Samoa’s Rugby League World Cup credentials have continued to rise with a massive 62-4 win over a disappointing France outfit.
Like most others throughout the tournament, the physicality was evident early on. It looked as though France intended to match Samoa in the middle and force this game into an arm wrestle. However, Jarome Luai extended his form from Samoa’s big win over Greece to lay one on a plate for Tim Lafai just four minutes into this one.
France again produced a brutal defensive set in response to conceding an early try but they struggled to play with any field position of their own. Samoa dominated the yardage game and spent another lengthy period attacking in good ball. Still, France had the answers in defence.
Presented with an opportunity to attack in good ball of their own, France went close to leveling the scoreboard. It took a try-saver from Taylan May to stop Arthur Romano from going over in the corner which started a five minute period that proved to be crucial to the match. Having failed to score in the corner, France ended the following set in defence with a silly play on the last. Instead of receiving a kick from halfway, Samoa set up for a scrum. With it, they moved up the field and into the France 20-metre line where Joseph Sua’ali’i threw an incredible pass before Brian To’o crashed over in the corner.
Having just scored one in the right corner, Samoa took the kickoff set up the field and into the left corner for Taylan May to make it 16-0 after 20 minutes. Just like that, France managed to undo all of their good work in defence to start the game and found themselves desperately chasing points.
A lagi Sao high shot allowed France to spend some time with the ball. Two repeat sets finally forced Samoa into some defence having dominated possession throughout the opening exchanges.
France threatened but ultimately lacked the quality at the end of their sets. The dodgy France kicking game hurt them again. Tony Gigot’s kick on the last went dead to release the pressure they’d managed to build over the previous five minutes. In response, Samoa went 100 metres.
Showing great vision and footy smarts, May caught the third defender slow to peel and get back into the line while the quick play-the-ball left France with only one marker. He took the lone marker left and passed To’o into the space the two lagging defenders should have been filling on the right.
Seeing the scrambled defensive line himself, To’o pushed up with May and released an offload back to his wing partner to score. Pretty footy.
May scored another one of his own – his third of the first half – for Samoa to take a 28-0 lead into the break.
Give this Samoan attack an inch and they’ll take it a mile. With the lead on the scoreboard and the freedom to throw the ball, three offloads out of the sheds ended with May scoring his fourth try for 34-0.
In similar fashion, when things go bad for France, they go really bad. They were offside at the kickoff which again made things easier for Samoa. This time it was To’o streaking down the right edge to score.
France managed to stop the flow of Samoan points to score four of their own through Fouad Yaha. Arthur Mourgue, one of France’s best attacking players but playing fullback in this one, rolled one in behind the line for his winger to score. With limited opportunities in attack, Mourgue wasn’t as effective as he needed to be overall.
France didn’t go down easily. They continued to come back for more punishment and were unlucky to concede in the 62nd minute. Being on the wrong end of a dodgy video referee call seemed to suck any remaining energy out of the french side, though. Tim Lafai crashed over only three minutes later. Gigot’s brain fade into a blatant strip ended with Chanel Harris-Tavita scoring under the posts to make it three tries in six minutes. France managed to defend for two more minutes to make it five minutes between tries as Milford broke through the left edge defence in the 73rd minute.
While Samoa impressed with their relentless intent with the ball, France was undoubtedly disappointing. They put themselves on the back foot early through poor kicking and silly errors. From there, Samoa had their way and cruised to a 62-4 win. As Andrew Voss said in commentary: “They are back, baby.”
Key Takeaways
France kicking game
A good kicking game would make all the difference for France. They play a direct style in attack. There is little second phase or change of angles. While that can work, it’s crucial that the pressure builds through the kicking game. That isn’t happening for France right now, though.
Long and short, they aren’t executing on their end-of-sets well enough. Tony Gigot, in particular, has struggled to be effective with the boot. They came into the tournament with relatively high expectations but have failed to live up to them and the kicking game is a significant reason for that.
Samoan halves
Neither Jarome Luai nor Anthony Milford are traditional #7’s. They’re more likely to add the finishing touches to a shift than they are to manipulate the line across multiple tackles ahead of a planned action out wide. While organisation may become an issue later in the Rugby League World Cup, the halves pairing had their way with France tonight. Both drifted across the field to play left and right. The ad-lib style toyed with the defence. Still, Chanel Harris-Tavita needs to be considered as an option. He came off the bench to play in the centres tonight but looks like the better partner for Luai in the halves.
Paulo buries Mourgue
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Rugby League World Cup Round 3 Results
New Zealand 48 def. Ireland 10
Lebanon 74 def. Jamaica 12
Mate Ma’a Tonga 92 def. Cook Islands 10
Samoa 62 def. France