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.