Scotland v Samoa, 10 October

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SCOTLAND V SAMOA
10 October 2015
KO: 14:30 BST
St. James' Park, Newcastle

Live on ITV

Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Touch judges: JP Doyle (England) & Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Television match official: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

A. Head to Head

9 Played 9
7 Won 1
1 Drawn 1
1 Lost 7
218 Points 122

B. Recent Form

8 June 2013
Mr Price Kings Park, Durban, South Africa
27 – 17 Samoa

23 June 2012
Apia Park, Apia
16 – 17 Scotland

27 November 2010
Pittodire, Aberdeen
19 – 16 Scotland

20 November 2005
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
18 – 11 Scotland

4 June 2004
Westpac Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand
3 – 38 Scotland

18 November 2000
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
31 – 8 Scotland

C. Teams

SCOTLAND

15 Stuart Hogg 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tommy Seymour, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw (capt); 1 Alasdair Dickinson, 2 Ross Ford, 3 Willem Nel, 4 Richie Gray, 5 Jonny Gray, 6 Ryan Wilson, 7 John Hardie, 8 David Denton.

Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Jon Welsh, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Josh Strauss, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Peter Horne, 23 Sean Lamont.

SAMOA

15 Tim Nanai-Williams, 14 Paul Perez, 13 George Pisi, 12 Rey Lee-Lo, 11 Fa'atoina Autagavaia, 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i (c); 1 Sakaria Taulafo, 2 Ma'atulimanu Leiataua, 3 Census Johnston, 4 Teofilo Paulo, 5 Kane Thompson, 6 Maurie Faasavalu, 7 Jack Lam, 8 Alafoti Faosiliva.

Replacements: 16 Motu Matu'u, 17 Viliamu Afatia, 18 Anthony Perenise, 19 Faifili Levave, 20 Vavae Tuilagi, 21 Vavao Afemai, 22 Patrick Faapale, 23 Ken Pisi.

Aussie had to defend ferociously but it's going to be a hell of a performance from us to beat them.

I thought Hogg was a real busted flush tonight and I wouldn't be unhappy with Maitland 15, with McMisser and Seymour on the wings.

InjuredYetAgain wrote:And what happened to your old user name?

Yeah I suppose they do but his attitude in general doesn't seem to be bad and my computer isn't loading the connect via facebook button or certainly wasn't earlier

George Carlin wrote:Aussie had to defend ferociously but it's going to be a hell of a performance from us to beat them.

I thought Hogg was a real busted flush tonight and I wouldn't be unhappy with Maitland 15, with McMisser and Seymour on the wings.

Maitland Seymour and Slamont for me. Its gonna be a defensive effort, and Visser doesnt fit that.

Agree with you there GC but would be tempted to include Lamont ahead of Visser. Hogg has been a bit disappointing by his own abilities but he looks like he is carrying an injury (a bit like Folau who has been far from his best)

I think we should ask that Scottish nurse with ebola to see the bigger picture do her bit and go and firmly shake hands with all the Australian players by way of congratulations. If she is really committed, she can even share bodily fluids just to make sure.

I think we've got to go with Hogg, if he had just two decent moments he's so good it could be worth 14 points, we can't throw that away against Australia, I also think Lamont's lack of pace undermines his status as a defensive rock.

InjuredYetAgain wrote:
I think we should ask that Scottish nurse with ebola to see the bigger picture do her bit and go and firmly shake hands with all the Australian players by way of congratulations. If she is really committed, she can even share bodily fluids just to make sure.

Ive read many things on this board, but this is the first thing to make me feel like im going to hell for laughing at...

Anyone else thing Hogg isn't 'right'? Cramping up relatively early, no real spark. It will be interesting to see if he is called as fit for next week.

I am just on the train back to London having been at the game. It was the proverbial game of 2 halves and you never felt that we would lose it after we started playing properly in the second half. I am perplexed though why we are so slow to get started every game.

