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
lacroix says...
fantastic. apologies to all welsh fans but i am so happy for samoa. they played a fantastic game....not just the raw talent, not just guts and power and all the other disappointingly stereotypical stuff that gets applied- they played smart, modern rugby.
yes, wales were not at their best to put it mildly, but in part thats because they were not allowed to play. the team that showed composure and class and maturity were playing in blue
Posted 00:12 17th November 2012
startledwombat says...
With Samoa having a population of 200,000 and a per capita income of $6,000 the IRB won't be interested in having the bigger international teams tour there. You can just see the Welsh: "Travel there for no profit, no live international TV access and just to get thumped again in front of 6,000 people? You must be joking."
A shame, because some clever marketing would see the first Islands test against (say) the All Blacks, as something far more special than a Hong Kong event. The Samoans would see to that.
Posted 00:12 17th November 2012
Patron says...
I am so proud to live in the SH. Finally Manu Samoa gets a fair go from NH officials. It helps that the referee could keep up with play, knew many rules and was not biased against brown eyes.
Posted 00:06 17th November 2012
racdavies says...
Great win by Samoa and as a proud Welsh supporter I have no problem saying that. The way Samoa played deserved a bigger win. Wales' confidence has gone, their reassured confidence has gone. Very strange. I can't quite put my finger on it. Pisi at 10 was outstanding in running the game for Samoa. Mind you, a massively dominant scrum, a wavering Welsh lineout and front foot ball helped. I though Roberts and Halfpenny were again good for Wales. Roberts was pretty physical. But thereafter it is a mystery! Congratulations to Samoa and also, what a great match! Exciting from start to finish... at least when Samoa had the ball.
Posted 23:56 16th November 2012
s15rules says...
what a game samoa made the welsh scrum look worse than the wallabies!
only welsh fans would call this " stun".
how bad is the welsh commentating felt like i was listening to some drunk welsh fan in a pub! made phil kearns look unbiast!!!!
cant wait for next weekend so the allblacks can prove to the welsh coach they wouldnt have beaten them in the world cup
Posted 23:52 16th November 2012
georgesmith says...
Good job done by Samoa. This team keeps getting better and better. Last year, it was the Wallabies and now Wales. Tusi Pisi is world-class. It comes as no surprise as to why New Zealand ALWAYS steals top players from Samoa. Come on IRB hypocrites, be fair in everything so the poor islanders are not disadvantaged.
Posted 23:49 16th November 2012
rugby_rockstar says...
to be fair to Samoa 12 - 26 doesn't sound that out of place given their utterly dominant performance. Wales really didn't turn up. At all. Ashley Beck's intercept try (as well tacken as it was) was a fluke. A popgun going off in pathetic defiance to a USAF Airstrike. Well done Samoa. Wales, Man, That was BAD.
Posted 23:02 16th November 2012
sonsofsamoa says...
Samoa could have easily beaten them by much more if they had kept their composure and discipline for the full 80.. Samoa pretty much dominated in EVERY department including physicality in contact, mauls, rucks, lineouts and scrums.. And who was the fool that said SAMOA can't scrum?? Even without Logovi'i Mulipola and Anthony Perenise, they still destroyed the Welsh so many times it made them look like a tier 3 nation in the scrum department.. Who was the person who said Samoa don't have depth?? They have more QUALITY depth then ever before, probably even more than Aussies.. Missing alot and more waiting in Mapusua, Fuimaono Sapolu, Tagicakibau, Stowers, Perenise, Mulipola, Kane Thompson, Gavin Williams, Anitelea and Alesana Tuilagi.. Southern hemisphere side without regular competition beats 6 nations champions??.. hmmm says alot about Rob Howley's "depth" .. And wales please save the injuries excuse like I said.. we've got our missing share as well.. MANU SAMOAAAA next team to join the Rugby Championship!!! Players that were really strong for Samoa were Fotua'lii, Pisi brothers and Tuifua, Treviranus, Fa'asavalu in the forwards.. And for Wales I only commend Jamie Roberts who is always class, Beck as well loved his work as well as Leigh Halfpenny what a quality player he is!!
Posted 22:59 16th November 2012
pantreac says...
What a great performance by Samoa. Their tackling was fantastic always putting Wales on the back foot. Its a change to see a fair and unbiased ref!
