Further reading
Updated tables:
Top try and points scorers:
"...We're here to create a legacy..."
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 24, 2019
.@manusamoa captain Chris Vui gives inspiring interview after his side beat Russia in their first game at RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/2eAOnRWwXx
A possible third red card: It’s worth noting that the reckless Yury Kushnarev tackle that ended Afaeseiti Amosa’s tournament in the 43rd minute was almost certainly worthy of a red card too. Romain Poite immediately went for the yellow card, without consulting his TMO to see if a harsher punishment should be forthcoming.
Full-time in Kumagaya: Russia 9-34 Samoa
Gong! It’s all over and Samoa have secured a bonus point win against a game Russia side that led the contest by 6-5 at half-time. The conversation around this entertaining games will almost certainly centre around the lucky escape of two Samoan players in the first half, who escaped with yellow cards, when perhaps they should both have got reds. Just five days into this tournament and there’s already something of a crisis with officialdom to be sorted out.
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79 min: Russia 9-34 Samoa: Alapati Leiua scores his second of the game, after amore good handling from Samoa as they work the ball out the back line. He does well to stay in touch, handing off a tackler before going off the line. Not for the first time, Samoa fail to convert but it doesn’t matter.
78 min Russia 9-29 Samoa: Stat alert: Samoa have made 466 metres from their 102 carries. Russia, by contrast, have made a comparatively paltry 242 metres from their 123.
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77 min Russia 9-29 Samoa: Evgeny Matveev is penalised for offside as Tagir Gadzhiev gets ball in hand and charges for the Samoa line. Samoa’s players celebrate the penalty that allows them to clear the danger.
74 min Russia 9-29 Samoa: A good cross-kick from replacement Russia fly-half Ramil Gaisin is knocked on. Russia win a scrum on the Samoa 22. Ushanka-hats off to them for not giving up after a torrid spell in the 20 minutes after half-time. They really want to score a try.
72 min Russia 9-29 Samoa: Russia scrum on the Samoa five-metre line. They win it but subsequently give the ball away, allowing Samoa to boot the ball to the halfway line. Several minutes’ worth of intense Russian pressure go to waste.
71 min Russia 9-29 Samoa: Citing a lack of conclusive evidence from the replays, TMO Graham Hughes tells Romain Poite he can’t advise him to overturn his decision not to award a try. Boo!!!
70 min Russia 9-29 Samoa: Russia appear to get over the Samoa line for a try, but Romain Poite awards them an attacking scrum, before sending it upstairs to the TMO. I have no idea who was at the bottom of that pile of bodies, but they did appear to ground the ball.
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69 min Russia 9-29 Samoa: Russia win a lineout about five metres from the Samoa line. They deserve a try for effort. One drive after another is repelled, while the Japanese crowd roar them on.
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68 min Russia 9-29 Samoa: Russia are just to the left of the Samoa posts, five metres from the tryline. Openside flanker Tagir Gadzhiev tries to charge for the line, but is stopped.
Try! Samoa score their fifth!
63 min Russia 9-29 Samoa: Samoa are camped in the Russia 22. They go over again, taking advantage of another overlap, as Rey Lee-Lo grounds the ball in the corner after excellent work by centre Henry Taefu. Tusi Pisi pulls his conversion attempt wide of the left post.
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60 min Russia 9-24 Samoa: Samoa have really upped their game in this second half and are now making bits of a Russia pack that were dominant in the first 40 minutes. The Russians, understandably, are getting very tired. They could have done with more than three days between their first and second matches.
58 min Russia 9-24 Samoa Samoa scrum on the Russia five-metre line. They lose it and Gaisin boots the ball clear. On the touchline, Samoa No8 and try-scorer Afaesetti Amosa has just hobbled to the bench on a pair of crutches, his entire leg mummified in a white bandage going from groin to ankle. I suspect his tournament may be over.
57 min Russia 9-24 Samoa changes from both sides. Russia change their half-backs, with Dimitry Petrov and Ramil Gaisin coming on. Russia prop Kirill Gotovtsev has returned from a spell in the sin bin that was very expensive for his team.
Try! Samoa extend their lead ...
53 min Russia 9-24 Samoa A good offload and Samoa speedily work the ball out their backs with some deft handling. Having created an overlap, Fidow takes a pass from Nanai-Williams and goes over for his second try in quick succession. Tusi Pisi scores the conversion.
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Try! Samoa extend their lead again!
50 min Russia 9-17 Samoa From a ruck, Ray Niuia takes the ball, peeloing off the back of a maul and plays a clever no-look inside pass inside for Ed Fidow to run on to before scything through the Russian defence. He scores under the posts and the extras are duly added.
