Scotland revived their Rugby World Cup campaign with a 34-0 victory over Samoa on Monday, scoring four tries in a much-improved performance to secure a bonus point that could prove crucial in a tight Pool A.
Japan's stunning upset of Ireland on Saturday shattered the expected permutations of the pool and the Scots knew they needed to get a big win on the board after their dismal defeat to the Irish in their opener.
Winger Sean Maitland and scrumhalf Greig Laidlaw scored converted tries with Stuart Hogg landing a 40-metre drop goal in the first half, while two penalty tries after the break secured the all-important extra point.
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of Scotland vs Samoa in the Rugby World Cup.
A fantastic (extended) weekend of rugby is nearly at a close, but we've a tasty little morsel to see us off into the week, with Scotland looking to get their World Cup campaign back on track against a dangerous Samoan side in Kobe.
Scotland know they cannot afford a slip-up after Japan's stunning victory over Ireland, and simply have to win against the Pacific Islanders today.
TEAM NEWS - Scotland
Scotland have made five changes to the side beaten by Ireland, with an all-new back row named by Gregor Townsend. The Scots lost flanker Hamish Watson and Ali Price to tournament ending injuries in that defeat, and Magnus Bradbury - replacement for Watson in the 31-man squad - comes straight into the starting side.
Flying Darcy Graham is in on the wing, excitingly, while Chris Harris takes over from Duncan Taylor at outside centre.
TEAM NEWS - Samoa
Samoa's victory over Russia came at a cost, with hooker Motu Matu'u and centre Rey Lee-Lo out for the remainder of the group stages after picking up three-match bans for high tackles. Booming ball-carrier Afa Amosa will miss the rest of the tournament, too, after the number eight suffered a serious knee injury in the win.
It remains a dangerous Samoa team, however, with captain Jack Lam back into the side at the back of what is a monstrous forward pack, and Tim Nanai-Williams will provide plenty of razzle-dazzle and free-running threat from full-back.
One to watch...
Kane Le'aupepe is a rather big, rather angry man. The second row is a hulking figure in attack and defence, and has come on hugely in the last few months after rather being forced into duties at the injury-struck Hurricanes of Super Rugby. Le'aupepe filled a void for the Wellington-based side, adding some grunt and nasty to a team lacking an enforcer, and has pushed his way into this Samoan team.
That has enabled Chris Vui to shift to blindside, which gives Samoa three second-rows with ability at the lineout and in the loose. Scotland are a team lacking in collision-winners, and if Samoa are to win today then their big tacklers and big carriers will have to dominate the tight, something Le'aupepe is quite capable of doing.
A dancer named Darcy
Darcy Graham is one of the most fun young rugby players to watch at the moment. With devastating ability in the open field honed by a stint on the sevens circuit, the Edinburgh flyer has fast feet, deceptive power and real knowledge of how to manufacture space in tighter confines. His sevens stint developed his basics well and rounded his skillset, and Graham is a canny operator in defence, with the ability to pounce at the breakdown in typically quick fashion.
He's in to the side today for Tommy Seymour, with the experienced wing a casualty of that defeat to Ireland, but Graham is very much a coming force, and one coming at, of course, real speed. Watch for his fluttering flamenco footwork to cause Samoa serious trouble at some point during the course of the game.
Some head-to-head stats to set the scene!
- Scotland and Samoa have met on three previous occasions at the Rugby World Cup, with the Scots winning all three encounters.
- These teams have previously met in 11 test encounters, with Scotland winning nine and Samoa one, with the other game drawn.
- Their first meeting was at the Rugby World Cup 1991, that Scotland helped host. Scotland triumphed 28-6 at Murrayfield, with Gavin Hastings contributing 16 points.
- They last met in the 2017 Autumn Internationals, with Scotland winning 44-38 at Murrayfield. Tim Nanai Williams led the visitors with 18 points, while Finn Russell earned 13 for the hosts.
- Their last RWC meeting was at RWC 2015. In Newcastle four years ago, Greig Laidlaw posted 26 of Scotland's 36 points in that match.
- Scotland have won all 20 encounters with non-Tier 1 opposition at the Rugby World Cup and have the best track record of facing teams from a lower division.
Despite Scotland's superior record in their recent meetings, it's been a close-run affair. One to bear in mind for today, with Gregor Townsend's men no doubt vulnerable from that crushing loss at the hands of rivals Ireland.
With the roof up for this particular game, it seems like it's getting pretty toasty inside the Misaki stadium from what the reporters covering the game have been saying on Twitter. Not the case up in Osaka. I've found myself a nice seat in a British-themed, air-conditioned pub in the city centre. Proper authentic...
What's been said in the build-up to this morning's match?
Well, Gregor Townsend has insisted that the World Cup actually starts now for his Scotland side - as opposed to last weekend when they were humiliated by Ireland. Convenient, right?
"The players have responded well in training, know what is required of them and are hungry to deliver the kind of performance that keeps us in the World Cup," he said on Saturday.
"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. I firmly believe this group are ready to take on that challenge."
Some more words from Gregor Townsend ahead of kick-off.
"It is obviously motivation to play much better tonight to show a true picture of who we are," he said. "We know how tough it will be, but we believe we'll show a much better performance and that it will be enough for us to win."
Asked if Samoa's firepower is the main danger, he said: "That and the ambition they play with.
"It's sweaty conditions here tonight and so far Samoa have moved the ball from their own 22 - they did that very well against us at the last World Cup - so we've got to put their handling skills under pressure.
"When they're carrying ball, they will hit us hard. When we're carrying ball, we know they are going to hit us hard. I believe we'll see more mauls and more scrums tonight just given the conditions."
Meanwhile, Samoa coach Steve Jackson is hoping his side can follow Japan's giant-killing act by creating another World Cup shock this morning.
He said: "I take my hat off to Japan. It was great to watch and, like any other team, we were almost cheering.
"It was a fantastic atmosphere and this Rugby World Cup here in Japan has been amazing.
"We watched the game yesterday and it's fantastic, isn't it? An upset in the Rugby World Cup. Now we will focus on Scotland and, if it goes the way we hope, it'll be another upset there.
"It just goes to show that you've got to turn up on the day and play a game of 80 minutes."
Just under 10 minutes to go until kick-off as the two squads head to the changing rooms for some final words. Not long to go.
And back they come to line up for the national anthems. Almost there.
All done and dusted - time for Samoa's Siva Tau!
Okay, here we go, at last. This is going to be a big, big game of collisions. I'm expecting plenty of fireworks. Samoa to get us under way.
KICK-OFF! Tusi Pisi sends it long and deep. Here we go!
1 min: Scotland 0-0 Samoa
Greg Laidlaw finds touch from the base of the ruck, sending it 10 metres into Samoa's half. We have the first line-out of the match.
Match preview
Where can I watch it?
Live coverage will be shown on ITV and the ITV Hub online at 7:25am.
When is the match?
Scotland vs Samoa takes place on Monday 30 September at the Kobe Misaki Stdium.
What time does it start?
The match kicks off at 7:15pm Japan Standard Time, which is 11:15am BST.
Odds
- Scotland to win: 1/6
- Samoa to win: 13/2
- Draw: 50/1
Prediction
Scotland 25-20 Samoa: Scotland should deliver something of a response to last week’s shocker against Ireland, and the nine days’ rest will have helped compared to Samoa’s week-turnaround. However, results between these two sides tend to be tight, and on the grand occasion of a World Cup clash, this should be no different.
