Unbeaten South Africa makes it into second round of Rugby World Cup after defeating Samoa
Springboks have paved their way through to the quarter-final stages of the Rugby World Cup 2011 after thumping Samoa by 13-5 in their last group match, played on September 30 at North Harbour Stadium, North Shore City. It was largely a patience testing match
for the supporters of both countries as Samoa remained scoreless in the first-half and South Africa in the second. Bryan Habana scored Springboks’ only try early in the first part of the match, whereas George Stowers elevated Samoa with a sole five pointer
after the break.
The South Africans, who started off the encounter as favourites, played cautiously and were successful in clinching victory. Fans expected a high scoring game for South Africa but they failed to make too many points in the whole game. Their forward bunches
displayed a poor performance and struggled to control the pace. They were untidy with the passes, team work was rare and hand eye coordination was simply miserable.
Meanwhile, Samoa also seemed to be playing under immense pressure against the defending champions and cut a sorry figure despite big claims before the match. They were left chasing the Boks in the first half whereas they could not create a fair share of
opportunities despite having good possession in the second-half.
Morne Steyn was the leading scorer with two penalties and one conversion goal for South Africa.
Samoa: 15 Paul Williams, 14 David Lemi, 13 Seilala Mapusua, 12 Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 George Stowers, 7 Maurie Faasavalu, 6 Taiasina Tuifua, 5 Kane Thompson, 4 Daniel Leo, 3 Census Johnston,
2 Mahonri Schwalger (c), 1 Sakaria Taulafo.
Replacements: 16 Ole Avei, 17 Anthony Perenise, 18 Logovi'i Mulipola, 19 Ofisa Treviranus, 20 Filipo Lavea Levi, 21 Junior Poluleuligaga, 22 George Pisi.
South Africa: 15 Pat Lambie, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie Du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 Jannie Du Plessis,
2 Bismarck Du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 John Smit, 17 Gurthrö Steenkamp, 18 CJ van der Linde, 19 Willem Alberts, 20 Francois Louw, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Jean De Villiers.
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