Jackson eyes upset to conclude Samoa’s journey
This was always a race against time for Steve Jackson. The Samoan head coach was only appointed to the role last September, chosen from a list of 40 applicants and handed ownership of a team that had to qualify for this World Cup via a two-legged play-off against Germany, which was needed because of a bottom-place finish in the Pacific Nations table.
Defeats to Georgia and the USA soon after his appointment gave an indication of the size of the job he had on his hands, but he pitched up in Pool A in Japan with the stated ambition of making a quarter-final only to see his side fire a blank against Scotland and then end up beaten by double scores by the hosts.
The second of those defeats was more encouraging than such a bald statistic sounds, but their hopes of emulating the sides in 1991, ’95, and ’99 by progressing to the knockout stages are over.
The only goal now is to claim a win against Ireland that Jackson believes would be every bit as notable as the one recorded by Western Samoa when they upset Wales in Cardiff 28 years ago.
“It’d be right up there with some of the games that they won in ’91, ’95,” he claimed. “Now, being in the professional era, this is probably one of the biggest games that we could play and win.
To be ranked where we are and they are in the top five in the world, for us it would be massive.
“Again, we don’t really compare Tier One and Tier Two. For us there are opportunities. It is what it is for us and we understand the climate that we live in. We have an opportunity to finish a World Cup knowing that we are on an airplane on Monday going home. To have a scalp like that would be great.”
Jackson has made two changes to the team which started against Japan last time out. Logovi’i Mulipola comes in at loosehead and Teofilo Paolo assumes a spot in the second row. The backline remains unchanged and that means another start for full-back Tim Nanai-Williams — Bundee Aki’s childhood friend — who was an injury doubt this week.
Motivation will come for Samoa from various sources. Pride in the jersey is more than just a catchphrase for these players, while lock Teofilo Paolo will be spurred on by the knowledge that, as a free agent released by London Irish, he has a gilt-edged chance to impress possible suitors on the club scene.
It may be that a sense of injustice takes to the pitch with them too. Samoan players have collected five penalties between them in just three games here.
It’s an issue that is starting to haunt them at World Cups now given they earned three in one game against Japan four years ago but just one in the ten fixtures that preceded the current tournament.
How to explain that?
Jackson did it by saying that two of their recent punishments were for penalties for being offside, one was for a tackle and another for entering a ruck from the side.
Penalty offences, he said, not foul play.
“People can say what they like,” he explained. “We heard journalists saying that the tackle that Rey Lee-Lo did (on Russia’s Vasily Artemyev) could have killed someone.
Well they have obviously got no idea how to play the game.
Jackson has hardly been the first person to point out that there have been instances of other players escaping serious punishment for what would be deemed high shots. Whatever about his own player’s guilt or innocence, such inconsistencies have undoubtedly been a blight on this tournament.
“We talk about player safety, and we understand that, but it’s starting to go the other way. Referees are too scared to referee the way they should ref and players are too scared to go out there... I would hate to see this World Cup come down to the team who can keep the most players on the field.”
Discipline aside, Samoa have the heft and smarts to make Ireland suffer. Fiji’s ferocious start against Wales demonstrated just how many problems could be attracted by allowing a team that is all but on the next plane home to work a groove for themselves and get under the skin.
Jackson’s own sense is that Ireland’s need for a bonus-point win could add further spice to the pot.
We are not going to win this game by kicking penalty goals. It’s going to be done by teams scoring tries and teams chancing their arm because I know that the other team is not just going to look to secure the win.
“They will need to make sure that they have got the bonus point in the bag and they are comfortable and they are sitting in the quarter-finals and not worry about what is going to happen the next day.
“Likewise, we are not there to just make up the numbers. We are going to throw
everything at it as well and make it a spectacle. Hopefully we come out on the right side of the ledger.”
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