Samoa: Repeat of 1999?
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Warren Gatland will arrive in his home town of Hamilton this Sunday as his Welsh charges look to get back on the 2011 World Cup horse against Samoa.
How they must have struggled to shake off that loss to the Boks, and their difficult task shows no sign of abating as the in-form Samoans arrive, particularly after coming unstuck both times they have met the islanders in the global tournament, losing 16-13 in 1991 and 38-31 eight years later.
Should they crumble to Samoa in Waikato, then their hopes of running out for the 2011 knockout stages will have tired to the point of exhaustion.
"We are all very aware that we must go out and match the performance from last weekend," Gatland explained to Press Association Sport.
"We must win on Sunday, that is the bottom line. There are no second chances after Sunday, it's that important to us."
There were a great deal of positives for Wales to take from that narrow defeat to South Africa, of that there is no doubt. Sam Warburton, Toby Faletau, Jamie Roberts and Rhys Priestland were four of their top performers and the quartet will need to be of that same standard against a nation who thoroughly enjoys playing Wales.
"I don't think the players are taking notice of what has happened in the past," added captain Warburton when asked about previous World Cup meetings with Samoa.
"It's all irrelevant. The squad is a lot different now. They have some big ball-carriers, so we know it is going to be a big physical challenge."
That is what Wales should rightly expect from their opponents who, unlike the Springboks, might shoot up in the defensive line in umbrella-like fashion in an attempt to force the mistake. It is also worth mentioning that in-form British & Irish Lions centre Roberts may not have the same bulldozing joy he had against the turnstile that was Morne Steyn.
Standing in his way will be Tusi Pisi - if he comes through the warm-up unscathed. Pisi is a sound organiser and with Kahn Fotuali'i and Seilala Mapusua either side, Samoa are blessed with reassuring and experienced playmakers. Wider out the scoring form of Alesana Tuilagi will also be a threat of note. Welsh Ospreys will know all about him.
Wales know they are set for a scrap in what's shaping up to be one the toughest Pools in recent World Cups. Also bear in mind this is a 'home' game for Samoa. First major upset?
Players to watch:
For Wales: Samoa may look to unsettle the Welsh half-backs with their physical approach so Mike Phillips must keep his cool at the base. One player who looked like he was playing in his 50th Test last week was young ten Rhys Priestland. But can he back it up this week?
For Samoa: He scored three tries in their opening win against Namibia, so Alesana Tuilagi has to be one to watch out for both Wales and the neutral. Meanwhile, Paul Williams is another to follow as the former Sale man very seldom makes mistakes at the back.
Head-to-head: Two star players from their respective opening fixtures go toe-to-toe on Sunday as Toby Faletau and George Stowers line-up in Waikato. Both are strong carriers and will be looking to get their teams over the advantage line so keep an eye out for both men. Also catching the eye will be the clash between Jamie Roberts and Seilala Mapusua.
Previous results:
2009: Wales won 17-13 in Cardiff
2000: Wales won 50-6 in Cardiff
1999: Samoa won 38-31 in Cardiff
1994: Samoa won 34-9 in Moamoa
1991: Samoa won 16-13 in Cardiff
1988: Wales won 24-6 in Cardiff
1986: Wales won 32-14 in Apia
Prediction: Cannot wait for this game. Wales by 5!
The teams:
Wales: 15 James Hook, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Lloyd Burns, 17 Gethin Jenkins, 18 Bradley Davies, 19 Andy Powell, 20 Tavis Knoyle, 21 Scott Williams, 22 Leigh Halfpenny.
Samoa: 15 Paul Williams, 14 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 13 George Pisi, 12 Seilala Mapusua, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 George Stowers, 7 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 6 Ofisa Treviranus, 5 Daniel Leo, 4 Kane Thompson, 3 Anthony Perenise, 2 Mahonri Schwalger (c), 1 Sakaria Taulafo.
Replacements: 16 Ti'i Paulo, 17 Census Johnston, 18 Joe Tekori, 19 Taiasina Tuifu'a, 20 Junior Poluleuligaga, 21 Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu, 22 Tasesa Lavea.
Date: Sunday, September 18
Venue: Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
Kick-off: 15.30 (03.30 GMT)
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Romain Poite (France), Jérôme Garces (France)
TMO: Giulio De Santis (Italy)
By Adam Kyriacou
Comments
Sasquatch says...
Go Samoa! I hope you burn those dragons again so they'll stop ranting about losing to a miserable Bok team. @TVaddict: agreed mate,
Posted 03:41 18th September 2011
atalivaa says...
Should it really matter what the race of the Ref. is?! It's the PLAYERS that are the factor in this game. I could care less if a MONKEY was the Ref! I'd rather save my breath and wait til' the ending results in this game. No doubt I'm a MANU SAMOA dedicated FAN. Good Luck to all! Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeuuuuuuuu Hoooooooooo!
Posted 03:28 18th September 2011
KubilaKhan says...
I don't have a massive opinion on this, could go either way, but Faletau vs Stowers going to be awesome!
