pen:  Kvirikashbili 3

For Samoa:
Tries:  Leiua, Lam
Con:  Pisi
Pen:  Pisi

Georgia:  15 Merab Kvirikashbili, 14 Tamaz Mtchedlidze, 13 Davit Kacharava, 12 Merab Sharikadze, 11 Giorgi Shkinin, 10 Lasha Khmaladze, 9 Giorgi Begadze, 8 Giorgi Chkhaidze, 7 Mamuka Gorgodze (c), 6 Giorgi Tkhilaishvili, 5 Levan Datunashvili, 4 Konstantine Mikautadze, 3 Levan Chilachava, 2 Shalva Mamukashvili, 1 Mikheil Nariashvili.
Replacements:  16 Simon Maisuradze, 17 Zurab Zhvania, 18 Davit Kubriashvili, 19 Girogi Nemsadze, 20 Shalva Sutiashvili, 21 Vazha Khutsishvili, 22 Tedore Zibzibadze, 23 Beka Tsiklauri.

Samoa:  15 Faatoina Autagavaia, 14 Alapati Leiua, 13 Isaia Tuifua, 12 Johnny Leota, 11 Brando Vaaulu, 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Kahn Fotualii (c), 8 Faifili Levave, 7 Jack Lam, 6 Ofisa Treviranus, 5 Teofilo Paulo, 4 Piula Faasalele, 3 James Johnston, 2 Tii Paulo, 1 Sakaria Taulafo.
Replacements:  16 Wayne Ole Avei, 17 Viliamu Afatia, 18 Anthony Perenise, 19 Joe Tekori, 20 Taisina Tuifua, 21 Jeremy Sua, 22 Sinoti Sinoti, 23 Ken Pisi.

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees:  Andrew McMenemy (Scotland), Vlad Jordachescu (Romania)

Wales edge Samoa in Apia

Wales made it two wins out of two in their June internationals as they came from behind to defeat Samoa 19-17 at Apia Park on Friday.

Two tries from Steff Evans proved the difference while Sam Davies slotted three penalties as the Samoans came up just short at home.

Alapati Leiua and Maatulimanu Leiataua did cross for the islanders but they couldn't bounce back from last week's loss to New Zealand.

Conditions were difficult in Apia following a heavy downpour but it didn't stop Samoa from opening the scoring inside four minutes when wing Leiua slid over on the right after a long cut-out pass.  Tusi Pisi was on-target from the touchline as Samoa went 7-0 in front.

Wales couldn't get their hands on the ball early on and when Pisi landed a penalty on 11 minutes, they were 10-0 down and deservedly so.

Soon after, however, they got on the board through the reliable Davies with his first of three first-half penalties, this one from range.

The Ospreys fly-half further reduced the margin on 20 minutes following an offside from the hosts, who now led 10-6 as the game underwent a shift in momentum.

Try-scoring opportunities were few and far between at this point, with only another Davies shot troubling the board going into the break.

That all changed after the turnaround though as, like Samoa in the first, Wales struck early.  The try came thanks to back-row Aaron Shingler charging down Pisi's attempted clearing kick and from the recycled ball, quick hands from prop Dillon Lewis allowed Evans to dive over.

Despite Davies being unable to add the two due to the width of a post, Wales did have the lead for the first time at 14-10 to the good.

Their advantage didn't last long in Apia as a smart run from scrum-half Kahn Fotuali'i through a ruck led to hooker Leiataua going over wide on the left.  With fly-half Pisi's touchline conversion, despite his slip while striking, the islanders were back in front at 17-14.

Samoa missed the chance to make it a six-point advantage on 65 minutes as Pisi was wayward with a difficult penalty after a maul collapse.

And it came back to haunt them with six minutes remaining as sustained pressure on the Samoan line again led to quick hands out to wing Evans, whose rich vein of form continued with his second try of the contest.  Despite Davies' missed conversion Wales held on to win 19-17.

