Wales: Survive Samoa scare
Wales kept their World Cup quarter-final hopes alive after seeing off Samoa 17-10 at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton on Sunday.
Trailing by four points (6-10) at half-time, Wales dug deep to deny the Samoans victory thanks to a try by wing Shane Williams thirteen minutes from full-time which proved to be the match-winner.
After major upsets in 1991 and 1999 against Samoa, it was Wales' first victory over their bogey team at a World Cup tournament.
The win, following their 16-17 opening loss to South Africa, puts Wales in the box seat to qualify second from Pool D with a likely quarter-final against Six Nations rivals Ireland.
However Wales were given a scare or two along the way and it looked as if Warren Gatland's reign as coach could be brought to an end in his hometown of Hamilton.
In bright and breezy conditions at a packed Waikato Stadium, James Hook's early penalty from the halfway line went narrowly wide and Samoa passed up a golden chance when Sailosi Tagicakibau spilled a low pass just metres from the tryline.
Wales suffered a blow when flanker Danny Lydiate limped off in just the 11th minute to be replaced by Andy Powell. But Hook was gifted an easy three points when Maurie Faasavalu high-tackled pivot Rhys Priestland.
Jamie Roberts crossed on 14 minutes but was brought back for a forward pass and Priestland missed his third drop-goal of the World Cup, before Samoa full-back Paul Williams levelled the scores with a well-struck penalty.
Samoa's forwards disintegrated under a powerful Welsh scrum to give Hook another penalty to make it 6-3.
Despite clearly having issues in the scrum, the Samoans had no such problems in the breakdown - with their pack happy to hammer away around the fringes of the breakdown to drive Wales back.
And they were left frustrated when an 18-phase spell ended with Fa'asavalu burrowing over from close range, only for the flanker to be pinged for a double movement.
A missed penalty from Williams soon after did little to lift the mood of the Samoans.
However, Samoa had the final say in the first half as their forwards took control and they dealt Wales an enormous hit when another crunching attack culminated in a try to prop Anthony Perenise's on the stroke of half-time. Williams' conversion gave the islanders a 10-6 half-time lead.
Hook was replaced by Leigh Halfpenny at half-time after a shoulder injury and the Welsh reduced the margin to 10-9 when Priestland's penalty fortuitously bounced off the crossbar and over.
The Wales backs were suddenly in the game and centre Jonathan Davies had the tryline at his mercy when a long cross-field kick bounced off his legs, but Priestland then kicked them 12-10 ahead after a ruck infringement.
And Wales were again rewarded for their greater endeavour when Halfpenny broke down the left and fed Davies, whose one-handed pass was gathered off the floor by Williams for his 55th Test try, 13 minutes from the end.
Samoa regrouped and continued to hammer away at the Wales line but they couldn't find a way through. Samoa's forwards massed for one final assault but the attempt was undone when number eight George Stowers lost control of the ball at the tryline.
Wales survive to fight another day.
Man of the match: Sam Warburton did some great work for Wales at key moments, and he was at the forefront of his team's effort, however it's hard to look past Welsh Wizard Shane Williams whose try allowed his team to breathe a little easier.
The scorers:
For Wales:
Try: Williams
Pens: Hook 2, Priestland 2
For Samoa:
Try: Perenise
Con: Williams
Pen: Williams
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.
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Comments
rugbylover11 says...
re: tmcadams
"Am I the only person to notice that shane williams try should have been disallowed?"
NO YOU ARE NOT!!
I warned you samoans before the game that you will be playing against 16 players and therefore you had to be super mentally tough. I HAVE BEEN WATCHING THAT REF IN THE PAST. If you want your team to go further, you better pray that you won't have him again.
Posted 13:50 19th September 2011
iolo says...
I (not suprisngly) thought that the better team won and that we were a bit hard done by the ref re diving onto rucks and scrummaging.
Anyway those with long memories will remeber that one of the Western Samoa tries in the 1991 world cup shouldn't have been allowed when Robert Jones touched down 1st. When you consider what a boost that was to Samoan rugby then perhaps the effects were ongoing, esp for Wales who were obviously nervous. Would love to see Samoa beat the Boks.
Finally - no one thinks the rest periods are fair, I wish Samoa weren't able to point to an excuse.
Posted 13:32 19th September 2011
Ramage says...