A word about the venue though, it was fantastic and the atmosphere was probably better than any other Scotland game I have bee to other than the 1990 Grand Slam game. 5200 in the crowd with probably 5100 of them jocks.

The train I came up was totally full to the brim and over, then the whole train got off and went to watch the match.

Maybe we should play in St James Park more often, it really is a cathedral to sport and Newcastle a great city. I can't believe how cheap the beer was other than at the match!

Don't know what to make about Hogg. He seems to be going at around 70%, some nice breaks but he's not quite at his best.

I'd be tempted to go with Lamont, Seymour, Hogg and in the pack I'd start Strauss in place of Wilson. Just don't feel Cowan has the impact hitting the ruck that we'll need vs Aus.

I think we need Cowan and Hardie to at least attempt to combat Pocock and Hooper.

I'm actually starting to think we should swap Maitland and Hogg, Maitland's tackling is so much more solid

RDW_Scotland wrote:I think we need Cowan and Hardie to at least attempt to combat Pocock and Hooper.

That's quite a good call, actually. Especially from a winger.
Wilson hasn't been as bad as some have made out but two open-sides are required to counteract what is,basically, two open-sides for Oz. That might force Strauss to start, though, as neither Hardie nor Cowan are really known as good ball-carriers.

InjuredYetAgain wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:I think we need Cowan and Hardie to at least attempt to combat Pocock and Hooper.

That's quite a good call, actually. Especially from a winger.
Wilson hasn't been as bad as some have made out but two open-sides are required to counteract what is,basically, two open-sides for Oz. That might force Strauss to start, though, as neither Hardie nor Cowan are really known as good ball-carriers.

Id say Hardie was making more yards than our "dedicated" ball carriers, Denton Wilson and Strauss today.

6.Strauss
7.HardHorse
8.Cowan

20.much of a muchness, not fussed really

How long do we have to put up with crap from Matt Scott. That i was woeful today esp 1st 40. Has he ever actually tacklled anyone in his career. Feck me Aus will feckin murder us througn mid field

InjuredYetAgain wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:I think we need Cowan and Hardie to at least attempt to combat Pocock and Hooper.

That's quite a good call, actually. Especially from a winger.
Wilson hasn't been as bad as some have made out but two open-sides are required to counteract what is,basically, two open-sides for Oz. That might force Strauss to start, though, as neither Hardie nor Cowan are really known as good ball-carriers.

Eh, I think you'll find I was playing fullback today. I even scored a try!

Good to get the win today and make the quarters.

Performance wise though we were below average. Too many basic errors that pro players let alone club players should be making. How many times this World Cup have we seen dodgy passes by players that haven't gone to hand, ryan wilson was prime example tonight.
Restarts were a joke again tonight, not sure who in the coaching team covers restarts but whoever it is need sacked.
We still aren't able to retain possession well enough and giving the opposition too much ball. Think we have one of the highest tackle counts in the comp, our players will be knackered both physically and mentally if we keep that up.
Set piece went well, Dickinson had the upper hand on Johnstone. Line out went well apart from one over throw.
Breakdown was not so good, hardie was excellent but had no real help from Denton or wilson. Tackling was poor at times, quite a few missed tackles, not down to big running Samoans but due to poor tackle technique. Wilson for being a back rower who should be one of the best tacklers is prime culprit.
Hardie was our best ball carrier again, Denton just didn't seem effective and wilson lacks power. The grays were good and Richie looked back to his old self.
Backs were a bit like headless chickens at times especially in defence. Scott and Bennett both were caught out a fair few times.
As others have said as well Hogg seems to be struggling, had calf problems before and doesn't seem fully recovered.
There were positives, as I said set piece went well. Hardie was exceptional and put in a classic openside performance, was a menace at breakdown, tackled lots and carried well. The front five were solid and effective.
Laidlaw had one of his best games, swift passing, mixed it up with a few snipes and was smart with the way he was deliberately running into offside Samoans to get the penalty.
Seymour was very good and saved us a few times in defence and took his try well.
Maitland looked hungry and worked hard in attack and defence.
Main areas to work on are restarts, breakdown and passing while running at speed.

