Right then, that’ll be me. It’s been a blast. Here’s Andy Bull’s match report, which features perhaps the finest first nine words in all history: “Before the tournament Scotland slicked their balls with shampoo”. Enjoy, and bye!
Before the tournament Scotland slicked their balls with shampoo to help them get ready for just the sort of the muggy conditions they found here in the insufferably humid Kobe Misaki Stadium. Turned out it worked. They were head and shoulders above Samoa, anyway, in game that felt, for long stretches, like watching 30 blokes fight over the last bar of soap in bathhouse. Neither side could hold on to the ball, at all, and the game was littered with handling errors, knock-ons, and turnovers.
Scotland coped far better with it than Samoa did and in the end it was an impressive victory, 34-0, with the crucial bonus-point they needed to stay in contention for the quarter-finals.
Much more here:
Steve Jackson, the Samoa coach, gives his thoughts:
Look, Scotland were very good tonight. You’ve got to give credit where credit is due and congratulations, they fully deserved their win tonight. We’re still in the pool, we’re one from two, and we’ve got two games to go. We just need to take all the emotion out of the week and understand that there’s another team in front of you. We’ll go back to the drawing board and have a look where we went wrong. But you’re only as good as the opposition let you, and we played a very good Scotland side tonight.
Gregor Townsend is chuffed:
I think we tried to build on what we did in the first half. The first half was excellent in terms of how we defended, the pressure we built through our kicking game and also the set piece. Second half we didn’t start as well but the pressure told in the end and I was really impressed with the work ethic of the team. I think we would have been disappointed if we hadn’t picked up the bonus point.
ITV clearly aren’t impressed with that pitchside interview, as they leave it with the Scotland coach still mid-flow.
Stuart McInally has a quick chat:
It was important that we had a reaction after last week. We’ve always had really tough games against Samoa so I was really happy with the performance. We played a lot of rugby in their half, and the fact we managed to get that fourth try at the end is going to be important.
Scotland have two more Pool A fixtures, against Russia on 9 October and against Japan in Yokohama on the 13th, which could well be a winner-takes-all shoot-out.
Final score: Scotland 34-0 Samoa
82 mins: It’s tapped and booted into touch, and Scotland are on the board with five points, and back in the World Cup mix!
82 mins: Scotland win a penalty, and that’s surely the end of it!
81 mins: The gong sounds, with Samoa still pushing for their first points of the match. They have the ball, five yards from the line.
79 mins: Scotland’s Jonny Gray is named player of the match. Their forwards have been excellent as a group.
79 mins: Into the final few minutes, and Samoa have a line-out on Scotland’s five-yard line. They throw it straight to Brown.
77 mins: Fraser Brown bursts through the defensive line, but his pass infield to George Horne, who would have run clear to the line, is intercepted by Nanai-Williams!
76 mins: Adam Hastings, son of Gavin, replaces Finn Russell. They are, we’re told, the first father and son to both play for Scotland at a World Cup.
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Penalty try! Scotland 34-0 Samoa
75 mins: Fidow got nowhere near the ball, he just dived over and on top of his opponent, who lost control of the ball only because he got a knee in the shoulder. That’s Fidow’s second yellow card, and that means a red! Scotland have a fourth try, they have their bonus point, and their opponents are down to 14 men
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74 mins: Scotland steal the ball on halfway, and Sean Maitland is released on the left and goes for the corner! He dives a bit early, though, and he is pushed into touch, and the ball flicked out of his hands, by the sliding Fidow before he crosses the line. Was that a genuine tackle, though?
73 mins: Ryan Wilson comes on for Magnus Bradbury, as Samoa try to kick the ball into touch and miss! It goes dead, and Scotland can kick clear.
72 mins: Samoa have the ball and are pushing in Scotland’s 22, with a penalty up their sleeve.
71 mins: Another change: Pele Cowley comes on for Melani Matavao.
70 mins: Ten minutes to go, and Samoa still have nil points. This has been an excellent defensive performance from Scotland, though Samoa could surely have kicked a couple of penalties had they not decided to seek tries instead.
66 mins: Samoa bring Josh Tyrell, briefly on the field in the first half, back on again in place of TJ Ioane.
65 mins: The crowd suddenly roar, though their excitement was prompted by a streaker rather than the rugby.
63 mins: They get the ball within a couple of feet of the line, but the ball is kicked out of their hands by a player on the ground as they dive for the try. It should be a penalty, but it’s not spotted.
61 mins: A calamitous line-out for Samoa, who go long, miss everyone and as it bounces to Magnus Bradbury they’re under pressure once again!
58 mins: Scotland bring Zander Fagerson on for Allan Dell as the hunt for a bonus point intensified.
Penalty try! Scotland 27-0 Samoa
57 mins: Ed Fidow was offside, did prevent a try, and is yellow-carded as Scotland move further ahead!
