Preview: Samoa v Scotland

"It is the qualifying game," he said with a capital "THE".

For all that's gone before for Scotland – opening wins against Japan and the United States before a slip against South Africa – it comes down to their final pool game to determine if they will make the quarterfinals.

Samoa are out of the reckoning with only one win so far, against the United States, but they do have a burning desire to finish on a high, and they did beat Scotland 27-17 the last time they met two years ago.

"This probably rounds the whole thing up. We've got 80 minutes to put in a very, very good performance," Cotter said.

"We need to perform in certain areas perhaps better than we have done. It's a great challenge for these guys."

Scotland's biggest problem has been their slowness to warm into the pace of the game.

Against the United States they trailed 6-13 at half-time before winning 39-16. Against Japan they held a slender 12-10 lead after 46 minutes before putting the hammer down and winning 45-10.

There was no comeback against South Africa when they were quickly down 3-20 and eventually lost 16-34, and Cotter said they could not afford to let that happen again.

If they beat Samoa they are into the play-offs as the second qualifier behind the Springboks, if they lose they open the way for Japan to overtake them if they beat the United States on Sunday.

The good news for Scotland was the return of their injured trio John Hardie, Finn Russell and Sean Maitland who will take the field among seven changes from the side that fell to South Africa.

Hardie's dynamism off the side of the scrum has been missed but he said he was not prepared to rush back after suffering a head knock in the opening game.

"I've got a mate, [one-Test All Black] Ben Afeaki who ended up retiring because of a head knock and, with World Rugby, it's such a careful thing now. You only get one head," he said.

Against a Samoa side looking to finish on a high, captain Greig Laidlaw said it was imperative Scotland did not fall behind at the start.

"It's just concentration so there's no dead time in the game. There will be times they will get their tails up. We have to defend well and take the sting out of them," Laidlaw said.

"As players we're desperate to win this because we want to be in the quarterfinals of the World Cup."

Samoa in turn warned Scotland to take nothing for granted.

The showdown at St James' Park will be the first time they have met since Samoa beat them in Durban 27-17 two years ago.

It's the only time Samoa have beaten Scotland in nine attempts which includes a 15-all draw in 1995.

Samoa coach Stephen Betham has made seven changes from the side beaten 26-5 by Japan last weekend with captain Ofisa Treviranus a notable omission.

Scrumhalf Kahn Fotuali'i, who takes over the captaincy, warmed immediately to the leadership role firing a shot straight across the Scottish bows.

Samoa may have no chance of qualifying but it did not mean they would be pushovers he said.

"Look at England," Fotuali'i said.

"A lot of people assumed they were going to make it through, just because they were the host nation and playing well," he said, adding Samoa had a lot of motivation even though the quarterfinals were out of reach.

"Getting a bit of pride back in our performance. We haven't played to the best of our ability this group were capable of, but we haven't really fired a shot," he said.

"We've got a chance this weekend to say we are a good enough side."

The Samoan coach, Betham, said the islanders would not be making it easy even without their regular skipper, Treviranus, who has been ruled out of the match and Alesana Tuilagi who has been suspended for a week.

The islanders believed they have not lived up to expectations and Scotland offer a last chance to show how good they can be.

"At the moment we have a country that's feeling a bit sad, and not just that, we have a lot of talent but haven't shown it all tournament," Betham said.

Players to watch:

For Samoa: You don't have to look much further than fullback Tim Nanai-Williams for excitement, while left wing Fa'atoina Autagavaia have some very big boots to fill in the absence of the suspended Alesana Tuilagi. Jack Lam is the loose forward that will be key at the breakdown, while lock Kane Thompson will be looking to get some vital line-out possession.

For Scotland: The key for the Scots is what halfbacks Finn Russell (No.10) and Greig Laidlaw (No.9) do with the possession their forwards give them. There's talent on their outside, but they are the generals that will direct play. John Hardie and the Gray brothers, Jonny and Richie, also have important roles to play.

Head to head: For Samoa the set pieces are important, as without quality possession their reliance on scraps of turnover ball may again see them end up on the losing end of the scale. While it will be exciting to see how fullbacks Tim Nanai-Williams (Samoa) and Stuart Hogg (Scotland) do, the real battles will be up front. The scrums, in particular, could be interesting – Census Johnston, Ma'atulimanu Leiataua and Sakari Taulafo (Samoa) against Willem Nel, Ross Ford and Alasdair Dickinson (Scotland).

Recent results:

2013: Samoa won 27-17, Durban

2012: Scotland won 17-16, Apia

2010: Scotland won 19-16, Aberdeen

2005: Scotland won 18-11, Edinburgh

2004: Scotland won 38-3, Wellington

2000: Scotland won 31-8, Edinburgh

1999: Scotland won 35-20, Edinburgh (World Cup quarterfinal plat-off match)

1995: Scotland and Samoa drew 15-all, Edinburgh

1991: Scotland won 28-6, Edinburgh (World Cup quarterfinal)

Prediction: No doubt Scotland will go into the match as favourites. However, there is always a chance of an upset – just look at what Japan did to South Africa. However, we feel Scotland will be driven by their desire to reach the play-offs and win by about eight points.

Teams:

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 (captain), 8 Alafoti Fa'osiliva, 7 Jack Lam, 6 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 5 Kane Thompson, 4 Teofilo Paulo, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Ma'atulimanu Leiataua, 1 Sakari Taulafo.     

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.

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

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. 

Date: Saturday, October 10

Venue: St James' Park, Newcastle

Kick-off: 14.30 (13.30 GMT; 03.30 Sunday, October 11, Samoan time)

Expected weather: It will be a mainly dry day with sunny spells and variable cloud. The odd light, isolated shower is possible. High of 13°C and a low of 10°C

Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)

Assistant referees: JP Doyle (England), Marius Mitrea (Italy)

TMO: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Agence France-Presse & @rugby365com