Yes, Scott seemed to go missing for some of these scores and was badly out of position for at least one of them.

I need to see the match numbers but Wilson was so godawful, that I would have no problem with:

4. Gray
5. Gray
6. Cowan
7. Hardie
8. Denton

19. Swinson
20. Strauss

I thought that Swinson looked busy when he came on.

George Carlin wrote:Yes, Scott seemed to go missing for some of these scores and was badly out of position for at least one of them.

I need to see the match numbers but Wilson was so godawful, that I would have no problem with:

4. Gray
5. Gray
6. Cowan
7. Hardie
8. Denton

19. Swinson
20. Strauss

I thought that Swinson looked busy when he came on.

That's the back row I'd go with for the Australia game.
Cowan is heavier and more powerful tan wilson so gain there. He is a workhorse and always has a high tackle rate and certainly would help hardie at the breakdown.

Agreed on Swinson, carried well and made yards. He is shorter than most locks which can be a problem at set piece but it's a positive in open play as he is more mobile and harder to tackle.

21st Century Schizoid Man wrote:How long do we have to put up with crap from Matt Scott.  That i was woeful today esp 1st 40.   Has he ever actually tacklled anyone in his career.    Feck me Aus will feckin murder us througn mid field

Try English Schittferbrains. Your new name is the most apt I have ever heard of

RDW_Scotland wrote:I think we need Cowan and Hardie to at least attempt to combat Pocock and Hooper.

I have a feeling Pocock might not play the next game or 2.

Cambo wrote:

21st Century Schizoid Man wrote:How long do we have to put up with crap from Matt Scott.  That i was woeful today esp 1st 40.   Has he ever actually tacklled anyone in his career.    Feck me Aus will feckin murder us througn mid field

Try English Schittferbrains. Your new name is the most apt I have ever heard of

Excellent song though.

Cambo, dude. You off the amyl nitrate ? Well done. Next you will be back in the community. Good to hear from you, but how did the op. go ?

21st Century Schizoid Man wrote:Cambo, dude.   You off the amyl nitrate ?  Well done.   Next you will be back in the community.   Good to hear from you, but how did the op. go ?

The op went well thanks for asking. I now no longer hate everything Edinburgh when supporting the national team and feel we are better and indeed, stronger together joining as one nation rather than spitting bile at each other . Banter apart, If you are singling out any of our players, like Matt Scott, Hogg was a bit poo-again. I am sure you will agree he is a bit Peter Hornish at times.

Great game Scotland...things look bright for you guys

Cambo wrote:

21st Century Schizoid Man wrote:Cambo, dude.   You off the amyl nitrate ?  Well done.   Next you will be back in the community.   Good to hear from you, but how did the op. go ?

The op went well thanks for asking. I now no longer hate everything Edinburgh when supporting the national team and feel we are better and indeed, stronger together joining as one nation rather than spitting bile at each other . Banter apart, If you are singling out any of our players, like Matt Scott, Hogg was a bit poo-again. I am sure you will agree he is a bit Peter Hornish at times.

Gents - Scotland have just qualified for the Quarter Finals. Peace and love eh?

RDW_Scotland wrote:

Cambo wrote:

21st Century Schizoid Man wrote:Cambo, dude.   You off the amyl nitrate ?  Well done.   Next you will be back in the community.   Good to hear from you, but how did the op. go ?

The op went well thanks for asking. I now no longer hate everything Edinburgh when supporting the national team and feel we are better and indeed, stronger together joining as one nation rather than
spitting bile at each other . Banter apart, If you are singling out any of our players, like Matt Scott, Hogg was a bit poo-again. I am sure you will agree he is a bit Peter Hornish at times.

Gents - Scotland have just qualified for the Quarter Finals. Peace and love eh?