I enjoyed this game and both sides are to be congratulated on the efforts they put into the game. One issue I would like some feedback on is the refereeing of the RWC, which on the whole I consider to have been quite good.It was brought to a head in SA Wales game when I watched Wayne Barnes referee and what I am asking is not an attempt to bag him but to see if others see what is happening as I do. It seemed to me that when Barnes was refereeing he was not insisting on players rolling away from the ball as the IRB were telling us they wanted and it also seemed that he was quite liberal on his interpretations. So different as to what I had seen happen in Super Rugby games. Then in this game whilst Rolland pinged guys going over the top he too seemed fairly tolerant on guys not rolling away. So I paid particular attention in the two next games and interestingly enough Kaplan and Joubert whom I rate as good referees were very strict on guys loitering in thse positions and England especially were penalised heavily. Is this a difference in term of interpretations of the laws by the referees from the different hemispheres as England was also hammered by Bryce Lawrence in the Argentine game.Is it because they are not hammered as hard in their games by the refs and now are getting done by SH referees because they are not adapting. I know we often look at a game from our own side's point of view and quite often cant see the wood for the trees. Did others see the same thing happening in the three games on Sunday that I believed I saw. I would be interested in other neutrals views on this matter not as a criticism of the referees but as to whether what I believe I saw was in fact happening. Oh by the way Wales and Samoa fans are also encouraged to put in their own biased views lol.
Posted 10:26 19th September 2011
hayj05 says...
I was going for the underdogs Samoa, but Wales probably deserved a tight win after their heartbreak first up. I know there's still a fair bit to go but it's looking like some cracking qfs. South Africa vs Australia, England vs France, Ireland vs Wales, & New Zealand vs Argentina/Scotland. Would love to see Ireland make the semis, it would be good to have another team make it to the last 4 for the first time.
Posted 04:38 19th September 2011
minkusbc says...
Just thinking that 5 pools of 4 teams each would give every team the same number of days turn around between games. Then the 5 pool winners and the next 3 best teams (bonus points, tries, drop goals, point differential etc to decide) would form the top 8 for the championship. Numbers 9 to 16 go into a plate playoff as well to determine 9th through 16th place.
Posted 02:10 19th September 2011
richardsonja says...
tmcadams says...
"Am I the only person to notice that Shane Williams try should have been disallowed?"
Yes.
Posted 19:35 18th September 2011
Maubec says...
IslandPower, I wanted to trust in Laeva; He played for l'ASM here in France, I thought he wasn't so bad...
But it seems he is...
Another point I didn't understand on this game is the too late replacements.
Why did Tafua wait so long.
His boys played 3 days ago and he waits until the 70' to make replacements.
When you got the likes of Censtus Johnston, Ti'i Paulo, Tekori or Sapolu, all in the starting XV of some of the best clubs in Europe, you can make replacements without losing quality in your team.
Posted 17:53 18th September 2011
rugbylover11 says...
Having said all these, let's celebrate with the welsh fans and their team. They worked hard to avoid an early exit. They certainly needed a win to cheer them up. Let's forget the ref and his mistakes which probably went both ways. Samoa missed a few good opportunities. They should have scored in the first few minutes but instead knocked the ball on when their winger was free on the right with the line only 15 to 20 metres away. Should have kicked their last penalty infront of the post when there was 5 minutes left, then come back to recieve the kick off and cook up something to level or beat the welsh.
Good luck to the samoans for the rest of the tournament. Long live good rugby and death to bad refs hehehehe!!!
Posted 17:47 18th September 2011
makemehappy says...
Excellent performance by both teams. Not quite sure why the someone had given the ref a new whistle that he liked to penalise Wales with as there was probably another 9 points or so that Wales should have won by. Scrum dominance was one of the key features (I had to laugh at the ref for penalising Wales once and threatening to give a scrum the other way, as a result of the scrum turning, when the reality was that it has been smashed). Ridiculous penalty against Hook for crossing - I think the ref would have to admit that getting up off the floor does not constitute crossing. The commentators often remarked about the slow Welsh ball and quick Samoan. A better scrum half had something to do with that, but come on guys, how did Samoa get away with so many offences that slowed the ball down. So conclusion - a more comfortale Wales win than the score suggests - at least if that idiot had refereed and not plucked random decisions out of the hat!
Posted 14:25 18th September 2011
headhunter99 says...
@melkdave
Well said and in total agreement about whinging about the officials, so could someone please tell the bloody New Zealanders to stop harking on about Wayne Barnes in 2007
Posted 14:17 18th September 2011
koop says...
Samoa probably had its best chance to beat Wales after destroying the Wallabies earlier this year. If the European clubs released Samoas players more often, they wiull be a force to rival any 6 nations teams as they are not far off at the moment.
