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)