Samoa 12 – 41 Scotland | Match Report

Scotland got off to a flying start , scoring first. Stafford McDowall’s defensive work secured Scotland a scrum inside their own 22, which then saw Jamie Dobie break down the blindside, before Reed earned Scotland a penalty which was used to set the Scots up for a lineout on the five-metre line. It was the perfect place to strike with a driving maul, which saw Ewan Ashman dot down. Fergus Burke’s conversion went wide, but Scotland were on the board.  (0-5, 7 mins). 

It wasn’t long before Scotland were adding to the tally. After several phases inside Samoa’s 22, excellent awareness from McDowall saw him chip the ball through the wall of white shirts, which was expertly gathered by Rory Hutchinson before he soared across the tryline, close to the posts. Burke added the extras with ease (0-12, 13 mins). 

Whilst Scotland had an early lead , they then entered a less settled period as errors from both teams relinquished possession, with Scotland eager to find their groove again.  

After some frantic phases, Samoa were beginning to put pressure on Scotland as they retained possession and tested Scotland’s defence. They pushed close to the try line but a knock on denied them the opportunity for their first points. 

Scotland worked their way back up the pitch and momentum began to swing back into the Scots’ favour. A magic pass from Dobie at the base of the scrum found its way out to Reed on the wing who skipped in untouched by the left corner flag for Scotland’s third try. The conversion was unsuccessful from Burke (0 – 17, 31 mins) 

As the fir-t half entered the final ten minutes, Scotland found themselves inside Samoa’s 22 with the hosts caught offside. The Scots opted for a scrum, which held firm to give the backline the perfect platform to strike, finding Kyle Steyn, who pounced for the fourth try. Burke was unable to add the extras (0-22, 36 mins). 

Scotland were forced to defend for the remainder of the half and did well to hold strong and keep Samoa out, and thanks to a huge hit from Kyle Rowe, the hosts were brought into touch to wrap the first half action. 

Half-time: Samoa 0 – 22 Scotland 

Townsend made a series of changes ahead of the restart- George Turner replaced Ewan Ashman, Nathan McBeth came into the front-row to replace Rory Sutherland, and Jamie Dobie moved to the wing to replace Kyle Steyn, with George Horne entering the fray at scrum-half. 

Samoa lost control of the ball, landing perfectly in the hands of Kyle Rowe, who quickly punted the ball up the field to start a foot race to the try line. The crowd was roaring, as they thought Rowe could get there to touch the ball down, but the defensive pressure from Samoa saw him miss by what felt like mere millimetres, leaving the hosts with a goal line drop out. 

Their efforts to exit allowed Scotland the chance to attack again, but Samoa’s defence held firm. After stringing together 16 phases of relentless attack, led by the pack, Grant Gilchrist was over for Scotland’s fifth try of the night. Burke extended Scotland’s lead with the conversion (0-29, 45 mins). 

Samoa were naturally eager to retaliate, and a break from Niko Jones took them inside Scotland’s 22. With Scotland guilty of a knock on at the breakdown, Samoa earned themselves a scrum. Scotland naturally made that hard work, and eventually turned the ball over, but Horne’s attempt to offload back inside saw the ball go straight into the hands of Benjamin Nee-Nee, who pilfered the try. The conversion was missed but Eden Park was now bouncing with energy (5-29, 50 mins). 

Scotland were next to capitalise on mistakes, earning a free kick from a scrum outside Samoa’s 22 after an early engagement. Horne took the quick tap, crashing deeper into the 22. The phases were being strung together nicely through Horne and Burke, who found Rowe on the edge of the wing, who quite literally leapt into action to score his second try of the match. Horne was unable to add the extras, with the ball bouncing from the posts (5-34, 55 mins). 

Townsend made a series of further changes to the pack, including bringing Fin Richardson on for Sutherland to make his international debut. Richardson is Scotland cap number 1236. 

After sustained pressure on Scotland’s defence, Samoa were eventually rewarded for their patience breaking into Scotland’s 22. After earning a penalty, Samoa kicked for the five-metre line. They attempted to drive over with their maul, and with Scotland guilty of collapsing it, Samoa had another penalty. This time, they played the ball out to the backline from the lineout, breaking through Scotland’s defence with Duncan Paia’aua crashing through for the try. Jacob Umaga added the extras (12-34, 63 mins) 

As the match entered the final 10 minutes, the hosts began to really test Scotland’s defence, asserted their physicality to press back into Scotland’s territory and once again, pin them on the try line. Samoa thought they were over again but were caught offside, allowing Scotland to clear their lines. 

It was clear Scotland had more to give, and they were able to capitalise on successive penalties to advance back into the hosts’ 22. A penalty earned from a scrum saw Adam Hastings kick for a lineout on the five. The pack engaged a driving maul, with Turner driving and diving across the line (12-41, 75  mins). 

The final minutes of the game were scrappy as the hosts tried to fight for more, looking to strike with another lineout inside Scotland’s 22, but the ball was deemed to have been knocked on by the officials, giving Scotland scrum for the final play of the match. Samoa couldn’t hold the weight of the scrum, gifting Scotland a penalty and ultimately concluding the match for a Scotland victory, with Horne punting the ball into the stands of Eden Park.  

Full-time: Samoa 12 – 41 Scotland 

Samoa: 15 Latrell Smiler Ah-Kiong, 14 Tuna Tuitama, 13 Duncan Paia’aua, 12 Henry Taefu, 11 Tomasi Alosio, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Melani Matavao, 8 Taleni Seu, 7 Jonah Mau’u, 5 Samuel Slade, 4 Benjamin Nee-Nee, 3 Michael Alaalatoa, 2 Pita Anae Ah-Sue, 1 Aki Seiuli.

Replacements: 16 Luteru Tolai, 17 Kaynan Siteine-Tua, 18 Marco Fepulea’i, 19 Michael Curry, 20 Niko Jones, 21 Iakopo Petelo-Mapu, 22 Connor Tupai, 23 Rodney Iona. 

Scotland: 15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Arron Reed, 10 Fergus Burke, 9 Jamie Dobie, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Rory Darge (captain), 6 Andy Onyeama-Christie, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Gregor Brown, 3 Elliot Millar Mills, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Rory Sutherland.

Replacements: 16 George Turner (on for Ashman, 40 mins), 17 Nathan McBeth (on for Sutherland, 40 mins), 18 Fin Richardson (on for Millar Mills, 56 mins), 19 Cameron Henderson (on for Gregor Brown, 56 mins), 20 Marshall Sykes (on for Dobie, 71 mins), 21 Ben Muncaster (on for Darge, 56 mins), 22 George Horne (on for Styen, 20 mins), 23 Adam Hastings (on for Burke, 61 mins).