Tops
What a game from Jonathan Taumateine! The Samoan scrum half, with his recognizable hair, was in all the good moves this Saturday afternoon, during his team’s narrow defeat against England (17-18). He perfectly put his team in the lead, making his forwards play when necessary and breaking away at the right times. Author of several decisive tackles, he even made a sumptuous pass between the legs, making the Pierre-Mauroy stadium roar with pleasure.
The Manu Samoa winger was decisive. On his team’s first try (22nd), he is perfectly placed to complete a magnificent combination for his team, thanks to an effective inside hook. He doubled the lead a few minutes later (29th), receiving a real offering at the feet of his leader Sopoaga. He even comes close to the hat-trick (34th) but the tip of his crampon passes into touch. One of the major architects of his team’s near-victory.
He was the player to watch this Saturday afternoon. Aligned in the center at kick-off, the English captain did not play much of the game, far from it. But the essential thing wasn’t there. In the 18th minute, he took advantage of a penalty to the right of the posts to add three points to his team’s tally. But above all to become the best director in history than XV de la Rose. With 1181 points scored, he overtook the legend Sir Jonny Wilkinson.
Flops
Facing the Islanders, the tenth nation in world rugby, the English forwards were never dominant and sometimes even suffered. Shaken in the touches but above all penalized several times in the match, Itoje and his team failed to be decisive. Same story during the numerous sequences of intensive shelling of the Samoan line. They had to end up at 15 against 14 to finally influence the fate of the match. Which could prove more problematic in the quarter-final.
The English did not attempt to drop this Saturday afternoon, George Ford was therefore invisible. Placed at fly-half alongside Mitchell, the man who took many years before returning to the selection never showed that he was able to influence the match. No better for his partner, who suffered from the comparison with Taumateine. It is difficult to see the XV de la Rose make it through the quarters if this hinge does not wake up.
The promises shown in preparation by this Samoan team were confirmed too late. Author of fifty extraordinary and easy minutes that won the Chileans the previous week, the Samoans will have woken up too late. Too bad when we see the level of performance displayed this Saturday afternoon. The initial defeats against Argentina and Japan will not have been forgiven.
