Scotland v Samoa Betting Tips [30 September 2019]

In what is proving to be an interesting Pool ‘A’, Scotland (zero points) will hope to get their first points on the board, when they take on top-of-the-table Samoa (five points).

Scotland were meek and submissive against a rampant Ireland in their tournament opener. The 27-3 loss was an apt indicator of how poor the Scots were. They went down 15-0 within just 15 minutes and the writing was on the wall. Greig Laidlaw got them three points, but Scotland were always chasing the Irish. Two tries on either side of the break meant Ireland got their bonus point and the Scots had to settle for the hard lessons learnt. They never were in the game and couldn’t register even a single try. Flanker Hamish Watson was lost to an injury and so was scrum-half Ali Prince, compounding Scotland’s problems.

Samoa overcame a slow start to defeat Russia 34-9 for a bonus point win. The Samoans went down to 13 men in the first half and were trailing at the break after Russia converted two penalties. However, five second-half tries helped Samoa break the stranglehold and blaze away. Alapati Leiua was the star show for Samoa, scoring two tries and making 163 metres in the match. However, there is mixed news for Samoa over the availability of Rey Lee-Lo and Motu Matu’u. The pair were shown yellow cards during the match, but Lee-Lo was given the red card by the disciplinary committee.

Scotland will be the ones chasing points, as they need a win to stay in the hunt for progression. Samoa were slow to start, but were impressive against Russia in their tournament opener. The loss of key players will be tough on both sides, but Samoa have the narrow edge considering their good start to the tournament.