'Please sir, may I have some more?'
Scotland prop Allan Jacobsen looked ahead to Scotland’s final November Test against Samoa on Saturday and demanded “same again please” from his teammates.
The Edinburgh hero was outstanding in last weekend’s stunning triumph over world champions South Africa.
And as he prepared to win his 50th cap he insisted the born-again Scots will have to produce the same type of performance to add the scalp of fast-improving Samoa when the sides clash here at Pittodrie, the home ground of Aberdeen Football Club.
Jacobsen – better known in rugby circles as ‘Chunk’ – declared: “The main reason we beat South Africa was that we just kept knocking them down.
“And it will be the same story up at Aberdeen because the Samoans will be every bit as tough.
“They are a good team full of good players – and everyone knows how physically hard these guys are.
“We have now set a certain standard. We found that level and now we must focus on reproducing it every time.
“We fell below that standard against the All Blacks and look what happened [Scotland were thrashed 49-3 a fortnight ago at Murrayfield] – we reached it against the Boks, and again look what happened.
“We are well aware that if we want to win internationals we need to perform at that grade.”
Jacobsen also took time out to praise coach Andy Robinson and his colleagues for adopting the correct approach following the New Zealand hammering.
“Andy and his staff played a massive part in the turnaround.
“They told us the manner of defeat to the Blacks had been unacceptable – and it was.
“But they also made it clear that they still believed in us and stressed that they knew what we could achieve.”
However, Samoa centre Seilala Mapusua reckons his troops can bring Scotland crashing to earth after performing well in defeats by both Ireland (20-10) and England (26-13) this month.
“We could and should have beaten England last week – and I am confident we can get the result we want at Aberdeen,” said Mapusua, who plays his club rugby for English Premiership side London Irish.
“Twickenham was an opportunity lost and we are all very frustrated.
“We knew England were worried about us when their fans sang Sweet Chariot to drown out our war dance before the kick-off. That was a mark of respect for us and the threat we posed.
“It was the first time I had ever felt they respected us as a team.”
Samoa have never beaten Scotland in six previous matches between the countries, with their best result a 15-15 draw at Murrayfield in 1995.
However, Mapusua added: “I would say this is one of the strongest Samoan teams I’ve ever played in – if not the best.
“We’ve had great teams in the past but this is probably one of the more balanced teams.
“There are a lot more full-time professionals now and that has a huge effect on the squad.
“We have made real progress on and off the field in terms of players looking after themselves and bringing professionalism and professional attitude to the national squad.”
“We knew at the start of the tour that we had three great opportunities and it’s come to this, our last chance, and we really need to perform well but also to win for this team and for Samoan rugby to move forward.
“For us to break out of where we are at the moment we need to start winning Test matches against big teams. And I believe this could be the time for that to happen.”
AFP
