Match Report – Samoa 42 vs 12 Canada
Samoa wasted no time getting going, taking the kickoff and blasting forward with Ofisa Treviranus leading the charge early.
Samoa wasted no time getting going, taking the kickoff and blasting forward with Ofisa Treviranus leading the charge early.
A game littered with penalties from the beginning, Igor Kliuchnikov got Russia on the board first with an early penalty.
The second match of the day sees Canada take on mighty Samoa in what is sure to be a full blooded affair.
The first game of a strange miniseries of tests to take place in Colwyn Bay, buried in the north of Wales, has the 17th ranked US Eagles taking on the 19th ranked Russian Bears.
Samoa enter their post-World Cup phase welcoming several new players into the fold, and with it a winning attitude emphasized by new coach Stephen Betham.
Russia features a multinational coaching contingent with Welshman Kingsley Jones as head coach, countryman Darren Morris running the forwards, Tongan Siua Taumalolo in charge of the backs and defense, and New Zealand born English international Henry Paul helping out as well.
New coach Mike Tolkin will hope that the end of his first season in charge will be better than the start.
Test matches of real quality are hard to come by for Canada, so in that respect meeting Samoa and the Maori is exciting, albeit a bit overwhelming.
It’s been a banner year for Argentinean rugby, one that will go down as arguably the most important in their evolution from also-rans to contenders in the professional era.
Coach Jacques Brunel has named 30 players to take on Tonga, New Zealand, and Australia on November 10, 17, and 24 respectively.