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47 min Russia 9-10 Samoa: Good defence by Samoa as Russia camp on the edge of their 22. Russia reduce the deficit with a drop goal; Kushnarev bisecting the posts.
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45 min Russia 6-10 Samoa: Play is paused as Samoa try-scorer Amosa receives treatment and is put on a stretcher. He seems to have done a right number on his hamstring in scoring that try. He’s carried off and replaced by Josh Tyrell.
Try! Samoa score their second
43 min Russia 6-10 Samoa: Samoa No8 Afaeseiti Amosa charges over the line, but injures his hamstring in doing so. Russia prop Kirill Gotvotsev is sin-binned for an illegal seatbelt tackle on the No8 as he went over the line. Samoa miss the conversion.
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44 min Russia 6-5 Samoa: Henry Taefu charges towards the Russia tryline, but runs into a wall of resistance.
42 min Russia 6-5 Samoa: Russia go through the phases, nine of them, but lose possession when one of their forwards, Valery Morozov, goes off his feet in a maul. Samoa get the chance to clear their lines and make ground towards the edge of the Russia 22.
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Second half: Russia 6-5 Samoa
41 min: Play resumes and Samoa have made a substitution. Melani Matavao has replaced Dwayne Polataivao at scrum-half.
Irish rugby expert Andy McGeady tweets ....
It’s hard to disagree with him, I have to say.
We’re only at HT in #RUSvSAM but it’s already clear that there *will* be at least one citing from this game, and possibly two.
— Andy McGeady (@andymcgeady) September 24, 2019
This new and novel interpretation of a Sudden Drop In Height cannot be permitted to stand.
It would set a precedent for the sport on its highest stage.
Half-time: Russia 6-5 Samoa
An entertaining first half draws to a close as the players troop off following the half-time gong. Samoa scored the only try of the game through winger Alapati Leiua, but trail by a point after Yury Kushnarev scored two from the tee. Russia will feel they should have put more distance between themselves and their opponents, having had a two-man advantage for almost 10 minutes. Samoa, for their part, have every right to feel relieved that they didn’t lose two players to red, instead of yellow cards.
40 min Russia 6-5 Samoa While all that was going on, incidentally, Russia winger German Davydov and Samoa winger Ed Fidow were engaged in a spot of off-the-ball fisticuffs, prompting Romain Poite to have a word with both of them.
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39 min Russia 6-5 Samoa Samoa full-back Tim Nanai-Williams drops a high ball deep inside his own 22, but manages to scramble it clear. Moments later, a clearing kick from Samoa fly-half Pisi is charged down by Vladimir Ostroushko, who is unable to touch it down for the try.
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37 min Russia 6-5 Samoa Russia scrum, just inside the Samoa half. Meanwhile on the sideline, Samoa’s two miscreants are preparing to come back on to the field. His spell on the Naughty Step over, Rey Lee-Lo is first back on to the pitch.
34 min Russia 6-5 Samoa With a two-man advantage, Russia kick deep and cede possession to Samoa. They then foolishly concede a penalty near the halfway line. Samoa fly-half Tusi Pisi has the distance, but not the accuracy - he sends the ball a mite wide of the right upright.
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33 min Russia 6-5 Samoa Samoa win a lineout and are very slow to take it as they try to waste time in a bid to stop Russia capitalising on their two-man advantage. Russia scrum-half Vasily Dorofeev sends the ball high into the night sky and play resumed on the halfway line, with Samoa in possession.
32 min Russia 6-5 Samoa Ray Niuia comes off the bench for Samoa, to make up their complement of front-rowers in the absence of hooker Motu Matu’u.
Yellow card! Samoa down to 13 men ...
30 min Russia 3-5 Samoa: Citing the same mitigating circumstances as in the previous case, referee Romain Poite sends Motu Matu’u to the sin bin. He makes his way down the tunnel for a Head Injury Assessment while he’s at it.
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30 min Russia 6-5 Samoa Motu Matu’u puts in a massive hit on Russia full-back Vasily Artemyev and appears to knock himself out in the process. Matu’u caught him on the head with his shoulder and may see red for this.
Yellow card! Samoa down to 14 men ...
27 min Russia 6-5 Samoa: There’s a break in play as referee Romain Poite studies the big screen after a misjudged tackle from Samoa’s Rey Lee-Lo catches Russia full-back Vasily Artemyev on the head.
It’s a red card offence, but there are mitigating circumstances. Artemyev dipped his head into the tackle by a matter of inches and that gets the tackler off the hook, up to a point. Lee-Lo gets away with a yellow card and heads for the sin bin for 10 minutes. He’s a lucky boy.
