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
7ton says...
makemehappy
You just can't help it with the insults can you. If you want to move on then move on and don't bother coming back with childish insults. If you were surprised at the result then that's up to you but you just said yourself it wasn't an astonishing upset so why call posters who think it wasn't an upset "idiots". I can give you reasons why I think the result wasn't a surprise if you like but that is not my point and going back to my original post I just asked you why you had to insult people with a different view point.
You failed to answer that and just further confirmed my point.
Posted 14:02 23rd November 2012
makemehappy says...
@7ton - you linger like a bad smell. You've just used the word 'great' which suggests that you agree it was an upset too. The result was far from astonishing, but lets take into account recent results and rankings and the venue, and you struggle to make an argument that the result was going to be a likely one. Now please, lets move on!
Posted 07:39 23rd November 2012
7ton says...
Well it's your choice for yourself to move on to where ever you want but I trust you agree that those who were not surprised or thought it no great upset that Argentina beat Wales are neither illogical or stupid. In fact we may say they had good foresight and certainly are not idiots
Posted 22:32 22nd November 2012
makemehappy says...
@7ton - different views are fine, but illogical and stupid ones aren't. I think we can move on!
Posted 13:09 22nd November 2012
7ton says...
makemehappy
Ha ha and taken in humour. I read well to justify my previous comment on your insults.
You say that you are only harsh on those that criticise you when they are wrong
Go to http://www.planetrugby.co.uk/story/0,25883,3557_8239892_1,00.html#pr-comments and we can see that you criticise a load of posters simply because they said they weren't surprised that Argentina beat Wales. None of these criticised you or even referred to you yet you called them "Idiots". No humour there! Aah but I forgot anyone who has a different view is insulting you LOL.
@Sonofsamoa
You are indeed a Gentleman and make your views heard in a reasoned manner but to apologise for having done nothing really wrong just feeds this guys belief that he is always right. LOL
To get onto the rugby hopefully Wales can put in a good performance against NZ.
They are not expected to win so perhaps they will just go out with a sense of freedom and play a great game.
Good luck to Samoa as well
Enjoy the weekend
Posted 10:03 22nd November 2012
makemehappy says...
@7ton - read before commenting please. Thanks for your continued lack of argument you just don't learn do you LOL.
@Sonofsamoa - apology accepted - I'm only harsh on those who criticise me when they are wrong. Again I state - well done to Samoa, and good luck. Hopefully we will both scale the mountains this weekend!
Posted 21:09 21st November 2012
sonsofsamoa says...
@7ton
Agreed.. But I'm sure makemehappy would agree that's it's all light hearted fun and I'm assuming that deep inside we're all gentlemen in this forum..
@makemehappy
It's all tongue and cheek right.. Apologies on my behalf if I have misinterpreted your perspective.. Debating Rugby and talking anything about Rugby is what I love doing and it's awesome to know there are many out there who feel the same way.. And thank you for the good wishes.. Samoa have their Everest to climb (France) and Wales will also face the same Everest in the ABs .. always love cheering the underdogs and I can assure you I'll be rooting for the welsh this weekend!!
Posted 15:30 21st November 2012
7ton says...
makemehappy
Why is it that you feel you have to insult people who have a different view point to yours?
Calling people idiots and so on.
Posted 12:58 21st November 2012
makemehappy says...
@sonsofsamoa - making someone look a fool does not make me happy (very funny joke your's - never thought of by anyone else). What does sadden me is people ignoring comments and making ridiculous observations. At least I've pointed out your errors, and I'm glad you accept you were wrong. Time to move on to this weekend's games - good luck against France.
Posted 07:42 21st November 2012
sonsofsamoa says...
@makemehappy
I struggle to read? Why do you persist with these little cheap shots lol.. alright then "makemehappy" .. You win, "whatever makes you happy" lol
Posted 21:25 20th November 2012
makemehappy says...
@sonsofsamoa - you obviously struggle to read. I said they deserved to win it. I also stated that the ref contributed to Wales losing. Refs are human and he made errors. Please stop posting without reading first - sorry I forgot - you struggle to read!
Posted 13:04 20th November 2012
sonsofsamoa says...
@makemehappy
I don't get you? First you say Samoa were the better team then you say it was the referees fault?.. Referees are human and make mistakes.. just like Wales are human and made mistakes.. What's done is done mate Samoa already won, everyone in the world saw it and agree they deserved it.. Everyone except you..
Posted 21:32 19th November 2012
sonsofsamoa says...
MIKE104
I've always been a devout fan of Gavin Henson and always wondered what he would have fulfilled if it wasn't for his ego.. But I agree Gavin Henson still has HUGE potential if unlocked by the right people (players and coaches) and I've always seen him being more talented than both Priestland and Biggar (Priestland is overrated).. But my second choice after Henson would definitely be Hook.. Whatever the result is against the All Blacks stick with either these two and let them gel as a team..
Posted 21:28 19th November 2012
makemehappy says...
@All who haven't read my posts - I've said Samoa were the better team, so why respond as you have? Must be a lack of intelligence!
@Trader2 - why not blame the ref when he's wrong?!
Posted 13:06 19th November 2012
Manusamoa says...
Taiasina Tuifua should have been man of the match to.. He was a beast, the new hardman of the Manu Samoa
Posted 10:46 19th November 2012
MIKE104 says...
No excuses should be given for a poor performance...debate about selection is the point...we can't find a replacement for Adam jones who is vital to wales, the scrum creaked and broke...when will gatland and the other coaches realise that priestland is totally off form and Biggar can kick(only) he cannot make a decent line break and kicks out of hand poorly...I feel sorry for james hook who is a much better 10 than the two forementioned and can get a line moving, he was neglected by Johnson at the ospreys( he thought biggar was the messiah) and I'm an osprey supporter,.. they may now throw hook to the lions(all blacks) against the best team in the world and if we lose will use it as an excuse to bring in one of the other two...I would rather see Gavin Henson back in the fold he has more talent even now at 10 than the people we are currently selecting ( YES I KNOW THE GAV HATERS WILL JUMP ON THIS) Some positions just pick themselves we do not have enough top quality players to cover all positions...I WOULD LOVE TO SEE A WIN AGAINST THE BLACKS BUT JUST CANT SEE IT HAPENING LETS HOPE WE GET IT RIGHT FOR THE 6 NATIONS.
Posted 09:30 19th November 2012
Manusamoa says...
@makemehappy
cmon buddy we were the better team by far! In nearly every part of the game to.. Ref was fair enough, they are never perfect. Wales had nothing, i was actually shocked at how bad they played.
Also we are about to knock you to 9th on the IRB rankings lol
Posted 08:34 19th November 2012
Trader2 says...
makemehappy
A Welshman blaming the ref - now there's a first.
Posted 22:18 18th November 2012
tongan_pride says...
I am Tongan but you just got to love the Samoans for a gutsy effort and a brilliant performance in this match ... Come this Saturday against France, I'll be cheering for the Manu Samoans.
With all the biff between the Tongans and Samoans, I hate to say this but it is true and I want it to be true ... I wish our 'Ikale Tahi team is as good as the Manu Samoa. We have the players but they do not seem to click like the Manu Samoans do.
Posted 19:54 18th November 2012
vaizpatu2011 says...
makemehappy is deeply in pain..and I understand. So no further questions your honor.
Posted 19:24 18th November 2012