Posted 12:37 18th September 2011
rugbylover11 says...
Wales nervousness during the game is due to expectation I believe. It was just too high on them. No one wants to go into a game against an old rival under such expectation such as losing=go home, the incident back home, the history against the islanders. I am happy that they have won. It seems that there is now a real competition to find another team to qualify to the quarters togther with the Bok.
The commentators on ITV are okay, but the last bit today by Zean Fitzpatrick, Penaar and Dal confirmed that they all expect wales to go through. Is not a surprise they don't really know how to analyse games when the islanders are doing good. That Fitzpatrick should not be a game analyser or commentator anymore. He is personal, defensive, and can't see any other team better than the all blacks. With that attitude, I won't mind if the ABs doesn't win the cup until such unhealthy pride and arrogance is gone from the kiwis for good.
Posted 12:29 18th September 2011
Maubec says...
When I woke up at 5 this morning and heard that Pisi was out and Lavea in the starting XV instead, I must confess I thought of IslandPower...
Damn ! You were so right about him... He costs 6 points, is off-line two times when Samoa were pushing strong...
I don't speak about the ref... He made mistakes but it's more a global thinking about refering. In every world cup since 87, refs are privileging big countries over minnows (as far as I remember : England-Argentina 95, France-Fidji 99, England-Samoa 2003, South Africa-Tonga 2007...)
Samoa were great but 3 days of rest makes the difference in the end (like for England vs Georgia and France vs Canada)
With 6 days of rest like their opponents and Pisi at ten, they can beat Fidji and South Africa...
Go Manu Samoa ! It's not over !
Posted 12:21 18th September 2011
matt223267 says...
gotta say it was a good solid game, featuring two very good sides - think wales played v.well, i maintain that if we did't samoa would have beaten us, samoa have a tough ask against SA but with a bit of belief (which they seem to have) they can do it - glad to finally get a win against you boys in a world cup mind
Posted 12:00 18th September 2011
melkdave says...
@thatbme & RugbyLover11
The referee had a superb game dont know what you 2 where watching but in rugby union if you dive over the top of a ruck you get penalised Samoa constantly dove over the ruck or came in the side so got penalised.These derogatory comments about referees are as boring as hell and make the posters look like spoiled children whove lost their passifier / /favourite toy .They are also irrevalant the games over history and a complete waste of time and the refuge of idiots who cant give praise to anyone or team they dont support.
Posted 11:58 18th September 2011
Crash_12 says...
@ Carpelone
Get a grip bro, Wales should've taken the win against the Boks. Had Priestland nailed that drop goal and Hook that last penalty then they were well worth the win.
Posted 10:52 18th September 2011
morgs says...
Every game we have had against Samoa has been tough in recent years and @Guffa your comments re: the condescending commentary are bang on! (ITV's coverage of the RWC is terrible.) The pace Samoa tried to play at was great, so the win was definenlty a relief as they are our 'bogie' team. Delighted as an Ospreys fan to see that Stowers and Fotuali'i were probably the two best players on the pitch, they look like two cracking signings!
Posted 10:29 18th September 2011
Carpelone says...
@ exdigger
Wales were lucky to get a losing bonus point against SA. Play again that match and see the result. Anyway, again hat off to your performance against the Boks, and watch out Fiji. You are still not safe.
Posted 10:24 18th September 2011
Crash_12 says...
Not spectacular but a thrilling contest nevertheless.
Wales matched the Samoan physicality and really fronted up but just made far too many basic mistakes in the first half (knock on's, losing lineouts etc).
Second half was much improved, not a lot of creativity but cutting out those mistakes gave Samoa nothing to feed on. Wales were never going to give them an open game as that would've played right into their hands (tried that against Fiji in 2007 and look where that got us.....).
Defence again was solid - just really need to work on things going forward. North, Roberts and Halfpenny were superb but the scrum half and first-five need an injection of creativity I think.
I'd like to see Halfpenny start 15 and Hook at first five in the next game - then I think Wales could really spark.
Good luck Samoa - I think you have a real chance against SA.
Posted 10:13 18th September 2011
CYMRU says...
Great stuff for 4am on a sunday morning, praying earlier than normal !!!!!!! We hung on in there against a top quality Samoa with no quarter given either side. Makes up for that sunday in 1991. My old ticker just about getting back to normal. NOW FIJI ?...... up it goes again !!!!!!!!!! Rugby forever
Posted 10:11 18th September 2011