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25 min Russia 6-5 Samoa: An excellent break down the middle from Russia scrum-half Vasily Dorofeev helps Russia win a penalty. Yury Kushnarev makes no mistake from the tee and puts his side ahead.
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22 min Russia 3-5 Samoa: Good work from Russia full-back Vasily Artemyev, who sells Alapati Leiua a dummy and makes ground down the far touchline.
19 min Russia 3-5 Samoa: Russia fly-half Yury Kushnarev responds almost immediately, getting three points on the baord from a penalty.
Try! Samoa take the lead
16 min Russia 0-5 Samoa: Samaoa No14 Alapati Leiua comes in off his wing to receive a pass and go over in the corner for the opening score of the game. It was a good try, finishing a move that saw the Samoans go through the phases. They miss the conversion.
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14 min Russia 0-0 Samoa: Russia win a penalty after forcing the Samoa scrum to disintegrate with a good drive. Kushnarev kicks for touch, but Russia lose the ensuing lineout.
12 min Russia 0-0 Samoa: Good play from Samoa, who work the ball from right wing to left, showing some good handling skills in the process. THey win themselves a lineout about 12 metres from the Russia line.
Oh dear, hooker Moyu Matuu is penalised for not throwing the ball in straight. Scrum for Russia.
10 min Russia 0-0 Samoa: There’s a break in play as Russia No7 Tagir Gadzhiev has a large wad of tissue wedged up a bleeding nostril. Russia scrum, inside their own 22. They win a penalty when Logovi Molipoli is caught pushing too soon.
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8 min Russia 0-0 Samoa: A promising Samoa assault on the Russia tryline ends in tears as Fidow fumbles a pass out the touchline after receiving a pass from Rey Lee-Lo.
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7min Russia 0-0 Samoa: Russia outside centre Vladimir Ostroushko is penalised for offside, allowing Samoa to kick for the 22. They win the ensuing lineout and start applying pressure just inside the Russia 22-metre line.
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6 min Russia 0-0 Samoa: A good start from Russia, who are dominating early doors. They cede possession to Samoa inside the Pacific Islanders’ 22, however. Scrum it down, Samoa with the put-in.
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3 min Russia 0-0 Samoa: Russia prop Valery Morozov takes what looks to be a forward pass from his outside-half Kushnarev and makes 10 metres up the centre. Soon after, winger Kiril Golosnitskiy is sent on his way down the touchline, but is bundled into touch by a good tackle from Samoa winger Ah See Tuala.
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2 min Russia 0-0 Samoa: Nanai-Williams kicks the ball downfield, as his team-mate Ed Fidow, a winger, receives treatment for an arm injury elsewhere on the field.
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Russia v Samoa is go!!!
1 min Russia 0-0 Samoa: Samoa kick off, with full-back Tim Nanai-Williams booting the ball straight down the centre. Russia, playing after a brutal three-day turnaround, win a lineout and then a penalty on their own 22. Yury Kushnarev, their fly-half, clears their lines.
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Samoa begin with the Siva Tau: Russia’s players stand in a line with their arms around each other’s shoulders as they face the traditional Samoan war dance, which is performed in reverential silence before being applauded by the capacity crowd on what we’re told is “a steamy night in Kumagaya. Kick-off is just moments away.
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Not long now: The teams march out on to the pitch, with the players of underdogs Russia wearing red shirts, red shorts and red, white and blue socks. Samoa’s troops wear blue shirts with red trim, white shorts and blue socks. They line up either side of match referee Romain Poite and his touch judges for the national anthems.
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In other Pool A news: Johnny Sexton did not train fully on Tuesday but Ireland still expect him fit to face Japan on Saturday in Shizuoka. Skills coach Richie Murphy insisted it “wouldn’t be unusual” for fly-half Sexton to sit out a training session just 48 hours after playing in a Test.
Keith Earls, Rob Kearney and Joey Carbery are all fit and available for selection against Japan, leaving Robbie Henshaw as Ireland’s only major injury concern - should Sexton shake off his thigh knock.
World Rugby speaks: World Rugby has issued an extraordinary statement criticising the performance of its referees after only eight games.
The highest-profile blunder has been Ben O’Keeffe’s failure to punish Australia wing Reece Hodge for a shoulder-led, no-arms tackle to the head of Fiji’s Peceli Yato in Sapporo on Saturday. Yato subsequently failed a head injury assessment and Hodge has since been cited.
In Friday’s tournament opener, meanwhile, Japan lock James Moore escaped sanction for a no-arms tackle. “Following the usual review of matches, the match officials team recognise that performances over the opening weekend were not consistently of the standards set by World Rugby and themselves,” the World Rugby statement read.
