Samoa staged a comeback to clinch their first victory against the USA in nine years, finishing in third place in the Pacific Nations Cup.
Luke Carty began the scoring with an early penalty and extended the USA’s lead to 10-0 in under eight minutes, successfully converting Toby Fricker’s try.
Fricker, playing as the USA’s full-back, took advantage of a faulty clearance from Rodney Iona, making a remarkable catch and running in uncontested for the try. However, that highlighted the peak of Scott Lawrence’s team’s performance.
Iona responded before halftime, kicking two penalties to narrow Samoa’s deficit to four points. Carty attempted a long-range penalty but missed, leaving the score at 10-6 at the interval.
Samoa took control of the match as Iakopo Petelo-Mapu broke through multiple tackles to score an impressive individual try.
As the match appeared destined for a draw, USA’s Jason Daam received a yellow card for collapsing a Samoan maul just five meters from the try line.
With Daam sidelined, Samoa capitalized on the opportunity, and three minutes from full-time, Melani Nanai scored in the left corner to secure the win.