I can't imagine where Wales go from here with NZ next week followed by Australia.
Personally I think that Wales were too wound-up this evening as witnessed by the amount of penalties Ryan Jones gave away. He has always been one of my favourite players and he has a truly fantastic rugby brain, like Easter but this evening not one of his more memorible games.
Posted 22:54 16th November 2012
Lucasrg says...
Nice game, Samoa fully deserved. They dominate the scrum.
Posted 22:42 16th November 2012
curlymac says...
As a side note, what is Gatland doing at the moment? Sure hes lions coach but there are no players selected, so why was he unable to coach wales the last 5 games?
If he cant coach Wales because of a conflict of interest in his selections for the lions, hes doesn't have to worry, there should be no welsh players in the lions team. You cant take players to Aussie that haven't and aren't going to win anytime soon.
Samoa you played brilliantly and you should have won by more, shame about the goal kicking. I hope this will get the IRB interested in getting teams to tour to Samoa to help you continue to improve.
Posted 22:35 16th November 2012
atg77 says...
Bad news for Scotland... if we don't beat the boks we're down to 10th...
Posted 22:33 16th November 2012
internationalXV says...
Great match. Samoa seemed to be playing all the rugby and it was a wonder Wales was even able to keep in touch on the scoreboard.
Posted 22:28 16th November 2012
Trader2 says...
Oh dear and Wales the 6N Champions aren't they. Well done Samoa far to much flair and commitment and also left at least another 9 or so points out there with all those missed kicks. I guess the only thing Wales has to look forward to is Warren Gatland back in charge next week but it is very difficult to believe that he will be able to turn 59 years of defeats against his countrymen into a win next week.
Posted 22:21 16th November 2012
robski says...
Before everyone gets on and talks about how woeful Wales were, lets give credit where credit is due. A great win for Samoa which was 3 tries to 1 intercept try. Just proves a rested Samoa will beat Wales anyday and the World Cup draw a shambles.
Posted 22:21 16th November 2012
7redcards says...
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, bread of ha ha ha ha, always knew wales were flattering to deceive!!
Posted 22:16 16th November 2012
eejbm says...
So, three tries to one and that one try was from an intercept.
Nice work Samoa!
Posted 22:10 16th November 2012
Taffster says...
Only one team out there tonight. Samoa brought the brutality into the contact area and dominated on their terms. I wish Wales had done more of the same instead of shipping ball wide too quickly. A lucky intercept try made the score look less punishing. Even Wales' best scoring opportunity in 2nd half should have gone blind instead of further in field. Samoa deserved winners and playing with more composure than ever before but still looking to cut loose when the game breaks up.
I hope Wales can at least put in a performance against the ABs and Wallabies because this one domensionsl game is sucking the life out of me (and probably a few others). There's a lot of comments coming about believing their own hype etc. but not anymore.
Posted 22:07 16th November 2012
NHsaints says...
Go on Samoa and Especially George Pisi! Great game from the Samoans, they exposed how Wales have been bluffing their position as a top 6 team for years, wins against Ireland and a let off in the world cup against Samoa got this team raving their own praises and they confirmed their arrogance with a six nations crown scraped over recovering England, France and Scotland sides and were gifted their other win against the Irish. Then they've gone on to lose to the worst Australian side that has been assembled in the last 10 years and followed that up with comprehensive home defeats to Argentina and Samoa. I saw only 4 welsh players today that I'd even have near the Lions squad - Halfpenny, Biggar, Owens and Beck...
Posted 22:04 16th November 2012
ztekkiwi says...
All hail to the Samoan forwards; they were dominant at the set scrums and powerfully dynamic at the breakdown. The pace of Samoa's loose play seem to take the Welshies by surprise and the physical impact at the breakdown was nothing short of shocking. Wales always seemed out-manned and when numbers were even they were overpowered. Samoa retained their own ball and nicked many a red and white Gilbert left unprotected. The breakdown play really looked like two sides from different levels of play (and two different Hemispheres). With the AllBlacks on the near horizon Wales can only hope that they clear their lines before Robbie Deans and the sputtering Wallabies come to town if there's to be any joy for a Christmas in Wales.
Posted 22:04 16th November 2012