57 mins: It wasn’t touched down, but was Fidow offside there as he dived in to stop it? And if so, is it a penalty try?
57 mins: From the line-out Scotland keep the ball in the maul, push over the line and down it goes, but there are bodies everywhere and the referee has no idea if it’s a try or not.
56 mins: Scotland have had six second-half penalties. Samoa’s defensive line is standing firm, but they’re not always respecting the rules.
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55 mins: Samoa, still under pressure, bring Seilala Lam on for Niula, and Ulupano Seuteni on for Pisi, and concede another penalty deep inside their 22.
54 mins: They move the ball right, but Russell’s pass to Graham is a bit high and flies through his team-mates hands, with the line gaping!
53 mins: Samoa spin the scrum and concede a penalty for not pushing straight. Scotland take another scrum, just beyond the five-yard line.
52 mins: Scotland fumble, but Samoa concede a penalty for a dangerous tackle on Gilchrist. The Scots bring on Fraser Brown for Stuart McInally.
50 mins: Now Piula Faasalele comes on, replacing Filo Paulo. Scotland get a penalty for an offside, and they too want tries as they pursue a bonus point and thus kick to touch.
48 mins: Samoa put pressure on Scotland, but then pass the ball to space rather than to a player, and Scotland snaffle it.
48 mins: Paul Alo-Emile eplaces Michael Alaalatoa for Samoa.
47 mins: From a line-out Samoa keep the ball in the maul for a while, though they seem mainly to be moving sideways. Samoa eventually get a penalty, and though it’s kickable they need tries, so go for touch.
45 mins: Samoa bring Kieron Fonotia on for Belgium Tuatagaloa. Advance warning: I might not keep entirely on top of all second-half replacements, but I’ll do my best.
43 mins: Samoa put Scotland under pressure with a long kick that bounces awkwardly, but a high tackle allows the Scots to clear.
41 mins: And they’re away!
The players are back out and ready for more. Hold on tight...
Apart perhaps for a third try Scotland could have asked for little more from that half. Samoa haven’t had the slightest sniff, while Scotland have played intelligently and kicked brilliantly. Samoa were all over the place towards the end of the half, and have some work to do repairing their spirit ahead of half two.
Half time: Scotland 20-0 Samoa
And that’s half time! Scotland are halfway to victory and two-fourths of the way to a bonus point to boot!
45 mins: It ends with a fumble from Russell, a slip from Graham and a penalty to Samoa. Nanai-Williams kicks it straight into touch, which means they have to take the line-out before the half-time whistle goes.
44 mins: They’re still pushing...
42 mins: From the line-out they push to within inches of the line, but the ball gets stuck and the have another penalty.
41 mins: Scotland push again, and will end the half with a penalty deep, deep inside Samoa’s half. They kick to touch, and want another try before the half is done.
Drop goal! Scotland 20-0 Samoa!
39 mins: Stuart Hogg’s next kick is better still, sending the ball between the posts from a distance!
The Scots are flying!
— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) September 30, 2019
Russell again the architect, side-stepping into space. The ball ends up with Laidlaw who bounces off a couple of tackles before running in the score#RWC2019 #ITVRugby pic.twitter.com/n4EBE1Nb6D
37 mins: Scotland’s excellent first-half display from Scotland is now fully reflected on the scoreboard, and after Hogg’s excellent kick downfield and into touch, they’re putting Samoa under pressure again.
Converted! Scotland 17-0 Samoa!
36 mins: An easy job for Laidlaw!
TRY! Scotland 15-0 Samoa!
34 mins: And another one! Ritchie passes to Laidlaw who runs forward but seems to run out of space, momentum and team-mates 10 yards from the line. Happily Tim Nanai-Williams arrives and instead of tackling just pushes him towards his goal and back into space, and leaves him with an easy final sprint!
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Converted! Scotland 10-0 Samoa!
31 mins: Laidlaw makes no mistake with the conversion, and Scotland have themselves a buffer. Fidow there, an instant before the try, showing that in these conditions legs are even more slippery than balls.
TRY! Scotland 8-0 Samoa!
31 mins: A fantastic kick from Finn Russell finds Maitland on the left, and Ed Fidow can’t stop him crossing the line!
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29 mins: Scotland launch a maul that rumbles into Samoa’s 22, but just as they look about to seriously threaten Jonny Gray lets the ball slip through his hands, and it’s gone.
28 mins: Sean Maitland goes on a fine run down the right, before finally turning and passing the ball straight to Samoa’s Matavao, who promptly fumbles straight out of play.
25 mins: Samoa bludgeon their way into Scotland’s 22, but they then keep hold of the ball on the ground, and Scotland will be able to clear.
24 mins: Finn Russell fumbles now. Scotland lead 9-2 on handling errors, in horrible conditions for catching stuff.
22 mins: There is not a lot of try-threatening happening. Scotland have dominated the first quarter, but their lead is very slender.
20 mins: Scotland spend a couple of minutes with the ball, working it about and running into Samoans without ever progressing.
