Samoa defeat Scotland for first time

Samoa beat Scotland for the first time with a 27-17 win at Kings Park Saturday in the opening match of a four-nation tournament also featuring South Africa and Italy. Giant left-wing Alesana Tuilagi scored two tries as the Pacific islanders ended an eight-match winless run against the Scots spanning 22 years since a 28-6 reverse at Murrayfield. Early tries by full-back James So'oialo and Tuilagi gave the Samoans a comfortable lead they surrendered briefly during the second half before hitting back with 13 unanswered points. "It was nice to beat Scotland at last after losing narrowly the last time we met," said stand-in Samoa captain and centre Paul Williams, deputising for injured wing David Lemi. "Scoring a couple of early tries gave us confidence and I am so proud of the efforts of our forwards. We conceded too many penalties and discipline is an area we need to improve." Scotland skipper and flank Kelly Brown turned 31 Saturday and had a birthday to forget as he was forced to retire injured with scrum-half Greig Laidlaw taking over as captain. "We gave a very disappointing performance and were always struggling after conceding two early tries. Missing four players on tour with the British and Irish Lions is no excuse," admitted Laidlaw. "There were not many positives to take from this match and we need to have a long, hard look at ourselves before we tackle South Africa in Nelspruit next weekend." Scotland made an embarrassing start before a small, sun-drenched crowd as fly-half Tom Heathcote 'over cooked' his kick-off and it went directly into touch. However, the much heavier Samoa pack were unable to take advantage from the resulting scrum on the halfway line with referee John Lacey penalising them. After early Scottish probing, Samoa went ahead on seven minutes when a handling movement begun deep in their half ended with So'oialo going over in the corner and adding the conversion. Laidlaw narrowed the gap by successfully landing a tough penalty kick only for the Samoans to cross the try-line again just 13 minutes into the opening half. Once again the Scots were undone by slick, quick handling across the field and 117-kilogramme Tuilagi stormed over in the opposite corner to So'oialo, who added the conversion. Laidlaw fluffed a relatively easy penalty kick before atoning with a couple of successful efforts to leave Samoa 14-9 ahead at half-time after 40 minutes of good, bad and woeful rugby. Scotland began the second half strongly with a Laidlaw penalty and a try in the corner by right-wing Sean Lamont after a turnover when Samoa messed up having won a scrum. So'oialo kicked a penalty on 54 minutes to level the Test at 17-17 and Tuilagi then struck again, using his pace and physique to brush off tackles and dot down. After converting the try, So'oialo landed his second penalty to give the islanders a 10-point advantage with 10 minutes left and they held on for a famous victory. Source: AFP