Fine finish: George Pisi
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Samoa sent Six Nations holders Wales crashing to their fifth consecutive loss after the visitors secured a 26-19 win at the Millennium Stadium on Friday.
It was the hosts' fourth negative to the islanders and followed Rob Howley's charges' defeat to Argentina at the same venue only one week ago.
Suddenly a November whitewash seems likely, with Wales now preparing to face New Zealand and Australia in their final Test series fixtures.
The visitors came out of the blocks firing as they looked to kick on from their impressive win over Canada in Colwyn Bay a week ago. And they managed to cross the whitewash within two minutes against the sterner opposition when number eight Taiasina Tuifua broke through a somewhat non-existent defence before recycled ball was moved wide to Paul Williams and then George Pisi, with the Northampton Saints centre sending over Faatoina Autagavaia on the right.
The impressive Tusi Pisi's conversion made it 0-7 with the match still very much in its infancy. For Welsh supporters, it was a moment of realisation, realisation that their Grand Slam champions were in for a big test of their credentials.
Leigh Halfpenny, who was on-form with the boot in Cardiff, pulled the hosts back to 3-7 with 16 minutes played after a ruck infringement and then cut matters down to a point on the half-hour. By this point Wales had been forced to make a change, as Richard Hibbard was hurt.
Despite their six points, Wales were not having things their own way but were the recipients of a gift from Pisi, with the fly-half throwing a suicide pass that Ashley Beck gobbled up and then set off for a 70 metre sprint to the whitewash. Halfpenny made it 13-7 with the extras.
The assured Pisi did reduce the arrears off the kicking tee with the last play of the first-half, which made the contest beautifully balanced at 13-10 with 40 minutes remaining in Cardiff.
After the turnaround the match continued to excite and when Kahn Fotuali'i scooted down the blindside at a ruck close to halfway to set up centre Pisi for a superb finish in the corner, the Samoans were ahead again. Fly-half Tusi could not add the extras however, and one wondered whether that missed conversion on 47 minutes would come back to hurt them.
An exchange of penalties from Halfpenny and Pisi then troubled the scorers as the lead changed hands five times during the second-half. Up 21-19, Samoa repelled a rare attack by Wales soon after, with the hosts struggling to make any real headway with ball in hand.
Instead it was Samoa who had the final say when David Lemi kicked ahead, Halfpenny and Autagavaia both missed the bouncing ball to hand replacement Johnny Leota a try late on.
Man of the match: A toss-up between the half-backs in blue. Let's go for Tusi Pisi's effort.
Moment of the match: The finish from George Pisi was something special. It had to be him.
Villain of the match: Maybe of a couple of let's say 'choice' tackles could make it in there but there was nothing major to write home about. Next up for the Welsh will be New Zealand.
The scorers:
For Wales:
Try: Beck
Con: Halfpenny
Pen: Halfpenny 4
For Samoa:
Tries: Autagavaia, G Pisi, Leota
Con: T Pisi
Pen: T Pisi 3
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Ashley Beck, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Ryan Jones (capt), 5 Ian Evans, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Aaron Jarvis, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Gethin Jenkins, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Luke Charteris, 20 Sam Warburton, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Scott Williams.
Samoa: 15 Faatoina Autagavaia, 14 Paul Perez, 13 George Pisi, 12 Paul Williams, 11 David Lemi (capt), 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Taiasina Tuifua, 7 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 6 Ofisa Treviranus, 5 Filo Paulo, 4 Daniel Leo, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Ole Avei, 1 Sakaria Taulafo.
Replacements: 16 Ti'i Paulo, 17 Villiamu Afatia, 18 James Johnston, 19 tbc, 20 Tivaini Fomai, 21 Jeremy Su'a, 22 Johnny Leota, 23 Robert Lilomaiava.
Referee: Pascal Gauzere (France)
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Jérôme Garces (France)
Television match official: Giulio De Santis (Italy)
By Adam Kyriacou
@PlanetRugbyAK
Comments
makemehappy says...
@sonsofsamoa - I don't like people presuming things about me!! That is worse than name calling, and it was hardly the biggest insult!
Why didn't they beat Samoa - three reasons - they aren't playing well (I don't know why) at the moment. The second is because the officials didn't reduce Samoa's head count on the pitch, even though just about any other officials would have ( 1 red and 3 yellows were pretty clear) ,whilst also allowing the second try (the most biased fan in the world wouldn't have allowed that).
Please don't think that I'm indicating that they didn't play the better rugby on the day, as they did.
I do think that if the game had been refereed properly the best team on the day wouldn't have won.
I could comment on your 20 point margin further by highlighting 3 penalties that Wales clearly should have had, but there's no point in speculating.
Posted 15:11 18th November 2012
sonsofsamoa says...
