SAMOA survived a scare in Heidelberg, scoring three tries in the last 11 minutes to confirm their place at Rugby World Cup 2019 with a 42-28 second-leg victory over Germany yesterday.
Having arrived in Europe with a 66-15 advantage from the first leg in Apia, the visitors were all assured of their place in Pool A, however, an unlikely defeat looked to be on the cards when the hosts took a 28-21 lead with less than 15 minutes remaining.
Samoa had paid the price for an error-strewn performance but clicked into gear as Ah See Tuala – Samoa’s standout player over the two legs – scored twice either side of an Ed Fidow try to break Germany’s resolve and spare his own side’s blushes.
Tuala finished the match with 22 points, while Fidow and scrum-half Melani Matavao each also touched down twice.
Samoa began the game knowing they could lose by 50 points in Heidelberg and still punch their ticket to Japan 2019, so commanding was their first-leg victory a fortnight ago.
