Samoa tough it out to tame Russian bears

SCOTLAND’S next opponents Samoa got their World Cup campaign off to a winning start but this match against Pool A whipping boys Russia was not without incident. After a faltering first half, Steve Jackson’s side emerged from the break with a renewed energy to score six tries overall and deny Russia a foothold at the Kumagaya Rugby Stadium. ‘It was a tough game,’ said Samoan captain Chris Vui. ‘We knew that Russia were going to come at us in that first 40 minutes. ‘We just had to stick it out and I’m pretty proud of how the boys came back in the second half.’ Samoa’s Alapati Leiua scored the only try of a first half that saw the Pacific Islanders become a depleted force for nearly ten minutes. Both Rey Lee-Lo and Motu Matu’u were sent to the sin bin for high tackles on Vasily Artemyev, with referee Romain Poite deciding a yellow card was sufficient despite apparent contact with the Russian’s head. Red cards for both could justifiably have been given. The Bears added their first points to the board with two penalties from Yury Kushnarev, but still entered the break with just a one-point lead over their opposition. Samoa eventually hit their stride as the second half began, scoring three tries in eight minutes. Afaesetiti Amosa was responsible for the first, before Ed Fidow produced two tries in quick succession as Samoa eased into a comfortable lead. An effort from Lee-Lo and a second try for Leiua sealed the victory as Russia could only respond with a Kushnarev drop goal and were left trailing by 25 points.