The scorers:

For Samoa:
Tries:  A Leiua, Leiataua
Cons:  Pisi 2
Pen:  Pisi

For Wales:
Tries:  Evans 2
Pens:  S Davies 3

Samoa:  15 D'Angelo Leuila, 14 Alapati Leiua, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 Rey Lee-Lo, 11 David Lemi (c), 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Fata Alafoti Faosiliva, 7 Galu Taufale, 6 Piula Faasalele, 5 Faatiga Lemalu, 4 Chris Vui, 3 Paul Alo-Emile, 2 Maatulimanu Leiataua, 1 Viliamu Afatia
Replacements:  16 Seilala Lam, 17 Nephi Leatigaga, 18 Bronson Fotualii-Tauakipulu, 19 Faifili Levave, 20 Vavae Tuilagi, 21 Dwayne Polataivao, 22 Henry Taefu, 23 Tila Mealoi

Wales:  15 Gareth Anscombe, 14 Cory Allen, 13 Tyler Morgan, 12 Jamie Roberts (c), 11 Steffan Evans, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Josh Navidi, 7 Ellis Jenkins, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Seb Davies, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements:  16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Thomas Young, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Owen Williams, 23 Scott Williams

Referee:  Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Mike Fraser (New Zealand), Rohan Hoffmann (Australia)

All Blacks hit their stride against Samoa

New Zealand cruised to a 78-0 thrashing of Samoa at Eden Park on Friday, running in 12 tries in their warm-up for the Lions series.

Tries from Anton Lienert-Brown, Beauden Barrett, Ardie Savea and Sonny Bill Williams gave New Zealand a comfortable 28-0 lead, at the end of a first half where Samoa had big chances to score but failed to capitalise, not to mention being on the wrong side of a contention decision for the first try.

Once Samoa's confidence dipped after Savea's ruthless score off first-phase, the outcome of the contest felt familiar as the All Blacks shook off that early rust.

Israel Dagg continued the rout with Julian Savea, Codie Taylor, a second for Beauden Barrett, Vaea Fifita on debut, TJ Perenara, Ardie Savea's second and Sam Cane all crossing.

It was the visitors who had the better start, impressively retaining the ball for 20 phases and testing the All Blacks' defence early on.  An attack that started right back in their own half moved all the way up to just short of New Zealand's try line, only to be brought to an end for a neck roll by Faifili Levave.

Inevitably after a tough opening the All Blacks began to settle, Lienert-Brown scoring a fortuitous opener.

After a five-metre scrum Beauden Barrett did his best to power over, before his loose offload luckily fel into the hands of his centre to dot down.  Replays suggested Ardie Savea may have lost the ball forward at the initial scrum, but the score stood.

Albert Nikoro attempted to respond swiftly for Samoa, his long-range penalty from inside his own half falling short of the sticks, but there was no faulting their attitude early on as the opening quarter ended 7-0.

A sweet sidestep from Tim Nanai-Williams left his cousin Sonny Bill Williams rooted to the spot, only for the Samoa break to come to nothing.  A second long-range penalty effort came up short again, but Samoa continued to dominate at the breakdown, winning multiple penalties in that area in the first half.

Frankly it was an excellent first half an hour for Samoa, who deserved some points as a reward, Alapati Leiua cutting the All Blacks' defence open again.

Instead the hosts countered, turnover ball deep in their own 22 transformed into an attack by captain Ben Smith, mutiple offloads leading to Beauden Barrett hacking on and producing a quality slide to regather the ball and add New Zealand's second try on his 50th cap.  His subsequent conversion made it 14-0.

There was nothing lucky about their third try.  A set-piece move off the scrum, Barrett's speed to beat the cover defence opened up the space, with Lienert-Brown's inside pass putting away Ardie Savea to make it 21-0.

It could have soon been four, a one-two between Brodie Retallick and Israel Dagg ending with the All Blacks lock unable to haul the ball in with the line in front of him.

There was still time however before the half was out.  Opting for a short-range scrum off a penalty, Sonny Bill Williams could not be be stopped crashing up close to the posts.  Beauden Barrett's conversion meant the All Blacks went into the break up 28-0.

It was a similar story to start the second half, Lienert-Brown's quick feet and well-timed pass giving Dagg an easy run to the line.  Faced with his toughest kick of the night, Beauden Barrett converted from out wide.

