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...
@3in4 - such great wisdom. No wonder there are trolls with such charming comments. Well done for encouraging them. Im actually Welsh and enjoy watching Ireland too!
Posted 11:33 17th November 2012
sextons_on_fire says...
Status update on Jamie Heaslip's Facebook page:
"Welsh rugby is a pile of poop!"
LOOOOOOOOOOOOL :D:D:D:D hahahahaha
Posted 11:31 17th November 2012
3in4 says...
Great win Samoa. Welsh pathetic. If Faletau or Phillips make the Lions, I'll eat my hat. Forgive me if I come off as gloating but given all the irritating smugness we've had to endure from the Taff trolls on this forum for the past year, I think the rest of us (particularly Irish fans) are entitled to bask in Wales's new-found mediocrity.
I notice those very same Welsh trolls have gone deathly silent on this thread (apart from a few usual suspects who are always whingeing, even when the Taff side wins).
Posted 10:57 17th November 2012
Maubec says...
@ connaughtabu :
you can go use this website : http://www.lassen.co.nz/pagmisc.php if you want to know how the outcome of a match might affect the IRB rankings.
The points exchanged due to this match wil be 1.646
So Wales will have 78.95 and Samoa 78.79
And what a game from Samoa ! They deserve this result.
Posted 10:56 17th November 2012
Trader2 says...
Jeez just imagine how good the AB's could be if they could have the NZ born Samoans back! Only joking but given all the cr... thats has been on PR about NZ stealing all the Island players there is a touch of irony don't you think?
Also I am not sure why so many seem to consider that Wales had any rights to be called a great side, a good honest effort in the WC, yes, then won the 6N, then whacked three times by a very ordinary Wannabie side and now this, not great credentials. I suspect that winning the 6N is not a bellweather indicator on where you stand in world rugby quite frankly.
Posted 10:22 17th November 2012
bloemboy says...
I feel that the Rugby Championship should include 2 of the Island sides. It would make for an interesting tournament and will grow the sport across the Islands as well due to their sharing in the financial benefits. Surely a region so rich in talent should be better supported by the IRB.
If they do this, and the IRB get a little stricter in terms of residency qualifications, you could find the SH occupying the top 6 spots.
Another important point for the IRB is to limit the number of games a professional player can play in a single year / season. Surely more than 26 - 30 is too much!
Posted 10:18 17th November 2012
passtheball says...
runnrugby - good to see some acknowledgement of the value received from the NZ schools and rugby systems, culture and coaching. Without it the Samoan team would not compete at anywhere near the top level.
Actually, compared to the indigenous Maori, Samoans have it good - they still have their exclusive homeland, their language and their national teams along with ready access to NZ and Aus.economy and education. Points not often considered.
Posted 10:09 17th November 2012
daibok says...
Well done Samoa. Awesome.
This simplifies the Lions Watch anyway. Only Halfpenny can be considered of the required standard.
Posted 10:08 17th November 2012
J_HDK says...
Connachtabu. Nope
Wales will drop to 78.95 (8th place)
Samoa up to 78.79 (9th place)
This is before any of other results for the weekend
Posted 09:37 17th November 2012
AKARKP says...
I am glad we lost. This will prove to the WRU that there are no decent Welsh coaches. This is evident throughout Welsh rugby. The evidence being this autumn's Wales' performances, and the welsh regional teams being uncompetative in europe!!
The sooner Warren is back the better!!
And maybe the regions will one day start poaching southern hemisphere coaches. Just look at the success this has brought to the Irish provinces.
Posted 09:34 17th November 2012
rugbydaft says...
A well deserved win well done Samoa , Wales poor thinking or no thinking .....
New Zealand await how high will the score be?
Posted 09:29 17th November 2012
connaughtabu says...
I don't fully understand the IRB ranking system (not at all really), but after last night game Samoa will get close to 2 points and Wales will be docked 2 points. Could this be correct? If so, rankings may be:
1. NZ
2. SA
3. Aus
4. Fra
5. Eng
6. Arg
7. Sam
8. Ire
9. Wal
10. Scot
If Wales don't do well against NZ and Aus and Ire don't beat Arg - what happens with regard to the RWC draw?
Heaven forbid!
Posted 09:07 17th November 2012
powerplay says...
how can a team puled together in the last 2 months or even less, with the amount of resources totalling to zero compared with Wales, beat them 3 tries to one??? Awesome Samoa! Malo Manu!
Posted 09:01 17th November 2012
D4tress says...
3 well worked tries to 1 lucky intercept. Wales have been shown up for the chancers that they are. The fact that they are 6N champions speaks more to the dire performances by the other 5 countries than by any real skill on the part of the Welsh.
That said, Samoa look like a real team. Southern Hemisphere 5 Nations beckons, I think. Although given Samoa's recent excellent showing and Australia's collapse, that is the one thing that the Aussies need to avoid. Another team in their annual competition who can hammer them is not what they want.
Cue loads of SH guff about Samoa "not being up to it".
Posted 08:49 17th November 2012
Ramage says...
Well done Samoa a very good win you can be proud of yourselves. Wales? What can you say perhaps that 6 Nations win led you all to believe your team was better than it really was. Perhaps, just perhaps, last year's 6 nations was a toss up between some very mediocre teams. Who knows? Anyway it is back to the drawing board for Howley or roll on the end of the Lions tour so Gatland is back in control. Something isnt working that's for sure.
Posted 08:46 17th November 2012
makemehappy says...
@7redcards - must show how bad some other teams have been for a few years then!
Wales were awful, Samoa deserved winners but it is clear Wales aren't functioning at the moment. Most days Samoa wouldn't have won and 99% of the time they wouldn't have won that particular game due to several yellow cards, one clear red card and one disallowed try (the second which was a joke on several grounds).
For me the game has become to health and safety conscious, with high tackles being ruled if a finger nail creeps onto a shoulder. Clearing out in the ruck has become a joke too, with yellow cards being dished out for what Id deem to be good play. However, we are were we are, so the clearing out of Biggar in todays game had to be a red card. I don't think it deserves to be, but we have to go by todays standards.
Only halfpenny looked a class act for Wales.
Posted 08:46 17th November 2012
rolf says...
Great Manu Samoa! I like your style.
But can someone please explain to me whta happened to Wales?
What happened to the guys that put on a great RWC campaign just a year ago?
Did they not win the six nations - was that a grand slam?
Obviously there are some Joneses missing, but is it that only?
I hope they come back and beat the Oz.
Posted 08:40 17th November 2012
Kent says...
@7redcards - Very insightful post - fool
Posted 08:01 17th November 2012
taulasea says...
What a great game MANU.Unfortunately,the negative press that comes with this win especially our physicality.PLEASE,rugby is not for crying babies.Clearing the ruck and tackling are part of the game.Nothing illegal about those hits.Fair and square.GIVE CREDIT to the Manu Samoa for whooping your A..instead of picking the silly things to complain about.Why NOT say,WALES attack was PATHETIC-intercept try!!WOW.Why not say-Lineout was a bloody mess.And ALSO,scrum-got pushed back several times by SAMOA.GET OVER IT.And wait-THE ABs is coming over next week-with more SAMOANs to tackle your dragons who at the moment is getting burnt by its own fire.GO MANU.
Posted 07:03 17th November 2012
apr7 says...
Congratulations to Samoa, great tries, specially the contortionist finish! i dont want to spoil the celebrations, but Tusi Pisi must improve his goal kicking, i'm a fan of him. Fully deserved.
@curlymac: i have the same question about Warren Gatland.
Posted 06:54 17th November 2012