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18 mins: After Harris’s kick Samoa have the ball a few yards from their line. Given the way the ball is behaving, this is a perilous position, so they kick it away.
15 mins: Jamie Ritchie steals the ball as it skews out the side of a ruck, but it immediately slips out of his grasp again. The thing seems to be made of soap.
13 mins: A massive kick upfield is followed by fumbles from both Belgium Tuatagoloa and Alapati Leiua, and a Samoa scrum well inside their half. Lam returns to the fray, Tyrell going off again.
11 mins: The ball, clearly already greasy with sweat or fitted with a jack-in-the-box mechanism, pops out of Sean Maitland’s arms, leading to a Samoa penalty. It’s well inside their own half, but at least allows them to leave it.
PENALTY! Scotland 3-0 Samoa
9 mins: Laidlaw makes no mistake, and Scotland get some points on the board!
8 mins: After a great little burst from Magnus Bradbury, Scotland win the game’s first penalty, within kicking range. Greig Laidlaw is going to have a go.
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6 mins: Samoa haven’t left their half since Graham’s burst, as Scotland keep up the pressure.
4 mins: An early change is forced on Samoa: Jack Lam walks off the field looking groggy, and Josh Tyrell comes on.
3 mins: Scotland win it back and work it to the right wing, where Darcy Graham goes on a fine run, gaining 40 yards, and from there they keep pushing, working the ball over to the left and finally being held up a few yards from the line.
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2 mins: Samoa win the ball back smartly and keep it for a while, but get absolutely nowhere against the Scottish defence.
1 min: And we’re off! Samoa, in royal blue shirts and white shorts, send the ball spinning skywards and towards the Scots, in dark blue shirts and similar shorts.
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Samoa perform the Siva Tau, and kick-off is but moments away.
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The anthems have been sung, and players are already wiping sweat from their brows.
The players are on their way out of the sweetly air-conditioned dressing rooms and into the humid hot-house of the beroofed stadium.
And the chatty little tyke has had another one! The first was recorded, to be fair, and this one is live:
It’s a huge challenge given the results this week, and our game against Ireland, and Japan’s against Ireland. We have to focus on winning. We know we’ll have to pick up a bonus point at some stage, but the focus is to show the true version of who we are and get the win.
Gregor Townsend has a chat with ITV:
They can’t wait to get a chance to play better, and we have to stay together. This is one game of four games in the pool, and we have bounced back before. I believe we can play much better in our next game. We know now that we’ve got to win our next three games. It probably would have been the same even if we’d beaten Ireland but now we’ve lost and we haven’t played nearly as well as we can, the reality is in front of us: we’ve got to improve, and we’ve got to beat Samoa, and then move on to our next game.
Here’s a little pre-match reading, courtesy of Andy Bull in Kobe:
Kobe’s Misaki Stadium is looking fine tonight, but I wonder what’s being said in that there huddle.
Hello world!
On the plus side, Scotland have only ever lost one game to Samoa. On the down side, they won the last two meetings by the too-close-for-comfort scorelines of 44-38 and 36-33, and could do without the kind of pressure margins of that slender ilk would create in the closing minutes here. Because this is a match that Scotland, humbled by the Irish in their first outing of the World Cup, cannot afford to lose. Do so and one of Japan and Samoa, who meet in their next match, would certainly be out of reach and Ireland, despite their own defeat to Japan, would swiftly follow them. “We watched the Japan game, we’ve done the numbers and we know the ramifications,” says Scotland’s captain, Stuart McInally.
Gregor Townsend makes five changes to the team that lost to Ireland. “The reality is we now have to win our next three games to make it out of our pool, so the knockout stages for us begin this Monday night,” he says. This is the first do-or-die, win-or-bust game of the World Cup, and it should be a cracker. Here are the teams:
Scotland: Stuart Hogg, Darcy Graham, Chris Harris, Sam Johnson, Sean Maitland, Finn Russell, Greig Laidlaw, Blade Thomson, Jamie Ritchie, Magnus Bradbury, Jonny Gray, Grant Gilchrist, Willem Nel, Stuart McInally (capt), Allan Dell.
Replacements: Fraser Brown, Gordon Reid, Zander Fagerson, Scott Cummings, Ryan Wilson, George Horne, Adam Hastings, Duncan Taylor.
Samoa: Tim Nanai-Williams, Belgium Tuatagaloa, Alapati Leiua, Henry Taefu, Ed Fidow, Tusi Pisi, Melani Matavao, Jack Lam (capt), TJ Ioane, Chris Vui, Kane Le’aupepe, Teofilo Paulo, Michael Alaalatoa, Ray Niuia, Logovii Mulipola.
Replacements: Seilala Lam, Paul Alo-Emile, Jordan Lay, Piula Faasalele, Josh Tyrell, Pele Cowley, Ulupano Seuteni, Kieron Fonotia.
