Salt Lake City capped off the Pacific Nations Cup over the weekend, with an added World Cup Qualifier, too.
In that World Cup Qualifier, Samoa and Chile tied 32-32 to set up a winner-take-all game in Chile this coming weekend.
Replacement Abraham Papali’i scored a second-half double as Samoa came back from a 25-8 halftime deficit to tie the game.
“We had to dig deep," said Samoa captain Michael Alaalatoa. "Chile put us under a lot of pressure – they played really well when they entered our half. But that’s the effort we’ve been looking for, for the last six or seven weeks that we’ve been together. We know we’re capable of playing rugby like that and I’m glad we were able to show that today.
Chile captain Clemente Saavedra was determined to stay positive, despite the ending: “It was a really good match,” he said. “We had a really good first half. The second half, we have to do an analysis on Monday to see what we can do better, but the group is really good. We’re playing in Vina del Mar, so on balance I’m quite happy. The first 20 minutes in the second half has to be much better in Vina del Mar.”
“We're pretty clear on what the scenario is now," concluded Alaalatoa. "It’s nil-all, so we just need a win, so both sides are going to throw everything at it."
