Three tries put Samoa in control at break

Samoa 24 Georgia 9

Samoa warmed up for next weekend’s World Cup clash against England by scoring three first-half tries to leave Pool C opponents Georgia trailing at Subiaco Oval.

Samoan coach John Boe made one change from the side that defeated Uruguay 60-13 in midweek, replacing wing Lome Fa’atau with Ron Fanautanu, while Georgia welcomed back captain Ilia Zedguinidze, who missed the 84-6 reversal against England because of a head injury.

Georgia started brightly, and they went ahead on four minutes when fly-half Paliko Jimsheladze kicked an angled penalty from 25 metres.

Fanautanu’s night lasted just six minutes before he was forced off injured - Dominic Feaunati replaced him – and Feaunati immediately found himself in the action when a weaving run put Georgia on the back foot.

Samoa then opened their account through a well-worked try as wing Sailosi Tagicakibau smashed through Georgian full-back Badri Khekhelashvili’s tackle and touched down wide out. Despite the difficult angle, fly-half Earl Va’a converted.

Georgia relished the forward battle, and they once again produced admirable degrees of commitment that had highlighted their performance against England a week ago.

Jimsheladze booted his second penalty after 19 minutes, narrowing Georgia’s deficit to one point, but Samoa stormed back upfield and they made the most of some quality ball when Va’a scythed through for an excellent touchdown that he also converted.

Samoa, with possession being freely secured, began spinning the ball wide in an attempt to stretch Georgia’s defence, and a fine break from Orrell scrum-half Steven So’oialo created another penalty chance that Va’a accepted.

A Jimsheladze drop-goal kept Georgia in touch at 17-9 adrift, yet Samoa were gradually growing in confidence and So’oialo darted over for their third try following sustained forward pressure. Va’a converted to give him 14 points.

So’oialo and skipper Semo Sititi were making considerable yardage through some powerful running, while Georgia’s tendency to make basic errors compounded escalating problems.

Samoa pushed for a bonus point before the break, and although it did not arrive, there was a promise of plenty more points in the second period.