Day 10 saw Hamilton host one of the World Cup's most evocative fixtures as Wales met the team who had embarrassed them in the past. The shockwaves caused by yesterday's epic Irish victory over Australia were still being felt. Samoa missed Pisi at fly half but Wales were at full strength, and the Samoans started badly as a kick-off straight into touch followed by a penalty conceded at the half-way scrum saw Warburton call on Hook to kick for the posts.; he just missed (no need for recourse to the TMO on this one). Samoa almost broke the deadlock as Stowers drove for the line after Wales lost a scrum against the head, but turnover ball saw Shane Williams clear to his namesake Paul, who looked as hesitant as anything and almost made a right mess on his own 22, only to be let off the hook by a Welsh knock on.
Lydiate was replaced by Powell, who eschewed his favoured mode of transport (the golf cart) to enter the field running, on 10 minutes, a blow for Wales as the back row had performed so well against South Africa, but in Powell, on his day, they have a top class replacement. Almost immediately a penalty, conceded for a high tackle, saw Hook give Wales the lead 3-0 from an unmissable position.
Wales looked confident with ball in hand, and only a forward pass stopped Jamie Roberts going over. If Wales looked good with ball in hand though, Samoa looked likely to cause turnovers as they competed at every ruck and maul with great awareness. So it was that the sides continued to neutralise each other as the half approached its midpoint, when a midfield obstruction, followed by a quick tap from Samoa which resulted in another 10 metres conceded by the Welsh, saw Williams line up and succeed with an equalising kick.
More good Welsh handling saw Priestland take the drop goal option next, and while his attempt was closer than the last minute one against South Africa, it was still wide meaning Samoa stayed on terms, but not for long, as yet another scrum penalty (Samoa were looking like Australia yesterday in this respect) saw another unmissable position for Hook, who made no mistake and saw Wales edge out to a 6-3 lead. Faasavalu was at the centre of much of the good Samoan forward work, and they picked at the base and kept the ball close as they closed on the Welsh line, only for the aforementioned Faasavalu to cross the line in a double movement and concede a penalty as they looked like taking a lead. Wales cleared, but had their line-out win turned over and ultimately Philipps held on and conceded a kickable penalty. Williams, whose surname would obviously seem to denote some Welsh heritage, though his father was an All Black, pulled the kick badly though and Wales maintained the lead.
Samoa hadn't really had the opportunity to use their wing weapons thus far, preferring to, or more accurately having to, keep the ball tight. The longer they stayed close to the Welsh, the more tense you would think the Welsh would become. Errors were starting to creep in on both sides, with breakdown penalties being the order of the day, first one way then the other. A break by Williams, the Samoan one, saw pressure build in the Welsh 22 once more as Samoa battered the Welsh line for the the third time in the half. A score would not have been undeserved, but Welsh defence was strong both around the maul and in midfield, but on about the 12th phase, the ball was worked left and Perenise eventually went over. Williams converted with the last kick of the half. Half-Time Wales 6 Samoa 10
For the second consecutive game in this World Cup, the buzz and expectation of a shock went round the ground as the teams rested for ten minutes. In the UK we were treated to former captain Gareth 'Alfie' Thomas and his take on smart casual, or should that be casual smart? Thomas has looked like he has got dressed in the dark on occasions, and the studio chatter was based around how the Welsh could turn this around, as make no mistake, Samoa were well worth their lead.
The stats were trawled out: Wales have never started a World Cup with 2 defeats; Wales have never lost three World Cup games in a row. Halfpenny entered the fray at half time for Hook, and Samoa conceded a penalty straight away giving the new kicker Priestland a chance to kick for goal, and aided by a bounce of the crossbar, he brought the Welsh early cheer and closed the gap to a single point.
It was a different Wales in the early stages, as they played with pace and with heads up, and no doubt with the words of coach Gatland ringing in their ears, though their indiscipline remained from the first half. The added pace of Wales contrasted well with the Samoan power game offering a difference of style that the rugby purist would enjoy. Faasavalu was certainly not being outshone by the more vaunted Warburton and he once more forced the Welsh to go over the top at the breakdown, giving Williams another shot. He is not a kicker who inspires great confidence as he goes through his preparations, being a little hit and miss. This time, it was miss and the score stayed at 10-9.
Samoa churned once more into the Welsh 22, but this time slightly more loosely throwing the ball wide, and a turnover allowed Priestland to send a raking kick long into the Samoan half, and almost saw Davies take maximum advantage, only for the ball to roll into touch. A real arm-wrestle was developing as neither side was giving an inch. Halfpenny certainly gave Wales pace and direction, but he and Roberts were the only sparks and Gatland made more changes in the hope of gaining an edge. It was nice to see Gethin Jenkins back on the field after years of injury difficulties.
Samoa were struggling to gain the impetus they had in the first half and indeed conceded a penalty on the edge of their own 22, which Priestland successfully converted to make the score 12-10. Having regained the lead, Halfpenny broke yet again, fed Davies and try as he might to mess it up his "pass" bounced fortunately into the hands of Shane Williams and he went over in the corner. Priestland couldn't convert though which meant Samoa stayed within a converted try at 17-10.
Davies kicked directly to touch from the restart, meaning a Samoan line-out in a very dangerous position. Samoa seemed to be tiring though and a poor throw was snaffled by Charteris. Wales seemed content to play the territory game now, and Priestland and even Roberts used kicks to push Samoa back. Samoa refused to budge though, and Welsh indiscipline resurfaced, with 2 quick penalties seeing Samoa put the ball in the corner for a 5m line-out. The pick and go tactics had worked once and failed twice in the first half, and on this 4th occasion it failed as Wales turned it over crucially. They still had to survive a huge scrum 5 metres out. Down it went, and Rolland looked to me as if he was ready to penalise Wales, but he settled for a reset and eventually gave a free-kick to Wales as Samoa pushed early (early push or delayed put in, 6 of one, half a dozen of the other).
Samoa had 2 minutes to score a converted try to draw the game and try as they might, they were penalised for not releasing, allowing Priestland to find touch deep in the Samoan half, and extinguishing any hope they had of salvaging more than the losing bonus point they had .
Full Time Wales 17 Samoa 10
Credit where it's due and Gatland made a big change at half time, replacing Hook with Halfpenny; OK it was enforced, but he could have used Scott Williams instead. But Halfpenny it was who added pace and penetration in the second half and effectively turned the game. Wales won the 2nd half 11-0, and while Samoa tired, they really missed Tusi Pisi, whose composure and kicking was never really replaced, Williams missing points and the replacement fly half being so anonymous that I can't recall seeing him do anything of note in 80 minutes.
You couldn't begrudge the Welsh a victory in a tight game after their loss against the World Champions in the opening game of the Pool, and with Fiji being derailed in their game against South Africa, you would think this puts Wales in pole position for 2nd place in the Pool, despite being behind Samoa, as while both sides play Fiji, Wales face Namibia and Samoa play South Africa in the other game. This means a probable (how can you say that word at the moment given yesterday's result?) Celtic Quarter Final against the Irish, and maybe even a semi final against England or France, while Samoa's second half blank probably means they will be heading the short distance home after the group stages.
No comments:
Post a Comment