@makemehappy
Wally? Sorry don't take pleasure in name calling. I do not underestimate the Welsh side.. I'm just saying it "seemed" to me that you under rate the Samoan side.. Dan Lydiate, Lee Byrne, Matthew Rees, Alun-Wyn Jones, Mike Phillips, Luke Charteris that you've mentioned are all quality awesome players.. But just like Samoa they have their own selection problems.. But I've always been a big fan of Lee Byrne and wished he return (But where would that leave Halfpenny trusty boot).. And I know many Welsh players who play second division French and English Rugby.. So all in all Wales have much more players than Samoa does to choose from.. MUCH more.. So here's my question to you about your depth of quality, why didn't they beat Samoa? Even though both teams are missing players? Wales did not only get beaten by Samoa but got destroyed in every department.. And if it wasn't for Tusi's missed conversions and penalties and for Wales opportunist intercept try, Samoa would have been a clear 20 points in front.. Not bad for a bunch of players who's market worth is much less than their Welsh counterpart? Please don't take anything to heart, I just like to debate the topic not the person.
Posted 12:38 18th November 2012
kybone says...
Shocking from Wales AGAIN. I said after the WC that the Welsh fans getting carried away with their fantastic 4th place were getting ahead of themselves. Wales lost 3 out of 7 games at the WC! You can blame injuries as much as you want but every team has them at some stage, you have to learn to cope. The only thing which suprised me by the end of this game was how Wales managed to keep it within a score! Tusi Pisi- PR Man of the Match? He must have left about 15 points on the pitch in missed kicks! Is it all really Howley's fault? Do the players forget how to play the game if they don't have a good coach explaining what to do in every situation?
The form of Wales at international level has long been held up as justification for the Woeful Pro12 against the Prem and the Top 14. Hope that argument has now been put to bed.@ Rugbyrockstar- Are you still of the opinion that the Pro12 allows the players to be at their best for the biggest games of the season, giving fans their moneys worth? Do you still feel that the Prem and Top 14 players get 'flogged' so that the product that they produce at the top level is rubbish? I think that French fans in particular can quite catagorically say that you were wrong pal!
Posted 11:30 18th November 2012
makemehappy says...
@sonsofsamoa - Im aware of all bar a couple of those players so you are wrong. I follow lots of rugby in many countries, so again you are wrong. Don't forget Dan Lydiate, Lee Byrne, Matthew Rees, Alun-Wyn Jones, Mike Phillips, Luke Charteris, most of which are British Lions. You could add others that compete in the English league - I'm sure you know them if you follow or understand Welsh rugby.
One tip - never guess what someone else knows or doesn't know - you might look a wally when you are wrong.
Posted 08:16 18th November 2012
makemehappy says...
@Manusamoa Id certainly agree with Wales being stronger in those positions and do actually agree with you with the scrum half too. Id also include Cuthbert, Hibbard and Ryan Jones. Most of the other positions I'd say fairly level, with you having one better starting prop in Census, though he didn't actually have his best game.
Perhaps your players are under-rated, but I'd imagine the market worth of each Welsh player would exceed that of their opposite number (rightly or wrongly).
I'd also say that the Welsh players that were missing (Jonathan Davies, Lydiate, Adam Jones, Alun Wyn Jones and a fit Sam Warburton) would be considerably better than their opposite numbers.
Posted 08:05 18th November 2012
KiwiJoe says...
Well played Samoa, hopefully along with Argentina, a welcome, ongoing improvement in consistency and quality.
Fifth loss in a row for Wales? I thought it was more than that against the Wannabes alone.
Wales cannot be happy with this record, only wins against Oz and the All Blacks will settle nerves beyond the Severn
Posted 07:05 18th November 2012
Manusamoa says...
@makemehappy
No i truly believe we are stronger in most positions. Just because our boys are playing for a small 2nd Tier Nation I think everyone under rates us TOO MUCH.
Most Our boys have Super Rugby experience (the strongest comp they say), Tusi Pisi, George Pisi, Kahn, P Williams, T Paulo, Avei, Sua, J Leota, Tuifua. And some of the other boys are Stars in European comps for example Cencus, Maurie.
I do believe you have a better Fullback (halfpenny), and Roberts is the better inside centre, You got a great halfback but we have Kahn who has played numerous Super Rugby games for the CRUSADERS. Only the best play for that team. So that position is debatable. George North is prob better than our Perez also.
All other positions I would like to hear your thoughts.
Posted 01:58 18th November 2012
sonsofsamoa says...
