After starting slowly, South Africa displayed an impressive mixture of speed, skill and physicality to beat a tough Samoan side 59-7 in their  opening Rugby World Cup game.  Neither team managed to break through the opposition defence until the 18th minute, when Samoan centre Gavin Williams took a short pass straight through the Springbok line to bring Samoa within reach at 7-9 after three penalty kicks from Springbok fullback Percy Montgomery.

But that was to prove the last of the good news for Samoa as the South Africans began to find their legs out wide.

With less than 10 minutes left in the first half, Bryan Habana got the ball on the wing, 40 metres out, and proceeded to run through the Samoan defence for the first of his four tries. Montgomery followed with another try just before half-time and converted both, giving South Africa  a comfortable, but not commanding 21-7 half-time lead. Frustrations on both sides led to a number of minor altercations.

'With both packs big and physical, South Africa increasingly looked to their talented back line to take the advantage'


Samoa came out for the second half with a well-coordinated attack and lock Joe Tekori quickly appeared to score a try in the corner with a pick-and-go off the back of a ruck. But a curious call from referee Paul Honiss ruled the Samoans offside.

With both packs big and physical, South Africa increasingly looked to their talented back line to take the advantage, with centre Jaques Fourie, Montgomery and Habana scoring three quick tries in less than 10 minutes to pull South Africa clear at 40-7. In the closing minutes, Habana added two more tries and his fellow wing, JP Pietersen, dotted one down in the corner to bring the final score to 59-7.

On an emotional level, Samoan fans greatly enjoyed cheering on 35-year-old replacement Brian Lima, who set a record by participating in his fifth World Cup. Unfortunately for Lima, his appearance lasted only five minutes, when he had to leave the pitch due to injury after an attempted big hit on Andre Pretorius..

Virtually the entire Springbok backline played well, with Francois Steyn showing considerable tenacity with ball in hand at centre. And while Habana scored four tries, it was Montgomery who won the Man-of-the-Match award for his all-around display of skills.

Looking ahead, South Africa must be even more confident that they will dispose of England, with relatively easier matches against Tonga and the USA to finish their opening round, while Samoa will likely play at the top of their form against Pacific rivals Tonga, before meeting England and the USA.

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