Try scoring was not in the game plan when Manu Samoa defeated Italy 15-0 in a lacklustre game at Apia Park on Saturday.
Despite Italy being penalised frequently, Manu Samoa chose not to back themselves to score tries and opted for the safe option of kicking even when they were leading 12-0 in the second half.
Clearly superior in the scrums and getting more than a fair share of ball from the line outs, the Manu also failed to capitalise on a large share of the ball while the referee, interrupted any flow of the game by delivering lectures at many of the breakdowns which made for a stop-start affair.
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The crowd finally rose to their feet in the last quarter of the game when it looked as though Manu Samoa had scored.
Sadly it was not to be and the referee blew his whistle and the cheering died out as quickly as it had begun as the try was disallowed.
Manu Samoa is ranked eighth by the I.R.B. and whilst coach Stephen Betham was able to give most of his squad game time, he is no doubt aware that his coaching team has a huge job ahead.
Meanwhile 14th ranked Italy, can point to the fact that with dogged defence, they kept the home side tryless on a slightly greasy field despite being continuously out muscled and out played in the scrums.
After the match, captain David Lemi said the mistakes made are lessons for the team to improve on in their next game against Fiji next week.
“I think we said from the beginning of this week we will improve but I was a bit disappointed with how we handled the ball,” he said.
“We missed out on some opportunities but hats off to the forwards who fought their way ahead.”
Team Manager Namulau’ulu Sami Leota agreed.
“We got a win and it was a game that was fought hard by the forwards,” he said.
“The condition on the field stopped us from working on the plan so there was a lot of kicking from the players.”
“It was wet and that changed the game plan with a lot of conversions but fortunately for us, we came up with a win and that’s the main thing.”
In previous encounters, Manu Samoa has had the better of the European side on four out of five occasions.
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