Scotland 35 Samoa 20

Scotland were on top of Samoa from start to finish but their weekend's opponents -- the All Blacks of New Zealand -- will feel they have nothing to fear following a lacklustre 35-20 victory in front of an equally lacklustre Murrayfield crowd.

In the seventh minute of the first half, the Scots were awarded a penalty five yards out and opted for the scrum.  Eight long minutes of scrummaging later, referee David McHugh finally gave up on a fair set-piece and gave a penalty try.

Scotland seemed determined not to fall into the trap of playing an unstructured game, a flaw that had been exploited in the Wales side by Samoa last weekend.  They were dominant in the scrum from start to finish.  The return of Doddie Weir leant strength to the lineout and the kicking of fly-half Gregor Townsend was consistently to touch but the side lacked the flair that will be required should they harbour any hope of putting up a fight when the All Blacks come to town on Sunday.

Ironically, it was the power of New Zealand-born Gordon Simpson and Martin Leslie that made the difference up front for the Scots.  Leslie scored the first try of the match, bullocking his way over towards the end of the first half, but the absence of Martin Leslie and Allan Taint from the centres that lead to the back line lacking bite.  The Scots committed nine handling errors and turned the ball over four times -- a record they cannot afford to match in four days time.

Samoa, oddly for this country famed for its passionate play, seemed not to have come into the game with the same intensity which downed the Welsh in Cardiff.  Their cynical fouling spurred chance after chance for Kenny Logan to kick at goal.  The winger converted five of the six offered.

The Southern Hemisphere side's forward power seemed to increase considerably when Onehunga Matauiau replaced the injured Trevor Leota at hooker after 36 minutes but this was a game governed by handling errors in crucial areas.

The one highlight of a generally dour game was a drop goal from Townsend at the end of the third quarter.  From a ruck just in front of the 22, the ball was spun out and the Brive showman slotted the attempt over with ease.

Wing Brian Lima made a try from half-way as time ran out to close the margin to 15 but there were no real winners from this encounter.

The Teams:

Scotland:  1 George Graham, 2 Gordon Bulloch, 3 Tom Smith, 4 Scott Murray, 5 Doddie Weir, 6 Budge Pountney, 7 Martin Leslie, 8 Gordon Simpson, 9 Gary Armstrong (c), 10 Gregor Townsend, 11 Kenny Logan, 12 Jamie Mayer, 13 James McLaren, 14 Cammie Murray, 15 Glenn Metcalfe
Reserves:  Paul Burnell, Stuart Grimes, Duncan Hodge, Cameron Mather, Robbie Russell
Unused:  Bryan Redpath, Alan Tait

Samoa:  1 Polo Asi, 2 Trevor Leota, 3 Brendan Reidy, 4 Lio Falaniko, 5 Lama Tone, 6 Craig Glendinning, 7 Semo Sititi, 8 Pat Lam (c), 9 Stephen So'oilao, 10 Stephen Bachop, 11 Brian Lima, 12 Terry Fanolua, 13 To'o Vaega, 14 Inga Tuigamala, 15 Silao Leaega
Reserves:  Earl Va'a, Robbie Ale, Onehunga Matauiau Esau, Sene Ta'ala, Filipo Toala
Unused:  John Clarke, Kalolo Toleafoa

Attendance:  15661
Referee:  Hawke c

Points Scorers:

Scotland
Tries:  Penalty Try 1, Leslie M.D. 1, Murray C.A. 1
Conv:  Logan K.McK. 1
Pen K.:  Logan K.McK. 5
Drop G.:  Townsend G.P.J. 1

Samoa
Tries:  Lima B.P. 1, Sititi S. 1
Conv:  Leaega S. 2
Pen K.:  Leaega S. 2