South Africa Rebounds Against Samoa

A second straight upset defeat wasn’t in the cards for South Africa as they post a convincing 46-6 victory over Samoa. In a position where they could not afford another loss, South Africa got a hat trick from JP Pietersen and 14 points from the boot of Handre Pollard.

“Last week still hurts,” said Springbok Captain Jean De Villiers in reference to their loss to Japan. “This is the beginning to get us back on track.”

The match started fast and furious with both sides playing at a break neck pace. South Africa started off the scoring with a 2nd minute penalty from Pollard. Samoa answered back in the 9th minute with a penalty from Mike Stanley. Stanley added another penalty goal three minutes later to stake Samoa to a 6-3 lead. Their first and only lead of the match.

With the lead, Samoa worked their way into South Africa’s half and looked poised to score when an errand pass from Stanley found its way into the hands of Pietersen who raced away for the first try of the match. The score gave the Sprinboks a 8-6 lead.

Samoa’s lack of discipline proved costly as Pollard hammered in three penalties in the second quarter as South Africa took a 17-6 lead into halftime. South Africa made the most of the limited possession they had in the first half while Samoa would regret not converting more of their possession into points.

South Africa was first on the board in the second half as Pietersen scored his second try of the match. The conversion from Pollard gave the Springboks a comfortable 24-6 lead. A little over ten minutes later Schalk Burger extended the Springbok’s lead to 29-6 with a try in the 58th minute.

As Samoa held the favor in possession in the first half, South Africa tightened down the reigns in the second half as they dominated territory and possession. Samoa’s lineout also let them down throughout the match as they lost six lineouts.

Looking for the bonus point, Schalk Brits crossed over in the 71st minute to give South Africa a much needed extra point in the table. The score also put the nail in the coffin for Samoa, who disappointed with a match that they were expected to compete much closer. Fatigue became a factor in the second half as South Africa took control of the match.

The Springboks added another score as Pietersen completed his hat trick in the 79th minute. Unfortunately for Samoa, South Africa wasn’t finished as they looked to pad their point differential. With time expired, Samoa took one last shot at finishing the match with a score. A turnover later, South Africa went on attack and moved the ball to legendary finisher Bryan Habana who finished the scoring.

The two sides leave the match heading in much different directions. South Africa still has a stern test against Scotland ahead while Samoa still has to play Scotland and Japan. Samoa will need to win both matches if they wish to reach the quarterfinals.

Scoring Summary

South Africa 46

Tries: Pietersen (15′, 47′, 79′), Burger (58′), Brits (71′), Habana (83′)

Conv: Pollard (48′)

Pen: Pollard (2′, 19′, 24′, 39′)

Samoa 6

Tries: None

Conv: None

Pen: Stanley (9′, 12′)