Julian Savea got in on the act with his 46th Test try, and possibly the easiest, thanks to Retallick's rampaging run before the All Blacks spread the ball wide, Lienert-Brown again with the final pass.  Beauden Barrett missed for the first time, leaving the score at 40-0.

There was always more to come, Scott Barrett and Beauden Barrett combining and despite the best work of Ahsee Tuala, New Zealand drove over all too easily only for Aaron Smith to bomb a golden chance.  With Samoa out on their feet and still having a man treated Taylor added to the tally, Ben Smith too quick and too sharp for a scattered defence.

On came Vaea Fifita for his All Blacks debut with the pick of the tries coming next.  TJ Perenara's run, Williams' straightening and offload all made the space down the touchline for Beauden Barrett to slide over for his second try, adding his seventh conversion before being replaced by Lima Sopoaga.

Fifita then capped his debut with a try, finishing off a sweeping move started by a Scott Barrett break but truly made by Dagg's goose step and acceleration past Tusi Pisi.

Perenara added try number ten after Sopoaga's break, making the score 66-0, before an all-Hurricanes score saw Perenara and Julian Savea combining to put away Ardie Savea with a cute chip over the top.

Jordie Barrett's fine offload on debut then started the move for the 12th and final try by Cane, as Sopoaga had a late score ruled out.  All Blacks rusty?  No chance.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Lienert-Brown, B Barrett 2, A Savea 2, Williams, Dagg, J Savea, Taylor, Fifita, Perenara, Cane
Cons:  B Barrett 7, Sopoaga 2

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith (c), 14 Israel Dagg, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 Nathan Harris, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Vaea Fifita, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Lima Sopoaga, 23 Jordie Barrett

Samoa:  15 Ah See Tuala, 14 Albert Nikoro, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 Alapati Leiua, 11 Tim Nanai-Williams, 10 Tusiata Pisi, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Faifili Levave, 7 Faalemiga Selesele, 6 Piula Faasalele, 5 Faatiga Lemalu, 4 Chris Vui, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Maatulimanu Leiataua, 1 Viliamu Afatia
Replacements:  16 Seilala Lam, 17 Nephi Leatigaga, 18 Paul Alo-Emile, 19 Taiasina Tuifua, 20 Alafoti Faosiliva, 21 Dwayne Polataivao, 22 D'Angelo Leuila, 23 Ken Pisi

Referee:  Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees:  Rohan Hoffmann (Australia), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO:  Ian Smith (Australia)

Samoa see off Canada

D'Angelo Leuila's impressive night with the boot helped Samoa to defeat Canada 25-23 at the Stade des Alpes in Grenoble on Friday.

Canada outscored Samoa by three tries to one, including a double for in-form wing DTH van der Merwe, but the boot of Leuila, on his first start for his country, proved to be the difference.

Paul Perez opened the scoring for Samoa with a converted try after eight minutes, and once Leuila had knocked over a drop goal not long afterwards Samoa held a commanding 10-0 lead.

Leuila and Canada fly-half Connor Braid then traded two penalties each, as Samoa went into half-time ahead 16-6.

The Samoa number ten kept up the pressure with another penalties on 52 minutes but his side were then reduced to 14 men, with Taiasina Tuifua sent to the sin-bin, as Canada capitalised on their numerical advantage by scoring through Evan Olmstead.

Canada were soon down to 14 themselves once Jamie Cudmore saw yellow but Van der Merwe's try helped Canada close the gap to 19-16.

Samoa rallied through another Leuila drop goal and penalty to make it 25-16, before Van der Merwe's second score came all too late to change the outcome.

