Scotland vs Samoa, Rugby World Cup 2019: Five things we learned as Scotland get back on track
Scotland got their World Cup campaign back on track with a comfortable 34-0 win over Samoa.
Gregor Townsend’s side secured a bonus point victory to keep the pressure on Ireland and Japan at the top of Pool A, keeping their hopes of progressing to the quarter-finals alive.
With Finn Russell and Greig Laidlaw impressively pulling the strings, and Darcy Graham and Sean Maitland providing real potency out wide, Scotland blew away the Pacific Islanders, defending superbly to keep Samoa without a point.
And the Samoans, without suspended duo Motu Matu’u and Rey Lee-Lo, continued to struggle with their discipline – Ed Fidow twice conceded penalty tries, with the Worcester-bound wing twice yellow-carded as a result and thus given his marching orders by referee Pascal Gauzere.
Here are five things we learned:
1. Scotland were hungry
In a must-win match, Scotland wasted no time imposing themselves on Samoa. The tempo in which Scotland started the game was demonstrated through Darcy Graham’s early break down the right which took the Scots deep into Samoa territory.
Although they only had three points for the opening half-hour, the pressure eventually told and the floodgates opened with Sean Maitland’s try.
2. Variety paid dividends
Finn Russell’s performance with both ball in hand and boot to ball, was Scotland’s greatest asset against Samoa.
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Always thinking one step ahead, Russell kept the game flowing with offloads early on before opening the game up with his kicks, one of which went cross-field for Maitland to gather and dot down.
Stuart Hogg added to this with great kicking play near the break which propelled Scotland back into the Samoa half before he drove a drop goal through the posts from range.
3. Samoa not clinical enough
Samoa looked a shadow of the side which dispatched Russia 34-9 in their opening World Cup game.
Scotland gained control of the game fairly easily and kept Samoa in a stranglehold throughout the match. Against Russia, Steve Jackson’s side looked energetic and inventive but the same couldn’t be said against the Scots who dominated at the set piece and in open play.
Samoa began the second half relatively well, forcing their way into the Scottish 22 but couldn’t capitalise. They put together encouraging passing moves but handling errors haunted them throughout the game. That wasn’t solely a Samoa issue, however, as Scotland also had their fair share of dropped passes.
4. Game management was key
Although Scotland shutout Samoa, they were very disciplined in their approach. When the scoreboard wasn’t ticking over frequently in the first-half, they didn’t panic and when Samoa were down to 14 men, they didn’t lose their composure.
In the first half, Gregor Townsend’s side set camp in the Samoa’s 22 and ground their defence down, slowly but surely before changing the dynamic of their attack once the defence had settled. In the second half, their control came more from their scrums and lineouts as a tired Samoa side struggled to maintain their standards with the game going on.
5. Samoa’s ill-discipline costs them again
After Rey Lee-Lo and Motu Matu’u were handed a three-match bans for their high tackles against Russia, Samoa’s ill-discipline hurt them again against Scotland. Wing Ed Fidow saw red as the game drew to a close as he conceded his second penalty try and received second yellow card of the game.
Fidow’s first caution followed him illegally entering a try-bound maul before he attempted to knock Maitland into touch with his knees to stop him from scoring Scotland’s bonus-point try.
If Samoa are to beat either Japan or Ireland they will need to keep their discipline.
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