Russia vs Samoa: Rugby World Cup live scores, blog

In what shapes as a possible play-off for the bottom spot in Pool A and both team’s best chance at winning a game, Russia and Samoa will clash in Kumagaya City. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage of this match from 8:15pm (AEST).

Russia were competitive in the opening match of the tournament when they took on Japan, but fitness at the back end of the contest was ultimately their downfall as the Japanese side came over the top for the victory.

That being said, the fact that Russia haven’t made any changes for their second game of the tournament, especially on only a couple of days rest, comes as something of a surprise.

This will also be a different style of game, with Samoa likely to bring a very phyiscal tempo to their play throughout the tournament, although that counted for little in their final warm-up game, when they were routed by Australia in Parramatta.

It may well turn into a survival of the fittest this evening, given a forecasted humidity of around 60 per cent with rain – that should further suit the Samoans in the middle of the park.

The Russian forwards were solid in their opener against Japan, but the side really lost their way when turning to the interchange players during the second half, and that could become an issue again for the nation.

Tagir Gadzhiev and Nikita Vavilin will be their key men in the second row, while Valery Morozov needs to set the tempo in the number one if Vasily Dorofev and Yury Kushnarev are a chance of making things happen for Russia in the halves.

Russia do have an experience in the halves through Kushnarev, who has plenty of caps to his name, but they may need more than that to go with the Pacific Island nation.

That battle of the flankers becomes even more important when you consider the quality of Samoan skipper Chris Vui, while their physical style of rugby should create opportunities on the wings for the dangerous Ah See Tuala and Ed Fidow.

Samoa come into the game as heavy favourites, and given Russia are still searching for their first victory at the tournament overall, it’s hardly a surprise.

Prediction
One would expect Samoa to be good enough here, particularly down the later stages of the game as Russia run into fitness issues.

Samoa by 21.

Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this Rugby World Cup match from 8:15pm (AEST) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.

Game information

Kick-off: 8:15pm (AEST)
Venue: Kumagaya Rugby Stadium, Saitama Prefecture, Kumagaya City, Japan
TV: Live, Fox Sports 503
Online: Live, Kayo Sports, Foxtel App, Foxtel Now
Betting: Samoa $1.01, Russia $17
Referee: Romain Poite (France)

Russia
1. Valery Morozov
2. Stanislav Selskii
3. Kirill Gotovtsev
4. Andrey Ostrikov
5. Bogdan Fedotko
6. Vitaly Zhivatov
7. Tagir Gadzhiev
8. Nikita Vavilin
9. Vasily Dorofeev
10. Yurv Kushnarev
11. Kirill Golosnitskiy
12. Dmitry Gerasimov
13. Vladimir Ostroushko
14. German Davydov
15. Vasily Artemyev

Interchange:
16. Evgeny Matveev
17. Andrei Polivalov
18. Azamat Bitiev
19. Andrey Garbuzov
20. Anton Sychev
21. Dmitry Perov
22. Ramil Gaisin
23. Vladislav Sozonov

Samoa
1. Logovii Mulipola
2. Motu Matu’u
3. Mike Alaalatoa
4. Filo Paulo
5. Kane Le’aupepe
6. Chris Vui
7. TJ Ioane
8. Afaesetiti Amosa
9. Dwayne Polataivao
10. Tusi Risi
11. Ed Fidow
12. Rey Lee-Lo
13. Alapati Leiua
14. Ah See Tuala
15. Tim Nanai-Williams

Interchange:
16. Ray Niuia
17. Paul Alo-Emile
18. Jordan Lay
19. Senio Toleafoa
20. Josh Tyrell
21. Melani Matavao
22. AJ Alatimu
23. Henry Taefu