Samoa secured a comeback victory against the USA, marking their first win over the team in nine years and earning third place in the Pacific Nations Cup.
The USA started strong with Luke Carty scoring an early penalty and then extending their lead to 10 points in under eight minutes after converting Toby Fricker’s try. Fricker’s impressive catch following a misplayed clearance from Rodney Iona allowed him to score unopposed.
However, the momentum shifted as Iona redeemed himself by converting two penalties before halftime, bringing Samoa within four points. Carty missed a late long-range penalty attempt, keeping the score at 10-6 at the interval.
Samoa took charge in the second half as Iakopo Petelo-Mapu broke through multiple tackles to score a remarkable individual try. As the match approached its conclusion, USA’s Jason Daam received a yellow card for collapsing a Samoan maul just five meters from the try line.
With Daam temporarily sidelined, Samoa capitalized on the situation, and with three minutes remaining, Melani Nanai scored in the left corner, sealing the win for Samoa.