Scotland eye clean sweep on Pacific rugby tour

Scotland will look to secure an unprecedented Southern Hemisphere clean sweep in a one-off Test against Samoa on Saturday. Belying their status as Six Nations wooden spooners, Scotland opened their tour by upsetting world number two Australia 9-6 then followed up with a hard-fought 37-25 win over Fiji last week in sweltering conditions. Victory over Samoa, who sit one spot above Scotland at number nine in the world rankings, would complete a Southern Hemisphere whitewash, the first time the Bravehearts have ventured south of the equator without losing a tour match. "That?s something we are striving for," coach Andy Robinson said. "It?s our next Test match. We have to focus on winning each Test and we go into Saturday with confidence that we can take on a strong Samoan side." Scotland have defeated Samoa in six of their seven previous meetings, with the closest result a 15-15 draw at Murrayfield in 1995. But Samoa gave them a scare in their last meeting at Aberdeen's Pittodrie Stadium in 2010, when the Scots needed a last-minute penalty to win 19-16 in snow and freezing temperatures. Robinson said that match demonstrated Samoa's ability to mix power with flair. "On the back of (Scotland) beating South Africa and in conditions that were utterly alien for the Samoans we were drawing 16-all with one minute to go at Pittodrie and we were lucky enough to get a penalty to win the game," he said. Scotland have also never faced Samoa on the islanders' home turf, where the hosts will be keen to make the most of a rare chance to impress their fans in front of Northern Hemisphere opposition. Robinson has made three changes to the starting line-up that faced Fiji, bringing in Richie Vernon at number eight and Chris Cusiter at half-back in a sign the Scots will seek to run the ball against the hard-tackling Samoans. Sean Lamont has been called in to give Scotland extra power on the right wing, while Dutch-born Tim Visser, who scored two tries on debut against Fiji, retains his spot on the left. Samoa enter the Test match-fit after going through the Pacific Nations Cup undefeated, clinching the title with a 27-26 win over host nation Japan lastweek. The islanders, who are in a rebuilding phase as new coach Stephen Betham looks to bring through new talent with an eye on the 2015 Rugby World Cup, are set to welcome back fly-half Tusi Pisi, who skipped the Pacific Nations Cup. Number eight Chris Lowrey is also expected to return, along with hooker Ti'i Paulo and centre George Pisi.