9 NOVEMBER: Test Rugby Results

09.11.2012
United States 40, Russia 26 in Colwyn Bay (IRB International Rugby Series)
Samoa 42, Canada 12 in Colwyn Bay (IRB International Rugby Series)

What the Forums Say

Samoa v Canada

’Halftime: Canada 0 - 22 Samoa
Samoa were all over Canada for 25 minutes but the Canucks have managed to keep it tight for a while.’

‘Samoa led 42 - 0 before two late tries for Canada. I'm sure Canada weren't at full strength but it was a very dominant game from Samoa, and a debutant #11 for them scored 4 tries.’

http://www.fira-aer-rugby.com/forum2007/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4197

‘That was the worse effort since we played Ireland in 2008.
Some Thoughts
-Simply put, we were scared of Samoa's physicality. As a side that never backs down from playing a physical game, that's worrisome.
-No matter what, our scrum sucks. That said, we were better once Marshall and Tiedemann came on. Both should start against Russia.
-Barkwill did a decent job in the lineouts.
-White was terrible.
-Despite a few costly mistakes I was impressed by Braid's willingness to take control of the game and use his feet.
-Pritchard, obviously, had a bad day with the boot. That's rare.
-O'Toole had a good second half and was the Canadian player of the game.
-Did I mention our scrum sucks?
Looking forward to Russia...’

‘This match brought back memories of Canada's 46-8 defeat to Japan in 2009 (http://www.espnscrum.com/statsguru/r...ch/103413.html). Looking on the bright side though, the dreadful results on that 2009 tour turned out to be a blip and by 2011 Canada had a more successful World Cup than Japan.’

http://www.therugbyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?29325-EOYT-Canada-v-Samoa-09-11-2012/page8

USA v Russia

‘Not a great way to end the game and it's clear that we have zero depth, especially with the missing players. But it was still a decent win for a team that doesn't really win a lot and there are some positive things, especially L'Estrange at 10 and an improved scrum (albeit with a long way to go still).’

http://www.therugbyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?29324-EOYT-United-States-v-Russia-09-11-2012/page5

‘USA looked better prepared as a team and had an effective game plan which they stuck to until the last 15 mins or so when they seems to ease off a bit. Russia have some good positives from the last 20 mins but have to address some sloppy defending and a tendency to kick aimlessly from hand.’

http://www.fira-aer-rugby.com/forum2007/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4197