Posted 02:27 18th September 2011
DutchWing says...
@headhunter...
Both Tuilagi and Shane Williams play with #11, so probably be on opposite sides of the field. But Tagicakibau isn't small either.
Go Manu Samoa...hopefully by 5
Posted 23:48 17th September 2011
ruckman says...
Go Samoa - will be cheering them on.
Posted 23:18 17th September 2011
melkdave says...
Think Wales will shade it but only just 5 points sounds about right .Wales will have taken great heart from outplaying and muscling the boks( they didnt play terriable they wernt allowed to play ) and i dont think they will chocke again should have taken at least 1 of the late chances to put the boks away .Also Samoas victory over the aussiies cant be ignorned atm they are the best tier 2 (so called) team in the world and should never be taken lightly..Wales by 5
Posted 22:54 17th September 2011
headhunter99 says...
Going to be a tough match but I expect Wales to shade it, however if they are behind in the last quarter dark thought of past defeats will start to mess with their heads.
Still surprised they have not started with Halfpenny, as Williams might have trouble stopping Tuilagi
Posted 21:45 17th September 2011
Nicholas41 says...
TVaddict. Good wind up. SA were stuffed last week - in rugby, sometimes the poorer team wins and that's what happened. Experience and dogging it out helped but they escaped (as Eng did against the Argies). How both teams find form and improve will be interesting but make no mistake, SA were outplayed by Wales.
Posted 21:30 17th September 2011
Honestpom says...
This is a tough game for the Welsh, certainly one they will probably lose if they do not play well.
Posted 20:42 17th September 2011
rugbylover11 says...
hehehehehehe@sincero!!!!!!!!!!
we shall see, it has always been a concern when it comes to refs in a world cup,,have already seen mistakes by refs,,e.g.wales vs bok, the ref penalised the bok when their winger long released the ball,,lucky hook's kick didn't go over and lucky the same winger scored the try at the end to save his team.
having you people in the north (except england) enforced the eligibility rule says much about your greed,,even your refs are tainted,,SAMOA SHOULD BE SUPER MENTALLY TOUGH IN THIS GAME, because they will be playing against 16 players all the time. Make sure you watch the game Miss Sincero and you will see what I mean
Report back but keep the change
Posted 19:25 17th September 2011
dangerous says...
I'm predicting a Samoa v Ireland quarter final!
Posted 14:12 17th September 2011
dangerous says...
I'm predicting a Samoa v Ireland quarter final!
Posted 14:12 17th September 2011
Sincero says...
@Islandpower, @rugbylover (ha, the irony)
Whining about the referee before the match even begins is classy... you have a great sporting tradition going there, I see.
You clearly know nothing about Europe, or these islands. And the accusations of dishonesty are particularly cruddy...
Allain Rolland is one of the best referees in the game... perhaps the best. You people wouldn't know that, what with all the wendyball watching, the griping and the inferiority complexes that take up much of your time, perhaps there isn't much time left to follow rugby. Rolland will do an outstanding job as ever.
That said, being objective (take note, lads), on current form and past experience, I fancy Samoa to cause an upset here.
Posted 13:24 17th September 2011
crunchfit says...
@IslandPower
Are there any well known Islander referees? I'm not aware of any.
Posted 13:02 17th September 2011
ShamanSheep says...
Already the chat about the ref, blah blah blah. We could have a ref from Mars for all I care - Wales will still dominate the scrum and Wales will win the match, I have no doubt; first 20 will be difficult, Samoa are possibly the best they have been, but this is a different Wales side in every way to the ones we took to the last world cups.
To be honest I doubt many readers have ever seen half the squad play - no offence - but the youngsters are coming good.
Posted 12:53 17th September 2011
matt223267 says...
Wales to win , they'll want to put a few demons to bed and are both mentally and physically stronger than in the past, also while Samoa may have better players than 91 & 99 so do Wales - SA performance today has improved my opinion of Wales performance last week. Defo close game though
Posted 12:10 17th September 2011
rugbylover11 says...
samoa will have to be super mentally tough because they will be playing against 16 players,,no one from the south trusts an irish, welsch or scottish ref 100%
Posted 09:56 17th September 2011
TVaddict says...
Why does everyone think Wales played so amazingly last week? South Africa played terribly, and no, it wasn't because Wales made them play badly. South Africa didn't look bothered. They only seemed to put effort into the match for the first 6 minutes and about 9 minutes in the second half, and still Wales couldn't win.
As much as I hoped Wales could do well in this group, I feel Samoa can cause an upset here. Samoa by 7.
Posted 09:19 17th September 2011
jonesy2 says...
should be a cracker but i said last weekend that wales were the only NH to take seriously in this WC, they have to win this game and convincingly, if not convincingly just win.
Posted 07:56 17th September 2011
macte says...
@ jmangod
It' amazing! You're putting the blame on the ref even before the games starts.
Too many soccer fans around.
Posted 06:42 17th September 2011