Wales 17-10 Samoa
Matthew Rye
Deputy Sports Editor
A stoic second-half performance and a 55th test try for Shane Williams was enough to secure a first 2011 Rugby World Cup victory for Wales against Samoa in front of a sell-out crowd in Hamilton.
In a game of few chances, Williams dashed over the Samoan try line in the 68th minute following some excellent counter-attacking by substitute Leigh Halfpenny. Two penalties each from James Hook and Rhys Priestland helped get Wales over the line in a 17-10 victory against a Samoan side which kept going until the final whistle.
Tight head Samoan prop Anthony Perenise crashed over for Samoa just before half-time following over 13 phases of pressure on the Welsh line. But in the second half, the Welsh defence didn’t slack for a moment, shutting out the Pacific Islanders with disciplined aggression and displaying their superior levels of fitness in the process.
Samoa can cause some headaches to even the best of teams, purely because of the style of rugby they play and the intensity with which they play. They play on the gainline, seeking contact, and use their often superior size and speed to get to the breakdown quickly. They sustain a high tempo, and keep the ball alive.
Wales did their best to take the game to Samoa early on, keeping the ball in play for long periods, earning their just rewards. Davies and Priestland combined to break the Samoan line and secure a penalty, which Hook duly converted.
Wales did most things right in the first half. They played aggressively, running the ball at the Samoan centres, and then going wide. They did however, fail to take advantage of the strong breeze which they had at their disposal, arguably not playing for position often enough considering the calibre of touch kickers they possess and the dominance they were displaying at the set piece.
Samoa, by comparison, failed to play to their strengths, throwing the ball to ground on a few occasions, and mistiming their runs in midfield when they did have the ball for an extended period of time.
Form came sooner rather than later for Samoa, as they began to pull in the same direction 20 minutes into the match. Full Back Paul Williams slotted their first penalty after Hook failed to clear his lines adequately and got pinged for holding on by referee Alain Roland.
Wales continued to apply more pressure, and Priestland failed to extinguish his South African ghosts, missing another drop goal. It mattered little, as Hook landed his second penalty putting Wales 6-3 up.
Continuing this ebb and flow movement, it was now Samoa’s turn to press. In period of good possession, they continually shunted their way towards the line with excellent ball retention.
Openside flanker Faasavalu went close, but was penalised for double-movement, which in truth let wales off easy. Williams missed another penalty, due to another breakdown infringement, which was becmong an all-too-common theme.
Samoa received their just rewards for all their pressure at the very end of the first half. After 20 or so continuous phases of possessions, Perenise broke several challenges to crash over. Paul Williams added the extras to put Samoa 10-6 ahead at half-time.
The half-time break same James Hook replaced by Leigh Halfpenny, a straight positional swap, but a shift in tactics for Wales, as Halfpenny provides more speed and accuracy in attack. In Hook’s absence Rhys Priestland resumed the kicking duties, and did so in consummate style, landing a penalty from inside his own half four minutes into the second half.
Samoa picked up where they left off. Captain Schwalger was the pick of the Samoan forwards, and their wily veteran pairing of Lavea and Mapusua, at out-half and inside centre respectively, controlled the tempo well.
Wales missed Dan Lydiate for most of the game, who was replaced by the smash-mouth Andy Powell 20 minutes in, following an expected concussion. They missed his scavenging abilities at the breakdown for stages in the match. The Samoans were recycling the ball, too easily and too quickly. Williams missed another penalty following more Welsh breakdown indiscipline.
The Welsh defence pressed relentlessly, with Man of the Match Alun Wyn Jones and captain Sam Warburton leading the defensive line. The sheer ferocity of the tackling was enough to induce wincing and groaning from both sets of spectators.
Wales eventually start making inroads into the Samoan defence. Jamie Roberts and Halfpenny caused problems for Samoa with their pace. Priestland made his second penalty after Lavea went off his feet at the breakdown, putting Wales in front 12-10
Halfpenny made the key difference in the end. After failing to be held in the tackle, he sprinted up field, he offloaded to centre Jonathan Davies, who threw the ball the ground, only for Shane Williams to pounce on the loose ball, making it 17-10 with 10 minutes to go.
Wales then played for field position and defended stoically, closing out the game with a 17-10 win
In what was mostly a forward tussle for long periods, but nonetheless a an entertaining encounter, Treviranus, Fasaavalu and Schwalger all put in big shifts for the Samoans, and can be content with their performance and their losing bonus point.
Wales can’t be overly disappointed with the performance, considering they were forced to defend against a capable Samoan outfit, and made little mistakes, however static their attacking game may have looked at times.
Wales will be confident of their progression to the quarter finals at this stage, having competed against the two other big teams in their group, whereas Samoa will lick their lips against the upcoming encounters against rivals Fiji, and Pool leaders Springboks.