Too right RDW this English man is ecstatic for you...your guys dug deep and stood up

Well what a day. Blown away by St James Park! Stunning venue once the feeling of vertigo had subsided...
Also damn the locals are friendly

As for the game, what an ordeal. Restarts, bloody restarts & general headless chicken moments couple with movements of soaring joy. Gaun yersel Frodo!!!

On current form we'll get butchered by OZ, but heh we're there. One off games, anything can happen etc...
Although let's be honest we didn't want Wales.
7 straight losses in a row V 2 wins from 3 against the Wannabies.

He'll Glove I'm sure everyone said Scotland had no chance at Bannockburn... you could just catch them

Was at tigers match, so only caught the score of this on the car radio and a brief match report. They suggested it was possibly the most entertaining match of the tournament so far - but perhaps due to non existent defending. Fair summary?

It's not unfair to suggest that perhaps tackling seemed at time...A choice

LondonTiger wrote:Was at tigers match, so only caught the score of this on the car radio and a brief match report. They suggested it was possibly the most entertaining match of the tournament so far - but perhaps due to non existent defending. Fair summary?

Yes Tiger. Before this game our tackle completed percentage was 92%. Christ alone knows what it is now. For a neutral, it must have been incredible to watch.

But it's the single biggest thing we need to work on this week.

It's also worth mentioning we also seem to have come out the game injury free.

I'm pretty sure the Scottish defence was hoping to man up on Samoa 2-3 passes wide each phase but Samoa seemed to get the ball around the 'sweet tackle spot' and then take advantage of the space. Instant scramble defence, Samoa full throttle, it looked bananas on TV! I wanted to be at the game to understand what was actually happening.

That 1st half Scotland allowed Samoa possession in Scotlands half from yet again, the bloody restarts!!! How do they keep screwing it up? Every bloody game. High balls, restarts, lineouts (admittedly improved). Its beyond a joke now, why are restarts so hard for Scotland?

2nd half, still a lot of errors but you could see the effect certain players are having on the team. Hardie putting huge hits in, Maitland making good runs, Nel getting stuck in. Little things but it seemed to keep Scotland's spirits high and their minds focused. In the past you could see the players deflating in front of you at times. Much more spirit and belief there now which is great!

I would say Scotland are very similar to France, I am really enjoying their style of rugby. So glad Cotter is sticking around after the WC because I really can see this team improving further. Average age, 26.5 I heard a commentator say.

We all know next week if Scotland make mistakes they're buggered, but I think they have the players to win it if they can reduce the errors and take their chances.

Check out this photo, Note - Vern/Nathan Hines at the back.

If you have a few hours spare I suggest going to the rugby union subreddit and peruse the comments. A lot are aimed at "Scotland's cheating", how the ref was in the Scottish payroll, and my personal favourite, that Scotland cheated by kicking the ball out after 80 minutes.

Is this what is feels like when you are not the underdog. It's a strange feeling for a Scottish rugby supporter.

Well I missed most of the first half yesterday (some idiot at the SRU thought it was a good idea to schedule a full round of fixtures in my league at the same time as this game) so gonna watch it now.

I suspect it will be more enjoyable than watching it live yesterday!

At least you know the outcome, RDW. Imagine watching it and NOT knowing how it was going to finish!!
Are you serious about the timing of your game? I thought the SRU had agreed at the AGM not to have clashes between national and club games? I would also have thought that both sides would have had players away in Newcastle which is another reason to cancel it

InjuredYetAgain wrote:At least you know the outcome, RDW. Imagine watching it and NOT knowing how it was going to finish!!
Are you serious about the timing of your game? I thought the SRU had agreed at the AGM not to have clashes between national and club games? I would also have thought that both sides would have had players away in Newcastle which is another reason to cancel it

Exactly - it was a 2nd XV game but out of the entire club we only had 17 players available, including four 18 years olds.

It was brought back to half 12 but by the time the game finished and had showers I made it into the club house just as the game kicked off.

Farcical really - we were one of the only leagues in Scotland that had games!

