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 Puff go the Dragons Western Samoa enjoys Cardiff once more
Posted: Friday October 15, 1999 08:44 AM
CARDIFF, Wales (CNN/SI) -- For eight years Wales dreamed of vengeance. Since Western Samoa's debut in the 1991 Rugby World Cup when it defeated Wales 16-13 in Cardiff, the Red Dragons have been waiting -- they will have to stay their dreams a little longer after losing to the Samoans 38-31 on Thursday, yet again in Cardiff. Wales is not out the tournament, but it remains to be seen whether Argentina or Western Samoa will accompany the hosts in advancing. Neil Jenkins performance though was enough to make him the world's leading scorer. He equaled Michael Lynagh's record of 911 points in internationals in the 64-15 win against Japan last Saturday and, with the former record holder and Wallaby fly-half watching from a stadium seat, edged his tally to 913 in the 13th minute. Fullback Silao Leaega scored and converted the winning try in an 18-point haul and fly-half Stephen Bachop scored two tries within four minutes as the Samoans scored five tries to three in the critical Group D game. The Samoans, whose 16-13 win over Wales in Cardiff on their World Cup debut still rates as the upset of the tournament's history, recovered from a 32-16 loss to Argentina on Sunday to end Wales' 10 test winning stretch. Winning skipper Pat Lam said the Samoans "embarrassed" themselves against Argentina but were magnificent against Wales. "We cut them in half like we did in '91," said Lam of Samoa's tenacious defense. "I told the boys to get up there and get in their face ... I'm really proud of them." The win also moved Samoa to No. 1 in the Group D standings, equal with Wales with two wins and a loss apiece but ahead on head-to-heads, which means the standings hinge on Saturday's last group game between Argentina and Japan. Samoa coach Bryan Williams said he was bursting with pride. "It was more against the odds than '91. We were an unknown quantity in '91 and Wales was in disarray ... this is much more convincing," he said. "We were disparate in the pool of death -- we had to regroup after last Sunday and we used the time to analyze our performance against Argentina but we also scrutinized Wales and came up with a game plan to beat them." Wales' coach Graham Henry said he was disappointed with the outcome but "it won't do us any harm." "First thing, Samoa played superbly. They had limited ball and used what they had outstandingly -- the have to be congratulated," he said. "We haven't lost for 10 games and it had to come -- you learn a lot from a loss. "Hopefully we can stay here [for a quarterfinal] but that's in the lap of the gods now - it depends on Argentina." Jenkins opened a gripping second half when he leveled the score at 24-24 with a penalty goal three minutes after the break before an exchange of tries saw Samoa grab a seven-point lead, Wales draw level and then Samoa restore the margin again. Lam inspired the Samoans with a 60-meter intercept try in the 46th minute. With the Welsh attack running the defense ragged, he seized on a Jenkins' pass and outpaced the cover defense to the tryline. Leaega converted to make the score 31-24. The No. 8 said he was looking for the intercept and, after "telling" the referee he was onside, took the gamble. "If it got [the] best [of] me [we] were gone," said Lam. "It gave me a bit of a buzz." Wales struck back in the 63rd minute with a penalty try, it's second from a five-meter scrum in the match. Welsh skipper Rob Howley opted to take the scrum instead of a shot at goal and it paid off when the Samoan pack dragged the scrum down and referee Ed Morrison awarded the try under the posts, which Jenkins had no difficulty converting. The Samoans went ahead again in the 65th minute when right wing Brian Lima was cover tackled by Shane Howarth in the right corner but managed to pop a pass up for Leaega, who dived over in the tackle of Garin Jenkins. The fullback converted from the sideline to put the Samoans a converted try clear. Samoa opened the scoring in the opening minute with a penalty goal but the Welsh responded with a penalty try in the 14th minute, which Jenkins converted to become international rugby's leading pointscorer for an 8-3 lead. Gareth Thomas in the right corner in the 17th minute as Wales grabbed a 12-3 lead before the Samoans hit back with a gift of a try from a Welsh lineout mistake in the 22nd minute to reduce the margin to 12-10. Jenkins gave Wales an 18-10 lead via two penalty goals before Bachop crossed for a pair. The Samoan pivot completed a simple backline move off first-phase ball for his first touchdown in the 35th minute and then swooped on a stray pass from Scott Quinnell on the blindside before scooting half the field to score again in the 38th minute. Jenkins, who made several uncharacteristic errors in attack and missed four shots at goal, added a penalty in injury time but missed another long-range chance to equalize on halftime. The Samoans had to juggle the starting lineup just before kickoff when winger Afato So'oalo was injured in warmup. Tuigamala switched onto the left wing and George Leaupepe came off the bench to take his place in the center. In a tense finish to the group phase, Argentina can draw level with both teams with a victory over Japan on Saturday, in which case the teams to advance to the quarterfinals will be decided on points scored during the tournament. The Pumas can move atop the standings by scoring 69 points or can finish second by scoring 48 points on Saturday. The group D winner will meet the Group E winner, probably Australia, in a Cardiff quarterfinal. The second-place team will go to Edinburgh for a playoff against Scotland with the winner meeting favorite New Zealand in the final eight, while the team finishing No. 3 is likely to finish the tournament as the best third-place getter and earn a playoff spot against the runners-up of Group E in Lens.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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