Luai, To'o lead Samoa to big win over Greece
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Premiership-winning Panthers Jarome Luai and Brian To'o carved Greece to bits as Samoa claimed a comprehensive 72-4 victory to put their World Cup campaign back on track.
Eight days on from being humbled by England in a 60-6 loss, Samoa piled on the points in Doncaster, with Luai setting up five tries on his way to player of the match honours, while To'o had a colossal 370 run metres, with 17 tackle busts thrown in for good measure.
Samoa led 42-0 at the break, and the game was effectively over within the first 20 minutes, with Samoa 12-0 by the time Greece touched the ball for the first time.
The Matt Parish-coached side ran for 2409 metres, while restricting Greece to 847, with 75 tackle breaks across the 80 minutes.
The win means Samoa will advance to the quarterfinals if they can beat France in their final group game, something which had looked far from certain after they were trounced by England first up.
Match: Samoa v Greece
Round 2 -
home Team
Samoa
away Team
Greece
Venue: Eco-Power Stadium, Doncaster
Match Snapshot
- Jarome Luai had five try assists and a try in a dominant performance.
- Brian To'o scored the opening try in the first minute, on a night in which he had 370 run metres.
- Junior Paulo touched down a loose ball which presented itself four minutes later.
- After Danny Levi and Chanel Harris-Tavita added four-pointers, Royce Hunt scored a try which showed off his impressive athleticism.
- Jarome Luai then carved through before Tim Lafai finished the first-half scoring.
- It took Matt Parish's side 12 minutes to get going in the second half, but once they did the floodgates opened, with Wests Tigers utility Fa'amanu Brown, and Panthers ace Stephen Crichton scoring in quick succession.
- Harris-Tavita and Levi secured their personal doubles, while Dragons back Mathew Feagai also scored a try on Test debut.
- Tim Lafai capped off a great return to the Test arena with a late try.
- Jaydn Su'a was sent to the sin bin for a dangerous tackle in the 73rd minute.
Luai bounces back
Play of the Game
Greece had very little to smile about on the night, but this try gave their fans a reason to cheer. After starting the movement with a clever chip over the top, Rabbitohs half Lachlan Ilias backed up to get the ball back and cross for a quality four-pointer.
What they Said
"We played pretty well which is good and it was an improvement on last week, which we hoped to do. It's knockout next week... no doubt the French game will be massive." - Samoa coach Matt Parish
"We faced the facts that it was a pretty sour day after last week but how the boys responded that next day, and the speed we got to review it and move on, was great. The World Cup is a campaign and we've got to move onto the next week as fast as we can." - Samoa skipper Junior Paulo
"Samoa were always going to come back after last week's disappointing loss to England, but our boys, the effort was there... the scoreline didn't really reflect how much effort was put in." - Greece coach Steve Georgallis.
What's Next
Samoa face a must-win match against France, with a victory seeing them through to the quarter-finals, while host nation England awaits Greece in the final round of group play.