“But World Rugby is confident of the highest standards of officiating moving forward. Elite match officials are required to make decisions in complex, high-pressure situations and there have been initial challenges with the use of technology and team communication, which have impacted decision-making.
“These are already being addressed by the team of 23 match officials to enhance consistency. Given this proactive approach, a strong team ethic and a superb support structure, World Rugby has every confidence in the team to ensure that Rugby World Cup 2019 delivers the highest levels of accurate, clear and consistent decision-making.”
Samoa’s coach speaks: “It’s a huge opportunity for us,” said New Zealander Steve Jackson. “What is a better stage to put Samoan rugby back on the map than at a Rugby World Cup?
“We are here to make our own legacy. We want people to remember the Samoan team at this Rugby World Cup as we have done in 1991 and 1995 with those teams that have reached the quarter-final and done extremely well.
Asked about Samoa’s opponents Russia, who they meet for the first time today, Jackson had this to say. “I think they’ve got a good kicking game. They’ve got a big pack but they don’t rely on that, they rely on their set pieces that they carry hard, and they play with passion. This is not just a rugby team, this is their country and we are just the same, we play with passion and it’ll be an exciting match.”
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No pressure, Monsieur Poite ...
World Rugby says refereeing at #RWC2019 over the first weekend has not been consistently good enough. If they're going public at this early stage it suggests they're seriously unhappy...
— robert kitson (@robkitson) September 24, 2019
Stats preview: Take a look at the numbers ahead of #RUSvSAM and comment below with who you think will win this match #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/fKdjvXdEis
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 24, 2019
In other Pool A news ...
A tournament that started badly for Scotland appears to be going quickly downhill. In an ignominious 27-3 defeat at the hands of Ireland, they lost Hamish Watson to a serious, tournament-ending knee injury. It has now been revealed their scrum-half Ali Price has been ruled out for the rest of the Rugby World Cup with an ankle injury. Edinburgh’s Henry Pyrgos is packing his bags and en route to Japan to join up with Gregor Townsend’s squad. Read on ...
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Today's match officials
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistants: Jerome Garces (France), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
Samoa line-up
With Samoa flanker Jack Lam injured and unavailable, Chris Vui will lead Samoa as they begin their Rugby World Cup campaign, with eight of their starting XV making their debut in the competition. Worcester Warriors winger Ed Fidow makes his ninth appearance for Samoa, having scored eight tries in as many games for his country.
Samoa: 15-Tim Nanai-Williams, 14-Alapati Leiua, 13-Rey Lee-Lo, 12-Henry Taefu, 11-Ed Fidow, 10-Tusi Pisi, 9-Dwayne Polataivao, 8-Afaesetiti Amosa, 7-TJ Ioane, 6-Chris Vui, 5-Kane Le’aupepe, 4-Teofilo Paulo, 3-Michael Alaalatoa, 2-Motu Matu’u, 1-Logovii Mulipola
Replacements: 16-Ray Niuia, 17-Paul Alo-Emile, 18-Jordan Lay, 19-Senio Toleafoa, 20-Josh Tyrell, 21-Melani Matavao, 22-AJ Alatimu, 23-Ulupano Seuteni.
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Russia line-up
Lyn Jones will field an unchanged starting XV and bench as Russia go in search of their first ever Rugby World Cup win at the sixth time of asking. Vasily Artemyev will captain the side, hoping to add to his tally of 29 Test tries. Fly-half Yury Kushnarev makes his 111th appearance for the Bears, increasing his own caps record.
Russia: 15-Vasily Artemyev, 14-German Davydov, 13-Vladimir Ostroushko, 12-Dmitry Gerasimov, 11-Kirill Golosnitskiy, 10-Yury Kushnarev, 9-Vasily Dorofeev, 8-Nikita Vavilin, 7-Tagir Gadzhiev, 6-Vitaly Zhivatov, 5-Bogdan Fedotko, 4-Andrey Ostrikov, 3-Kirill Gotovtsev, 2-Stanislav Selskii, 1-Valery Morozov.
Replacements: 16-Evgeny Matveev, 17-Andrei Polivalov, 18-Azamat Bitiev, 19-Andrey Garbuzov, 20-Anton Sychev, 21-Dmitry Perov, 22-Ramil Gaisin, 23-Vladislav Sozonov.
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Pool A: Russia v Samoa
The Kumagaya Rugby Stadium is the venue for this Pool A match pitting Russia against Samoa. Russia got off to a losing start in the tournament opener against Japan on Friday, going down 30-10 against the hosts, while Samoa will be hoping to further riff on their pain in what is their first appearance at this particular Rugby World Cup. Kick-off is at 11.15am (BST), but stay tuned for team news and buildup in the meantime.
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