Having already recorded tournament wins in 1991 and 1999, Samoa looked like they were heading for another famous victory over Wales but wing wizard Shane Williams waltzed over in the 67th minute to ease Welsh nerves and deny the South Sea Islanders another famous scalp.
Wales produced a rather hesitant display and the Samoans didn’t need a second invitation to take the game to Warren Gatland’s men.
Former Scarlet Mahonri Schwalger led from the front for Samoa and appeared to be guiding Samoa to another upset when his front row colleague Anthony Perenise scored a try on the stroke of halftime to send Samoa in at the break four points ahead.
Wales were unable to break free from the shackles of Samoa but they stayed calmed, bided their time and grabbed their chance when it come to record their first win of the tournament.
Earlier, Wales had an opportunity to score in the first after Tasesa Lavea kicked the ball directly to touch from the kick-off. From the resultant scrum Samoa were penalised but James Hook’s shot from halfway drifted wide.
Samoa then had a brief sortie inside Wales territory with George Stowers pinching a ball from the back of a scrum and only a last ditch tackle from Mike Phillips saved the day.
Wales responded in kind and surged down field with Rhys Priestland’s progress checked by a high tackle by flanker Maurie Fa’asavalu. Hook’s second penalty attempt was straight and true as Wales took the lead in the 10th minute.
Samoa placed extreme pressure on Wales at the breakdown, giving the men in red a torrid time. Wales were creaking and pinged at a ruck. Alesana Tuilagi took a quick tap from halfway but Wales weren’t 10m back which gave full back Paul Williams a chance to level the score from 40m. He sent the ball sailing between the posts to bring the score to 3-3 after 20mins.
Wales regained the lead when Hook banged over his second penalty in the 26th minute after the Welsh scrum made mince meat of the Samoan set piece.
Samoa then went the phases patiently to camp near the Welsh line. The forwards looked to have crossed the whitewash but again Phillips was to the fore in defence to deny the South Sea Islanders right on the line.
It was edgy stuff as the fierce tackling Samoans kept Wales in check but the Welsh were giving as good as they got as they prevented Samoa was gaining any consistent fluency.
Perenise gave Samoa the perfect lift going into the break after Samoa once again patiently went through the phases. Wales had to repel an rapid-fire onslaught before the ball was flung wide. Perenise ducked and dived his way under George North and Jamie Roberts to score his first international try. Williams added the extras to give Samoa a 10-6 lead at halftime.
Hook failed to return for the second half with Leigh Halfpenny making his World Cup debut. For the second time in the match, Wales had the chance to score virtually from the kick-off. Samoa infringed from a ruck and Priestland expertly used the cross bar to knock the ball over as Wales reduced the arrears to a point.
Williams pulled a penalty wide to let Wales off the hook as Sam Warburton’s men came under increasing pressure. Wales lacked the composure they showed against South Africa as a hesitant display saw Samoa grow in confidence.
Wales clawed back the lead in the 65th minute when Priestland chipped over a penalty from close range after Lavea was penalised at a ruck.
Wales then breathed a huge sigh of relief when Halfpenny escaped the clutches of the suffocating Samoan defence. He sent Jonathan Davies away down the touchline and even though the big centres pass went to ground, Williams was there to pick up the scraps to score out wide.
From there on in Wales held on as Samoa threw the kitchen sink at Sam Warburton and his men held out for a courageous win.
The victory puts Wales in third position on the pool table on points difference behind Samoa and South Africa. However the victory will give Wales great heart as they now have Namibia and Fiji within their sights.
