VIDEO: Samoa runs Russia ragged
WORLD CUP REPORT: Samoa sent a strong message to their Pool A rivals when they beat Russia 34-9 in Kumagaya City on Tuesday.
The Russians held a one-point (6-5) lead at half-time, but a yellow card in the 45th minute saw Samoa take control of the contest and ran in five second-half tries.
Russia replied with a solitary drop-goal after the break.
* Did you miss any of the action? To recap all the drama, CLICK HERE!
Marauding wing Ed Fidow provided the spark in a tempestuous clash, after the Pacific islanders were reduced to 13 men in the first half – for two reckless tackles in steamy Kumagaya.
“To lose two players, go down to 13 men and we didn’t lose on the scoreboard, [I’m] really proud of the effort,” said Samoa coach Steve Jackson.
“We knew we would come out after half-time and the boys were still fresh. I’m just glad we got over the line.”
Russia coach Lyn Jones bemoaned his team’s short, four-day turnaround after his team lost 30-10 to Japan in the tournament-opener this past Friday.
“It’s very disappointing. The performance wasn’t what we expected. However, the short turnaround has affected us tactically and mentally,” said the Welshman.
“I thought we could play the same tactics as Japan, but it wasn’t going to be. We needed more time to prepare. It’s not the physical deterioration, it was the mental. We just weren’t there.”
* Continue reading below …
Samoa, World Cup quarterfinalists in 1991 and 1995, began the game pumped up after a passionate performance of their ‘siva tau’ war dance.
And they went ahead after 15 minutes when a superb pass from Tim Nanai-Williams – cousin of All Black star Sonny Bill – found Alapati Leiua to crash over for the first of his brace.
But Russia flyhalf Yury Kushnarev, making a record-extending 111th appearance for the Bears, kicked a pair of penalties to give the Bears a 6-5 half-time lead which should have been more after Samoa played almost 10 minutes with 13 men.
Centre Rey Lee-Lo was lucky to escape with just a yellow card for a high tackle on Russia captain Vasily Artemyev, before hooker Motu Matu’u followed him to the sin bin after another dangerous challenge on Artemyev.
But Russia let Samoa off the hook as they failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage.
Pisi, who at 37 became the oldest player to represent Samoa at a World Cup, had a kicking game to forget, missing four of six attempts with the boot.
However, Samoa, playing their first game of the tournament, ultimately had too much firepower for the Russians, who were blowing hard after their short recovery time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPVs7sEj4ZA
Samoan power
Scrumhalf Dwayne Polataivao failed to come out for the second half after taking a blow to the head, but the Samoans hit back though when Afaesetiti Amosa bulldozed over five minutes after the restart.
Russia’s Kirill Gotovtsev was yellow-carded for a high tackle attempting to block Amosa, who was stretchered off after twisting his knee in the process.
A superb drop-goal from Kushnarev hauled Russia back to within a point before Fidow grabbed Samoa’s second try in the 49th minute, bursting through after a clever pass from replacement hooker Ray Niuia.
The prolific Fidow extended Samoa’s lead shortly afterwards with the bonus-point try as the Russian began to wilt to make it 10 tries in nine appearances for his country.
Fortunate to still be involved in the game, Lee-Lo made up for his yellow by adding Samoa’s fifth try as the floodgates threatened to open.
Leiua added the icing on the cake just before the buzzer to give the score a slightly flattering hue.
Samoa move on face Scotland in their next game while Russia, still searching for their first-ever World Cup win, take on Ireland.
Man of the match: Several Samoans put their hands up, especially in the second half when the Russians started tiring. You can look at lock Kane Le’aupepe for his amazing workrate, as well as wings Alapati Leiua and Ed Fidow – who scored two tries each. Samoan fullback Tim Nanai-Williams was instrumental in the second-half blitz when Samoa turned a close game into a rout and he wins our award.
Moment of the match: Russian prop Kirill Gotovtsev’s yellow card was when the game was ended as a contest. He went off just as Samoa scored their second try, for a 10-6 lead. By the time he returned the scored was 24-9.
Villain: All three yellow cards had an undertone of nastiness in it – Rey Lee-Lo, in the 27th minute was indeed very fortunate it was not a red card, as was Motu Matu’u in the 30th minute. Kirill Gotovtsev was borderline red, but may still attract more attention from the citing commissioner.
The scorers
For Samoa
Tries: Leiua 2, Amosa, Fidow 2, Lee-Lo
Cons: Pisi 2
For Russia:
Pens: Kushnarev 2
DG: Kushnarev
Yellow cards: Rey Lee-Lo (Samoa, 27 – foul play, shoulder charge to the head), Motu Matu’u (Samoa, 30 – foul play, shoulder charge to the head), Kirill Gotovtsev (Russia, 45 – foul play, high tackle)
Teams
Samoa: 15 Tim Nanai-Williams, 14 Alapati Leiua, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Henry Taefu, 11 Ed Fidow, 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Dwayne Polataivao, 8 Afaesetiti Amosa, 7 Thomas Ioane, 6 Chris Vui (captain), 5 Kane Le’aupepe, 4 Teofilo Paulo, 3 Michael Alaalatoa, 2 Motu Matu’u, 1 Logovii Mulipola.
Replacements: 16 Ray Niuia, 17 Paul Alo-Emile, 18 Jordan Lay, 19 Senio Toleafoa, 20 Josh Tyrell, 21 Melani Matavao, 22 AJ Alatimu, 23 Henry Taefu.
Russia: 15 Vasily Artemyev (captain), 14 German Davydov, 13 Vladimir Ostroushko, 12 Dmitry Gerasimov, 11 Kirill Golosnitskiy, 10 Yury Kushnarev, 9 Vasily Dorofeev, 8 Nikita Vavilin, 7 Tagir Gadzhiev, 6 Vitaly Zhivatov, 5 Bogdan Fedotko, 4 Andrey Ostrikov, 3 Kirill Gotovtsev, 2 Stanislav Selskii, 1 Valery Morozov.
Replacements: 16 Evgeny Matveev, 17 Andrei Polivalov, 18 Azamat Bitiev, 19 Andrey Garbuzov, 20 Anton Sychev, 21 Dmitry Perov, 22 Ramil Gaisin, 23 Vladislav Sozonov.
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Jérôme Garcès (France), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