@makemehappy
It sounds to me you clearly do not understand and follow Samoan rugby players around the world .. You clearly underestimate the depth and quality of this Samoan team.. Every Samoan player stands out in every team.. Our whole front row and reserve front row is light years in front off Wales.. Props such as... Na'ama Leleimalefaga, Johnston Falefa, Cencus Johnston, Logivi'i Mulipola, Anthony Perenise, Sakaria Taulafo, James Johnston, Rodney Ah You, Benjamin Sa.. Hookers we have Mahonri Shwalger, Ole Avei, Ti'i Paulo and former crusader Steve Fualau.. In the second row we have Daniel Leo, former chief Kane Thompson, Iosefa Tekori, Pelu Ian Taele, Joanathan Fa'amatuainu, Fa'atiga Lemalu, Chad Slade and Blues Filo Paulo.. Back row we are blessed with Maurie Fa'asavalu, Ofisa Treviranus, Ezra Taylor, Taiasina Tuifua, Richard Muagututia, Leo Auva'a, Chris Lowrey, George Stowers, Alafoti Faosiliva.. Scrum halves we have Junior Poluleuligaga, Kahn Fotuali'i, Aucklands Auvasa Faleali'i, Brenton Helleur and Crusaders Jeremy Sua.. Fly half is the area where we are weak in quality with only Tusi Pisi, Tasesa Lavea and former Wellington lions Fa'atonu Fili.. Wingers include Alesana Tuilagi, Sailosi Tagicakibau, Fautua Otto, Sinoti Sinoti, David Lemi, Brado Va'aulu and EP King's Paul Perez.. Centres include Gavin Wiliams, George PIsi (arguably best 13 in aviva atm), Josh Tatupu, Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu, Johnny Leota, Jamie Helleur, Henry Fa'afili, Anitelea Tuilagi, Seilala Mapusua and London irishs Seitamata Sa.. and another lack of quality at full back with only James So'oialo, Paul Williams and Northland's Fa'atonina Autagavaia.. Only players I think are even or better in quality from wales are Leigh Halfpenny, James Hook, Jamie Roberts, Gethin Jenkins, Adam Jones, George North, Jonathan Davies, Ashley Beck, Justin Tipuric, Scott Williams and Sam Warburton.
Posted 23:08 17th November 2012
vaizpatu2011 says...
runnrugby says...
Our tight five all NZ born? Get real man... the status of the players were shown and 3 out of 5 were born in Samoa. Maurie, Ofisa and Taulafo.
NZ C? wonder who the B team is then. Samoan born in NZ an Samoan NZ. According to the IRB rules they qualify to represent their country. So stop this age old nonsense.
Kefe!
Posted 22:46 17th November 2012
sonsofsamoa says...
@Trader2
Definitely agree with you and we are only seeing the beginning.. There are going to be many more Samoan born, 1stgen, 2ndgen and even 3rd gen adopted country Samoans who will choose to be play for Australia and New Zealand, which is not a problem at all, they have every right and I still support them as they're still representing through their heritage! But I believe as long as Samoans have their homeland, Samoans around the world will keep their ties with heritage and culture strong .. It's called "Fa'asamoa". As long as Samoans all over the world have family back in Samoa, they will regularly keep these ties. Like I said before,even though there are 1st 2nd and 2rd generation Samoans/Samoan New Zealanders in New Zealand Samoan is the 2nd most spoken language in Auckland after English which proves Samoan culture is still strong .. Of course you are going to have exceptions like Paul Williams who is a 3rd generation New Zealander and is what we call in our culture an afakasi (halfcast/quatercast). So his case is more complicated. There are many who are in the same position, who have not kept ties which I believe is a minority, and like you said it's all up to the parents. But a majority, do keep ties. Look at the demographics of Samoans who live in Brisbane (Logan and Ipswich, both Samoan is the 2nd language behind English) Western Sydney and Auckland.. I believe Paul has a right to be recognized as all three including cook island but in regards to Rugby I believe once you represent a nation then you must remain with that nation and I'm sure the NZ boys in the Manu are also proud born bred kiwis, but all in all, who are we to deny someone a chance to don the jersey and represent a nation if they're eligible to test their skills against the very best in the world? It's a complicated issue which will be debated for many years to come. Manuia to you my friend!
Posted 21:57 17th November 2012
curlymac says...
In this weeks hot or not article cane the entire welsh team be named individually, along with all the coaches and the welsh media? this would be to deter them from telling more lies. Wales were not ready for this game despite them saying they were! They did underestimate despite saying the opposite, who else changes half the team when going up against a better foe? Gatland should be their because hes been M.I.A ,even he's run from the embarrassment, he must have had a premonition of this autumn and jumped off of his house in N.Z.
After all the woe and misery Wales will probably fluke together a win next week and then they will be back to thinking that their the best team in the world again.
Posted 20:33 17th November 2012
makemehappy says...
@Manusamoa - better team on paper? Someone is getting carried away following a fine win LOL. Better in 5 positions on paper would be pushing your luck surely!?!?
