BORDEAUX, France : Samoa coach Seilala Mapusua said Saturday’s arm-wrestle with Chile was the perfect way for the Pacific islanders to finally get their World Cup campaign underway.
Four tries in 12 minutes around the break drove the Samoans to a 43-10 bonus-point victory but the Chileans were more than competitive for much of the opening half and in the final quarter.
“Great to get our campaign underway,” Mapusua said. “A lot to take from that game and we’ll be reviewing it. Full credit to Chile they really took it to us today and put us under pressure and that’s exactly what we needed.”
Samoa captain Michael Alaalatoa said the Chileans, backed by their noisy fans, had caught his team by surprise with the passion and energy they showed from kickoff.
“I think they probably caught us off guard a little bit at first, but it was great to get that try before halftime and get the momentum back,” he said.
That try from fullback Duncan Paia’aua and the catch by Jonathan Taumateine to score the second soon after the break showed the quality Samoa have in their backline.
The other Samoa tries came from three perfectly executed rolling mauls.
“When something’s going well you need to back it,” Alaalatoa said.
“Once we got to the line with the first one, we did it again and again and had the trust to be able to execute it.”
Mapusua suggested he had given his players a bit of a blast at halftime.
“The attitude and focus of our players once we came out in the second half was exactly where it needed to be,” he said.
“We knew (Chile) were full of energy and patience and to see our team come out after halftime and really execute the way we wanted to play … was really pleasing for me.”
Samoa play Argentina in Saint Etienne next weekend in their second match in Pool D, which also includes former champions England and 2019 quarter-finalists Japan.
“The longer we spend together, the better we are,” warned Alaalatoa. “And I’m sure it’s going to be the same at this tournament.”
Source: CNA