That was the worst refereeing performance I have ever seen. Peyper needs put onto a plane back to SA immediately. The constant high tackling by Samoa was an utter disgrace and appears to be allowed within the laws according to the abysmal Peyper. I take it this moron knows what warnings actually are -or are they of the super-secret variety. He most likely had some sort of breakdown in the second 40 - he warned their 4 lock in the first 40 and then a further 3 times in the second 40.

Starting 15:-

Good - Hardie, Laidlaw, Seymour, Gray, Gray, Ford,

Schieze - the rest

Just finished the first half, and other than our tackling and restarts (which have been God awful) we have been pretty good in other areas of play - scrum, lineout and s
mauls. Hardie, the Grays and Laidlaw have been very good too. I can see why we did well in the 2nd half, because they hardly had the ball and we did.

On the topic of restarts, here's a summary of all of them in the 1st half

First restart - lost
2nd - lost, try
3rd - lost, try
4th - gathered and cleared (not cleanly), try Samoa a few phases later
5th - gathered, ran out into touch on halfway after a mini break
6th - gathered, good clearing kick to touch

Also, I think yellow was fair for Wilson - it was reckless and very lucky he didn't hit the head, but the fact it didn't hit the head means it us a yellow.

It's not ideal that an act of foul play followed up by a retaliatory act of foul play means that the original offense is forgotten about. Laidlaw was pleading with the ref to warn them against holding players off the ball and he did nothing about it.

So he got away with it and even got a player yellow carded!

RDW_Scotland wrote:Just finished the first half, and other than our tackling and restarts (which have been God awful) we have been pretty good in other areas of play - scrum, lineout and s
mauls. Hardie, the Grays and Laidlaw have been very good too. I can see why we did well in the 2nd half, because they hardly had the ball and we did.

On the topic of restarts, here's a summary of all of them in the 1st half

First restart - lost
2nd - lost, try
3rd - lost, try
4th - gathered and cleared (not cleanly), try Samoa a few phases later
5th - gathered, ran out into touch on halfway after a mini break
6th - gathered, good clearing kick to touch

Even though our restarts were abysmal and tackling seemed optional I have to agree with RDW. Before the tournament we were Poopie ourselves at the thought of the Samoan scrum, but we had the upper hand yesterday. Also not only did our mauls work well yesterday, our maul defence seems to be coming together. Which made a nice change.

I genuinely hope that Wilson gets cited, so that Cowan and Hardie have to play left-right against the Wallabies.

What an idiot. He's not in a kebab shop now. What really pulls my plonker is that he literally had no idea where he was stamping. He knew it was an opposing player, though, which is why he didn't look round. If the dude had moved and Wilson had stood on his face instead of his shoulder, that card would have been red and we would have been fecked. You cannot have reckless players in the high pressure games.

George Carlin wrote:I genuinely hope that Wilson gets cited, so that Cowan and Hardie have to play left-right against the Wallabies.

What an idiot. He's not in a kebab shop now. What really pulls my plonker is that he literally had no idea where he was stamping. He knew it was an opposing player, though, which is why he didn't look round. If the dude had moved and Wilson had stood on his face instead of his shoulder, that card would have been red and we would have been fecked. You cannot have reckless players in the high pressure games.

Whilst I agree with what you're saying, the fact that he didn't connect with the head will probably save him.

That was entirely down to luck though!

Samoa have been so disappointing this tournament and this is by far the worst team they have ever put forward in a tournament. Totally gutless against Japan and South Africa, just totally disinterested. They only gave it a go against Scotland because they were stupid enough to play them in a loose game which is basically the worst thing you can do against Fiji and Samoa.

I haven't been impressed with Scotland either in this tournament, they have a team who make countless mistakes and have been lucky that South Africa have under performed to a level we have never seen before in their history. It's either a case of all the teams in this pool have brought out the worst in each other or all of these teams are just really poor. The only team that has been striving to be better is Japan.

Just finished the 2nd half, and in the cold light of day I think Scotland were the better team over the whole 80 minutes and probably deserved the win taking the full game into account.

