Late try gives Samoa victory over USA in Osaka

A late try gave Manu Samoa an 18-13 win over the USA Eagles in Saturday’s Pacific Nations Cup third-place play-off in Osaka. Played in hot and humid conditions, there were numerous errors committed by both sides though they also shared opportunities to score.

The Eagles looked the better team in the opening minutes. Barging runs from Kapeli Pifeleti and Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz nearly led to a try only for Jake Turnbull to be held-up. Advantage was being played, however, with gave Luke Carty the chance to open the scoring with a penalty goal five minutes in.

Just seconds after the restart Carty raced up to disrupt Rodney Iona’s clearance attempt. The ball skewed sideways and Toby Fricker leapt up to snatch it from the air, bobbling it slightly before securing it under his arm and sprinting 40 meters untouched. The extras from Carty made it 10-nil to the Americans.

Poor handling by the Eagles deep in their own territory gave Iona a routine kick to put Samoa up on the board. After a 15-minute stalemate Iona added three more points with a 45-meter strike to take full advantage of a scrum penalty. Carty had a crack at the posts from long range just before halftime but it was pushed wide right and the score stood 10-6 to the USA at halftime.

It wasn’t long into the second half when Samoa took the lead for the first time. Michael Curry won a breakdown penalty, resulting in an attacking throw-in. On first phase bruising No8 Iakopo Mapu charged straight through three would-be tacklers to touch down under the posts.

Carty slotted a penalty some ten minutes later to level the scores. Soon after Sama Malolo broke from a ruck to put the USA defense on the back foot. The ball came loose and Elisapeta Alofipo crossed the line, only for the try to be wiped off the board when a TMO review spotted a knock-on in the build-up.

An ambitious kick from halfway by Iona didn’t have the legs, but Samoa kept on the attack. Jason Damm was binned for collapsing a maul, and though the Eagles stopped the next drive short there was no escape. Afa Moleli took on two defenders in the midfield and offloaded to a wide open Melani Nanai, who beat the desperation tackle from JP Smith to score in the corner. The conversion was off-target but it was now 18-13 for Samoa. One final advance by the Eagles ended in a knock-on.

It’s next stop Portugal for the USA, who begin their end-of-year tour in Lisbon on November 9th, before taking on Tonga in France and finally Spain in La Vila. Samoa look unlikely to play again in 2024, with their union informing World Rugby that they do not have the finances to cover a tour to Europe.

 

SCORING

SAMOA 18
Tries (2) – I. Mapu (42′), M. Nanai (77′)
Cons (1) – R. Iona 1/2 (43′)
Pens (2) – R. Iona 2/3 (14′, 31′)

USA 13
Tries (1) – T. Fricker (6′)
Cons (1) – L. Carty 1/1 (7′)
Pens (2) – L. Carty 2/3 (5′, 52′)
YC (1) – J. Damm (72′)

TEAMS

SAMOA
1 Aki Seiuli (17 Andrew Tuala 62′), 2 Sama Malolo (16 Luteru Tolai 58′), 3 Marco Fepulea’i (18 Brook To’omalatai 79′), 4 Ben Nee-Nee, 5 Michael Curry (19 Sam Slade 47′), 6 Theo McFarland (capt.), 7 Izaiha Moore-Aiono (20 Jonah Mau’u 58′), 8 Iakopo Mapu, 9 Melani Matavao (21 Danny Tusitala 62′), 10 Rodney Iona, 11 Elisapeta Alofipo, 12 Alapati Leuia (23 Melani Nanai HT), 13 Lalomilo Lalomilo (22 Afa Moleli 72′), 14 Tuna Tuitama, 15 Tomasi Alosio

USA
1 Jake Turnbull (17 Payton Telea-Ilalio 64′), 2 Kapeli Pifeleti (16 Sean McNulty 64′), 3 Alex Maughan (18 Pono Davis 50′), 4 Jason Damm, 5 Greg Peterson (capt.) (21 Vili Helu 64′), 6 Paddy Ryan, 7 Cory Daniel (20 Moni Tonga’uiha 58′), 8 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz (19 Thomas Tu’avao 59′), 9 JP Smith, 10 Luke Carty, 11 Mitch Wilson (23 Rand Santos 79′), 12 Tommaso Boni, 13 Dom Besag, 14 Conner Mooneyham, 15 Toby Fricker

Not used: 22 Ethan McVeigh

MATCH INFO

Date: Saturday, September 21
Venue: Hanazono Stadium, Osaka
Kickoff: 16:00 local
Weather: Party cloudy, 86°F (30°C), wind SW 8mph (13km/h)

OFFICIALS

Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistants: Craig Evans (Wales) & Takehito Namekawa (Japan)
TMO: Tual Trainini (France)