SCOTLAND cannot afford another 40-minute performance if they are to see off Samoa and progress to the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup, Mark Bennett has warned.
The Glasgow centre sat out Saturday’s game against South Africa, when, for the third match running, Scotland played better in the second half than they did in the first. They lost that game, but earlier Pool B wins against Japan and the USA have left them on the brink of qualification for the knockout stages - something they will ensure if they beat the Samoans at St James’ Park in four days’ time.
“We can’t just go out and think 40 minutes is going to be enough,” Bennett warned yesterday. “It needs to be an 80-minute performance, so we need to switch on from the word go and get into them.
“We managed to win our first two games with a 40, but we can’t rely on that. It’s a huge game this weekend and another huge game the following week if we get through.”
Samoa are out of the running for a top-two place after losing to Japan at the weekend, but Bennett believes they will not be lightly brushed aside. “I think that they’re going to come for us, because they still need to try and finish third to get automatic qualification [for the next World Cup]. They’ve still got a lot to play for.
“They’re going to try and bring a physical game as well - they’re going to try and beat us up. They’re strong, physical guys, and they’ve got players at the back like Tim Nanai-Williams. He’s an outstanding game-breaker and he’s been playing really well this tournament. They’re going to bring physicality to us but then also try and get the finesse in there with these guys trying to finish it off.”
Like Bennett, Alasdair Strokosch thinks it is vital to get on top of the Samoans from early in the game, having played in the last fixture between the teams, a 27-17 defeat for Scotland in Durban, South Africa, in June 2013. “I played that day and I can remember it pretty well,” the flanker said. “The only thing that really let us down was we just didn’t front up to Samoa’s physicality. That’s kind of what cost us. If we play with a bit of tempo, keep things quick, move things around, we should be all right.”
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