In the 2nd half Samoa were hardly in it until their late try - that was the only time in the half that they even made it into our 22.

This isn't trying to downplay their performance too much - they were superb in that first half and ripped us to shreds at times, but they also struggled in the mauls and scrums and gave away a lot of penalties. If they had carried on that performance in the 2nd half they would have beaten us easily, but they didn't.

On the point of Samoan penalties - I'm still staggered that they didn't get a yellow. They gave away 20 penalties in total - 12 alone in the 2nd half compared to our 3. They were given a 'final' final warning on 70 minutes and gave away a a penalty straight in front of the posts a minute later - still no yellow.

But anyway, we won and that's the main thing. If we can put in our 2nd half performance over a whole 80 minutes we'll be some team!

Shifty wrote:Samoa have been so disappointing this tournament and this is by far the worst team they have ever put forward in a tournament.  Totally gutless against Japan and South Africa, just totally disinterested.  They only gave it a go against Scotland because they were stupid enough to play them in a loose game which is basically the worst thing you can do against Fiji and Samoa.

I haven't been impressed with Scotland either in this tournament, they have a team who make countless mistakes and have been lucky that South Africa have under performed to a level we have never seen before in their history.  It's either a case of all the teams in this pool have brought out the worst in each other or all of these teams are just really poor.  The only team that has been striving to be better is Japan.  

I think you're being a bit harsh on Scotland. Without bringing up the whole debate again, given that we were 3rd seeds, failed to get out our group at the last world cup, have only won 3 six nations games since the last world cup (collecting 3 wooden spoons) and only got our coach last summer, I'd say all Scottish fans would have been delighted with this outcome pre-world cup.

Our first half performances have been poor, but two 5 try victories over the lower ranked teams, a poor performance against SA then showing great heart and determination to overcome Samoa playing their best game of the tournament isn't too bad.

I also can't see how Scotland have benefited from SA underperforming against Japan? Given that we lost to them and finished behind them in the group, all it did was make Japan even more determined to beat us! That comment is nonsense IMO.

I really can't stress enough how bad Scotland have been since the last world cup and how much our fans have had to suffer. I'm absolutely delighted we made it to the quarters and I think it is a significant achievement.

21st Century Schizoid Man wrote:That was the worst refereeing performance I have ever seen.  Peyper needs put onto a plane back to SA immediately.    The constant high tackling by Samoa was an utter disgrace and appears to be allowed within the laws according to the abysmal Peyper.    I take it this moron knows what warnings actually are -or are they of the super-secret variety.       He most likely had some sort of breakdown in the second 40 - he warned their 4 lock in the first 40 and then a further 3 times in the second 40.  

Starting 15:-

Good - Hardie, Laidlaw, Seymour, Gray, Gray, Ford,

Schieze - the rest

Think you're underestimating the contribution of Dickinson and Nel, to my mind Nel has made a tremendous difference to our scrum since coming in to the team, we're no longer giving away endless scrum penalties as was often the case before, and he gets about the pitch more than many others in the team. Looks absolutely comfortable in international rugby.

Agreed on Nel - now he's found his feet at this level he looks perfectly at home.

His pick and goes near the line are outstanding too!

George Carlin wrote:I genuinely hope that Wilson gets cited, so that Cowan and Hardie have to play left-right against the Wallabies.

What an idiot. He's not in a kebab shop now. What really pulls my plonker is that he literally had no idea where he was stamping. He knew it was an opposing player, though, which is why he didn't look round. If the dude had moved and Wilson had stood on his face instead of his shoulder, that card would have been red and we would have been fecked. You cannot have reckless players in the high pressure games.

Agreed, and Wilson has been poor in each and every Scotland game he's played. He has never played well. I genuinely am lost to come up with a reason for his preferred status over Cowan, Harley and Strauss.

St James Park was wonderful, as was the Bridge Tavern (thanks for the recommendation Mr Bru - the meat platter was life changing).

Same team for the next game except with Wilson dropped for Cowan.