That’s it from me, thanks for your company and your emails. Hopefully will speak to you all again tomorrow for the Japan vs Scotland game.
Here’s Rory Best:
“It wasn’t that pretty, but look we got the job done. There was no panic when we went down to 14 and we continued to attack them. We built well and whatever happens tomorrow, happens ”
A controlled and perfunctorily effective peformance from Ireland even when down to 14 players – exactly what Schmidt’s dreams are made of. The forwards were excellent, and while the play was more Lisburn than Las Vegas, that won’t bother them at all as they move on with a bruising forwards platform to build on.
Updated
Peep! Full time. Ireland 47 – 5 Samoa
McGrath chips it out from the scrum and that’s that. Ireland go on, Samoa go home. ************
79 mins.Samoa nick the ball and have an attack into the Ireland half via a run from Fonotia, but they are are forcing it now and the ball is lost forward. This will allow Ireland to melt the clock away under the slow heat of many reset scrums.
75 mins.Samoa win the lineout on the Ireland 5 meter. They send pretty much everyone in to drive it and force themselves and the ball over the line. Ref has given it on the field, but he wants the TMO to check the ball wasn’t lost build up.
Ball was lost backwards by Faasalele, but because he then picked it up again to place it the ruling is he played the ball on the ground. Penalty Ireland and a soul-splintering decision for Samoa, albeit a correct one.
Ref Berry has been excellent today.
Updated
74 mins. Samoa run a nice backs pattern, popping inside to Tuala who is in off his wing, but the pass was forward. Samoa get a nudge on the Ireland scrum and win the penalty, that’s excellent work
TRY! Ireland 47 – 5 Samoa. Andrew Conway
70 mins.Carbery dinks a perfect grubber into the in-goal for Conway to touch down. The conversion is added by Carbery.
Conway is on for Henshaw, by the way.
69 mins.Samoa have the ball for what feels like the first time since 2008, and their first ruck gains them a penalty. They are in possession for about 12 seconds before giving it back to Ireland via a knock on. This is horrible to watch.
TRY! Ireland 40 – 5 Samoa. CJ Stander
65 mins.Stander picks and goes from base of scrum and is stopped, he then gets back up while his packmates take another drive in, repeats the pick and go – this time from the ruck – and he’s over with assistance from O’Mahoney
Carbery has no problem with the extras
Updated at 8. 38 am EDT
63 mins.This game and the Ireland attack is now like Groundhog Day – overrated and not very funny.
Updated (at 9.) am EDT
61 mins.No grounding so no try. There was a late shot by Kane Le’aupepe which will give Ireland another penalty.
Ref Berry has a stern word with Samoa about their discipline, it really is getting out of hand with ten penalties in this half so far.
Ireland have taken scrum option again.
Updated
60 mins.Oof! Ireland absolutely splinter the Samoa pack by driving them off their own ball and have another lineout froom the penalty won by that pack effort. You know the drill, it’s caught, it’s driven and they’re over, but there’s a doubt about the grounding.
Ref Berry also wants the TMO to look at whether there was a late hit, a knock on, and whether any Ireland players have outstanding parking tickets from 2017. Probably.
59 mins.Ireland mix it up a bit and take the scrum this time and it’s very scrappy out the back leading to McGrath shoveling horrible ball behind his backline. Samoa hold them up in the tackle and win the scrum.
Beirne is off and replaced by Peter O’Mahoney
58 mins.Ireland catch and drive another lineout deep in Samoan territory, and manfully work it 4 inches around the ruck for many phases, Ioane is infringing at the ruck with stunning regularity and the ref has had enough. Yellow card for the Samoa openside.
Updated (at 8.) 28 am EDT
More subs for Samoa: Piula Faasalele on of Paulo. Michael Alaalatoa is off, replaced by Paul Alo-Emile
56 mins.Ireland are attacking on the Samoa five meter line with a penalty advantage in the bank. They inch forward through the pack like a Roman tortoise formation, but Samoa to their credit are holding their line with great spirit and no little skill and organization. Ref Berry decides the advantage isn’t coming and calls them back.
Updated
53 mins.Penalty to Ireland after a Ioane neck roll and it’s another attacking lineout.
Murray is off and Luke McGrath is in at scrum-half.
51 mins. Rory Best is off, Niall Scannell is on.
Mulipola is replaced by Jordan Lay. Fonotia is also on for Ed Fidow
Updated
TRY! Ireland 33 – 5 Samoa. Jordan Larmour
48 mins.The Ireland scrum is crumpling the Samoan pack like a broken concertina. The latest penalty given is tapped quickly and Samoa are on the hop as Ireland flood towards the line. Conor Murray throws a lovely miss-one pass to Larmour who is over in the corner after Earls ran a lovely decoy line to hold the defender and make that pass possible.
Sexton caresses the ball over from out right. Lovely kick that will be his last action of the game. Joey Carbery is on.
Updated
47 mins.Furlong is off for Porter, Ray Niuia is on for Seilala Lam
45 mins. Ireland do the usual and Samoa are penalized again allowing Sexton to kick to touch and start the whole show again. This time the lineout is taken, worked right through the forwards and Furlong is over in a crowd. Ref Berry thinks it’s no try but has asked the TMO to have a look. There’s nothing on screen to change the call. No try, Ireland scrum five coming and Samoa have yet more defending to do.
Updated (at 8.) am EDT
43 mins.Ireland’s forward carrying remains impressive and they’re punching into the Samoa line, hooker Lam is too keen with his hands on the deck – it’s another penalty to Ireland and another lineout to catch and drive.
Peep! Second half underway
41 mins. Samoa have a couple of phases and despatch to touch in Ireland’s half.
“Hello Lee,” says Tom Callaghan, “It looks like a team with fourteen men are going to beat a full strength team comfortably. Don’t you think that this, combined with the fact that a 14 man English team beat Argentina in 2017, puts some of the carping criticism of England’s recent demolition of a 14 man Pumas team ‘it was only against 14 men ‘into perspective? ”
Considering the past two years in rugby, and I’m including domestic rugby in this, you will see that 14 men get a result relatively frequently and even if they lose it is often not a pasting. The way defences are organized now, losing a man is nothing like the disadvantage it once was.
Well, there was quite a lot to unpack in forty minutes there. Yellow card, red card, bonus points, Mulipola’ magnificent hair – it was all going on.
Even down to 14, there is no reason Ireland can’t expect the second half to go the same way. Samoa are giving it some, but for me they look a bit fed up with it all now.
TRY! Ireland 26 – 5 Samoa. Johnny Sexton
(mins.) From the scrum, it’s flung left on the short side to Sexton looping around from the open side to dive over. That’s the bonus point, and barring a Samoan miracle in the second half, that’s the quarter finals.
Sexton misses the extras.
Updated
37 mins.Ireland are camped on the Samoa line lunging forwards in pursuit of the bonus point try, but the ball ends up unplayable in the ruck . Ireland have a scrum five, and you feel it’s only a matter of time before the men in green are over the line again
35 mins.Samoa fitfully work some possession in their own half before the ball is kicked away down Larmour’s throat. The Islanders kicking game has been utter dreck all half, and it was no better there. They compound this by infringing at the next ruck and Ireland are back in the Samoa 22 via the resulting lineout .
32 mins.Ireland go from their own scrum on halfway, they are attackign a man down and they throw the ball away via a forward pass. Ireland still have plenty to win this game and need some sense here.
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