The scorers:

For Samoa:
Try:  Perez
Con:  Leuila
Pens:  Leuila 4
Drop Goals:  Leuila 2
Yellow Card:  Tuifua

For Canada:
Tries:  Olmstead, Van der Merwe 2
Con:  Braid
Pens:  Braid 2
Yellow Card:  Cudmore

Samoa:  15 Albert Nikoro, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 Paul Perez, 12 Winston Stanley, 11 David Lemi (c), 10 D'Angelo Leuila, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Genesis Mamea-Lemalu, 7 Greg Foe, 6 Alafoti Faosiliva, 5 Chris Vui, 4 Taiasina Tuifua, 3 Logovii Mulipola, 2 Elia Elia, 1 Sakaria Taulafo
Replacements:  16 Seilala Lam, 17 Nephi Leatigaga, 18 Census Johnston, 19 Jeff Lepa , 20 Oneone Faafou, 21 Danny Tusitala, 22 Opetera Peleseuma, 23 Ahsee Tuala

Canada:  15 Matt Evans, 14 DTH van der Merwe, 13 Ciaran Hearn, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 Conor Trainor, 10 Connor Braid, 9 Phil Mack, 8 Admir Cejvanovic, 7 Matt Heaton, 6 Evan Olmstead, 5 Brett Beukeboom, 4 Jamie Cudmore, 3 Jake Ilnicki, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Rob Brouwer
Replacements:  16 Eric Howard, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Matt Tierney, 19 Conor Keys, 20 Clay Panga, 21 Andrew Ferguson, 22 Pat Parfrey, 23 Ben Lesage

Referee:  Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees:  David Wilkinson (Ireland), Gary Conway (Ireland)

Georgia get the better of Samoa

Georgia returned to the victory trail when they registered a hard-fought 20-16 triumph over Samoa in Tbilisi on Saturday.

As the scoreline suggests, this was a tight contest and the home side's forwards deserve plenty of credit for the result as they laid the platform to victory with a dominant display in the tight exchanges.

Georgia outscored their visitors by two tries to one with both their five-pointers coming in the first half when they dominated scrums close to Samoa's try-line.

The visitors opened the scoring via a Patrick Faapale penalty before Georgia were awarded a penalty try in the 12th minute when Samoa's forwards capitulated at a scrum on their five-metre line.

Merab Kvirikashvili added the extras but Samoa regained the lead when George Pisi crossed for their only try in the 20th minute.  Georgia finished the half stronger thanks to a converted Beka Bitsadze try and a Kvirikashvili penalty, which meant they led 17-10 at half-time.

Samoa were more competitive in the second half and reduced the deficit to a point when Faapale slotted two penalties but Kvirikashvili secured victory for Georgia with a three-pointer from the kicking tee on the hour mark.

The scorers:

For Georgia:
Tries:  Penalty Try, Bitsadze
Cons:  Kvirikashvili 2
Pens:  Kvirikashvili 2

For Samoa:
Try:  G Pisi
Con:  Faapale
Pens:  Faapale 3

Georgia:  15 Merab Kvirikashvili, 14 Tamaz Mtchedlidze, 13 Giorgi Koshadze, 12 Merab Sharikadze, 11 Sandro Todua, 10 Lasha Malaghuradze, 9 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 8 Beka Bitsadze, 7 Mamuka Gorgodze (c), 6 Vito Kolelishvili, 5 Giorgi Nemsadze, 4 Kote Mikautadze, 3 Levan Chilachava, 2 Jaba Bregvadze, 1 Mikheil Nariashvili
Replacements:  16 Badri Alkhazashvili, 17 Kakha Asieshvili, 18 Dudu Kubriashvili, 19 Shalva Sutiashvili, 20 Giorgi Tkhilaishvili, 21 Giorgi Begadze, 22 Revaz Jintchvelashvili, 23 Giorgi Aptsiauri

Samoa:  15 Albert Nikori, 14 Paul Perez, 13 George Pisi, 12 Rey Lee-Lo, 11 David Lemi (c), 10 Patrick Faapale, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Alafoti Faosiliva, 7 Gregory Foe, 6 Jack Lam, 5 Filo Paulo, 4 Jeff Lepa, 3 Anthony Perenise, 2 Manu Leaiataua, 1 Logovi'i Mulipola
Replacements:  16 Elia Elia, 17 Hisa Sasagi, 18 Nephi Leatigaga, 19 Talaga Alofipo, 20 Genesis Mamea-Lemalu, 21 Oneone Faafou, 22 Pele Cowley, 23 D'Angelo Leuila

Referee:  Alexandre Ruiz (France)
Assistant Referees:  JP Doyle (England), Tom Foley (England)