May not have been a full strength Samoan team, but Saints were missing plenty of players and were very unlucky not to take the win. Referee Martin Fox, who I have previously rated, was a waste of space today.
The pack (missing the likes of Smith, Murray, Van Niekerk, Tiny, Hartley...) were immense in the first half in every area other than the lineout, where we wobbled a bit. Really took it to Samoa up front and were definately on top.
Behind the scrum, Everitt was excellent, both in his kicking out of hand and in getting the backs moving. Myler was solid when he came on but had less ball and fewer experienced players to work with when he did. Bruce looked back to his wonderful best, crunching through tackles every time he got the ball at the back. Had to bounce back after one monster hit from the Samoan left winger in close quarters though. Downey showed promise at 12, and young Grant Anderson did very well at outside centre considering he is only 17 and making his debut. Diggin and Harries both defied their size to turn in strong performances on the wings.
Team lost a bit of impetus and penetration when a lot of changes were made in the second half, but it was good to see a lot of youngsters getting a chance. I can't see many sides in NL1 standing up to us if we use this match as a starting block to improve from.