Posted 15:22 17th November 2012
paulynz says...
Oh dear...
Posted 13:22 17th November 2012
Manusamoa says...
Finally playing to our potential! We had a better team on paper in most positions then Wales and should have been favorites. I was not expecting to lose this at all.
We should be beating teams like Wales and other big nations more consistently. We have great players and depth now.
So proud, Malo Manu:)
Posted 12:50 17th November 2012
Trader2 says...
Whoa @sonsofsamoa, my comment was in jest as I indicated, the irony is that so many NH posters and jurno's have been on an on about NZ poaching PI's for years. You and I both know that is not true so my comment was just a wee jest in their direction. However at some stage of course these lines will diminish, I am a third generation New Zealander of English decent, living in Oz. I see myself as a Kiwi, certainly not an Aussie or an Englishman, so eventually New Zealanders of Samoan background 2, 3 or more generations removed will feel the same way I am sure. Paul Williams is a good case in point, he was born in NZ, his father Bryan was born in NZ, his Grandfather was Samoan and his Grandmother was (I think) Rarotongan. Paul could have played for Rarotonga (well maybe start a team there anyway), I am not sure if Paul has kids but they will be 3rd generation New Zealanders and I guess the ties to Samoa and it's culture will depend on the parents. So none of us can get too precious about these things, generational change can be dynamic. But for now lets us both enjoy a great Manu Samoan win and may there be many more. Manuia my friend.
Posted 12:24 17th November 2012
jmckenna92 says...
Why does everyone complain about teams taking players from other countries? New Zealand do it, Austrailia do it, England do it, Scotland do it, Ireland do it, Wales do it? Its up to the player who he wants to play for at the end of the day and if he is allowed why not let him play
Posted 12:13 17th November 2012
merv says...
Cup match intensity from the start. I think samoa would have beaten any of the celtic nations with that display. Wales looked a little shell shocked to say the least, couldn't blame them. Its a vote for the power of the collective. Cracking game!
Posted 12:07 17th November 2012
sonsofsamoa says...
@passtheball
I agree with both your points.. the Rugby coaching, culture, schools and player development from New Zealand and Australia have had HUGE impact.. (especially New Zealand) which I know ALL Samoans around the globe greatly appreciate.. And Samoans do have the best of both worlds being able to keep their homeland while enjoying the economical benefits of New Zealand and Australia
@Trader
I know you were joking.. but in regards to my last post.. I was just arguing for debates sake.. My apologies if I came across the wrong way!
@Isograford
The majority of that last post was for you mate
Posted 12:01 17th November 2012
melkdave says...
@ToAll
For all you posters asking what is W.Gatland doing ,well his job as LIONS coach,ie looking at the english,scotish and irish players as they train for these tests ,and talking to te national coaches,and keeping an eye on those players in France .He wil be back to coach Wales for the 2 remaing tests against NZ and AUS.Dont think he can do much to rebuild Wales for the NZ match tbh,but hopefully Wales will be back to near thir RWC form for Australia ,Because as an englishman ,if Wales win against Australia ,i think both England and France can crack the top 4 in the IRB rankings.
Posted 11:56 17th November 2012
sonsofsamoa says...
@Trader2
All Samoans who migrated or live in their adopted countries are STILL proud SAMOANS .. they will always be Samoan no matter what country they're from..Whether it's SAMOAN Australian, SAMOAN New Zealander or American SAMOANS.. (Digby Ioane, Ben Tapuai, Tana Umaga, Christian Lealifano, Ma'a Nonu, Andrew Suniula, Roland Suniula, Sonny Bill Williams all are proud Samoans!!) The only reason why Samoans move to Australia, New Zealand and the USA is for economical reasons, to gain a better life (nothing to do with Rugby).. Like myself I'm kiwi born, Australian raised SAMOAN!.. And that's the beauty of it, although I do not solely take on one identity, I still have a right to be recognized as all three.. so everyone stop complaining about New Zealanders playing for Samoa.. If you don't know Samoa's culture here's a quick lesson for you all.. Religion and Culture is central in Samoan culture that's why Samoans stay close to their roots and will always remain proud and strong in their heritage and patriotism .. Samoan is the 2nd most spoken language behind English in Auckland, New Zealand.. What gives you all the right to say these boys can not play for Samoa? If everyone was to play for their country of birth then, Rugby would be a farce.. Just a couple of years ago a proposition was shot down from Celtic nations to allow islanders who have played for Tier one nations to come and play for the Tier two nations again.. After seeing this result, I know now why they shot it down lol (obviously cause they were scared) I'm starting to really see sour grapes here and it sounds to me that some of you are getting nervous because another Tier 2 nation is on the rise..
Posted 11:37 17th November 2012