The World Cup exploded into life two weeks late yesterday as Samoa repeated their feat of 1991 by defeating Wales in Cardiff in a breathless match which has left three teams in the group unable to finalise their travel plans for next week.
Wales, Samoa and Argentina, who play Japan in Cardiff tomorrow night, can all finish at the head of the pool and earn a quarter-final tie against Australia in the Welsh capital a week today. Wales can finish no lower than second, but both Samoa and Argentina could end up second or third.
If there was method in Samoa's ostensibly madcap display, Wales played as if they had been lobotomised. They attacked from deep in their own half, surrendered possession time and again in the face of typically clinical tackling and failed to take advantage of their vastly superior ball-winning capacity and a penalty count in their favour of 25-6.
Despite the game's frenetic pace and its oscillatory nature, Wales only led for a 25-minute period in the first half. When they were 12-3 ahead through the first of their two penalty-tries and a flowing move which resulted in a try for the wing Gareth Thomas, they looked as if they would win at a canter.
Samoa have been renowned for their brawn since they muscled their way to victory over Wales eight years ago, but it was their collective brain which accounted for them yesterday.
On a day when the Wales out-half Neil Jenkins broke Michael Lynagh's international points record, his opposite number Stephen Bachop broke Welsh hearts with a virtuoso display, cannily varying his options. As he showed with London Irish last season, Bachop is a player for whom rugby is the art of the possible and anything was possible for him yesterday.
He scored two tries, one an alert interception after a Wales scrum on the halfway line, his kicking out of hand was precise and he launched his line adroitly despite a pre-match reshuffle prompted by injury which forced Va'aiga Tuigamala to move to the wing. His awareness of space contrasted with Wales's tunnel vision: the more ball Wales won, the better Samoa looked.
Wales looked to keep ball in hand rather than kick because Samoa dropped their back three deep, hoping for ill-directed kicks from which to launch counter-attacks. Two of Samoa's three tries came from interceptions, Pat Lam covering 75 yards for his second-half score, and a third was gifted to them after Wales messed up a lineout on their own line.
Samoa's two other tries came after defence was swiftly turned into attack, while the second of Wales's penalty-tries was dubious and Thomas appeared to have been bundled into touch. Samoa would have had a sixth try had the fussy Ed Morrison not called them back to penalise a player who had not been interfering with play for offside.
Samoa were 24-21 ahead at the interval, and though Wales twice drew level their defence was so porous and their attacking play so predictable that they were never in charge of their own destiny.
SCORERS: Wales - Tries: Penalty 2, Thomas. Cons: Jenkins 2. Pens: Jenkins 4. Samoa - Tries: Bachop 2, Leaega, Lam, Falaniko. Cons: Leaega 5. Pen: Leaega.
WALES: Howarth, Thomas, Taylor, Gibbs, James, N. Jenkins, Howley, Quinnell, Sinkinson, Williams, Wyatt, G. Llewellyn, Young, G. Jenkins, Rogers. Replacements: Evans for Young (55 mins). Replacements not used: Jones, JonesHughes, D Llewellyn, G Lewis, Voyle, A Lewis.
SAMOA: Leaega, Lima, Vaega, Leaupepe, Tuigamala, Bachop, So'oiloa, Lam, Glendinning, Paramore, Tone, Falaniko, Ale, Leota, Reidy. Replacements: Fanolua for Bachop (77), Sititi for Paramore (13), Ta'ala for Falaniko (64). Replacements not used: Va'a, Clarke, Mika, Matauiau. Referee: Ed Morrison (England).
