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Samoa have powered to a shock win over World Cup hosts Wales with a five-try spree at the Millennium Stadium. Emotional scenes greeted their well-deserved victory - which means that Samoa will now qualify for the knockout round - and it came despite Welsh fly-half Neil Jenkins' new world record for Test points. The Pacific islanders' triumphed in this scorching encounter through a mixture of aggressive defence and the ability to ruthlessly convert their limited chances.
By comparison, Wales squandered a massive ascendancy in the forwards
and came second in the thunderously physical midfield encounter between
Scott Gibbs and Va'aiga Tuigamala. Samoan fly-half Stephen Bachop had a
towering match, scoring two tries, while the omnipresent number eight Pat
Lam did much to stifle the Welsh attack and turn the ball over in the loose.
Fullback Silao Leaega was also impressive, scoring a superb try and
kicking like a dream for a personal haul of 18 points. The result left
the capacity crowd in near silence at the close of the game - except for
a few singing Samoans - as it brought to an end Wales' 10-game unbeaten
run and revisited the humiliation of losing 16-13 to Western Samoa in the
1991 World Cup.
Silao Leaega opened the scoring with a penalty on two minutes, before Jenkins had his first opportunity to overhaul Michael Lynagh's 911 point record. But he duffed it, hitting the post. Both sides were denied early counter-attacking tries - Wales' Dafydd James by running into the post - before the home side made their superiority in the forwards count. Referee Ed Morrison awarded a penalty try as the Pacific islanders' front-row crumbled and they collapsed the scrum in front of their posts.
Jenkins slotted the conversion - finally breaking the world mark for Test points - to mammoth cheers from the packed stadium.
Another Welsh raid down the right on 18 minutes, put winger Gareth Thomas into the tightest of gaps, but he exploited it superbly, scoring with a spectacular full-length aerial dive right on the corner flag. Jenkins missed the conversion. But Samoa refused to take it lying down and pushed Wales back onto their own line with a tumbling Bachop kick. The ball was tipped over the top at the subsequent Welsh short line-out and lock Lio Falaniko gathered it for a soft try to bring the scores to 12-10.
Two Jenkins penalties followed to stretch Wales' lead to 18-10, before the Samoans struck again on 34 minutes. Bachop delivered the ball from a scrum on the Welsh 22 and sent it to Pat Lam on a rampaging free run behind the defence. He was tackled, but he managed to slip the ball to the Bachop who flew over for an easy touchdown. The former All Black fly-half was not finished yet, however. A sloppy Scott Quinnell pass from the base of the Welsh scrum just four minutes later was gathered by Bachop, who sprinted clear to set the scores at 18-24 to the visitors.
The Welsh fly-half pulled a penalty back for 21-24 to Samoa, before missing an angled attempt in injury time at the interval.
Wales went back to basics at the start of the second half, rumbling the ball forward through their forwards. Jenkins hit another penalty to level the scores, but then the home side was shocked again as the usually steady fly-half delivered an interception to Lam. The number eight, who plays Premiership rugby in England, sprinted the length of the pitch for Samoa's fourth try and a 24-31 lead. Despite two embarrassing Scott Quinnell knock-ons, Wales' forwards contrived to arrive on the Samoan line on 43 minutes. Again the islanders' scrum fell apart and the referee awarded a second penalty try.
But Samoa could scent history in the making and thundered back deep into the home side's 22. Lam carried the ball in deep on the right and the ball eventually slipped out to Laeaga who scored in the corner for a 38-31 scoreline. Jenkins missed another penalty directly in front of the posts on 69 minutes, then his forwards squandered a dominant scrum five yards from the Samoan line by giving away a free-kick.
Tuigamala exhibited Samoa's rising confidence by running the ball off his own try-line and well into Wales' half before he was hauled down. A madly frenetic closing five minutes saw the Welsh repelled with interest by a series of bonecrunching tackles as they tried desperately to snatch a late, face-saving try. Four minutes into stoppage time, the referee finally blew the whistle to give lie to the assertion that this World Cup was simply a series of high-scoring processions for the big guns. It now seems likely that Wales, Samoa and Argentina will go through to the next round from Group D.
Teams
Wales: S Howarth (Newport), G Thomas (Cardiff), M Taylor (Swansea), S Gibbs (Swansea), D James (Llanelli), N Jenkins (Cardiff), R Howley (Cardiff, capt), P Rogers (Newport), G Jenkins (Swansea), D Young (Cardiff), G Llewellyn (Harlequins), C Wyatt (Llanelli), M Williams (Cardiff), B Sinkinson (Neath), S Quinnell (Llanelli).
Replacements: S Jones (Llanelli), N Walne (Cardiff), D Llewellyn (Newport), A Moore (Swansea), A Lewis (Cardiff), B Evans (Swansea), J Humphreys (Cardiff).
Samoa: S Leaega; A So'oalo, T Vaega, V Tuigamala, B Lima; S Bachop, S So'oialo; B Reidy, T Leota, R Ale, L Falaniko, L Tone, J Paramore, P Lam (capt), C Glendinning.
Replacements: G Leaupepe, E Va'a, J Clarke, S Sititi, S Ta'ala, M Mika, O Matauiau.