Manu Samoa winger Lattrell Ah Kiong scored a hat-trick as Samoa beat Zimbabwe 43-7 in their World Rugby Nations Cup clash at the DIY Kitchens Stadium, in Wakefield, in England on Sunday morning (NZT).
Ah Kiong scored in the seventh, 19th and 45th minutes.
His tally contributed to Manu Samoa’s total haul of seven tries in the match, with others coming from Peter Umaga-Jensen (22nd), Ben Nee-Nee (42nd), Miracle Faiilagi (54th), AJ Lam (78th).
Fired up after their sivitau pre-match challenged, led by captain Theo McFarland, the islanders did not wait too long before Ah Kiong struck for his first try, following a Umaga-Jensen break down the right flank.
Flyhalves Jacob Umaga, who kicked three conversions, and his replacement Josh Ioane, managed eight points between themselves.
Ioane was one of two former All Blacks who made their debuts for Manu Samoa, alongside fullback Shaun Stevenson.
Manu Samoa’s Miracle Faiilagi dives across the Zimbabwe tryline to score his try in Wakefield.
World Rugby / Nathan Stirk
Samoa’s win was their second in the competition and in front of a lively crowd it was the men in blue who largely dominated proceedings during a formidable display of skill and strength.
Yet the Sables’ spirits never sagged and the scored a late consolation try through Dale Lemon.
Zimbabwe captain Hilton Mudariki said they needed to keep working hard and learn from the match.
“Credit to Samoa because they showed their class today,” he said post-match.
“It shows we’ve got a lot to work on, but our fans were amazing so we’ll just keep building.”
Samoa led 19-0 at half-time and captain McFarland said it was good to kick off their second round with a win.
He said they will keep learning.
“Been some months before we played together again, and it was good to welcome the new boys and also get back our core players,” he said.
“Zimbabwe was great and they came at us hard. Was good to have that win.
“We will take our learnings and keep moving forward.”
Umaga-Jensen’s combination with crack centre Lalomilo Lalomilo and AJ Lam would have made the team coaches happy as the trio turned the magic on with ball in hand.
Former Chiefs fullback Stevenson was also devastating with his counter-attacking runs from the back.
Samoa’s front row of Scott Sio, Richie Asiata and veteran Michael Alalatoa held their own against the Zimbabwe scrums while locks Benjamin Petia Nee-nee and McFarland dominated in the lineout battles.
Manu Samoa will meet Portugal in Lisbon next Sunday, while Pacific Island neighbour Tonga will tackle Georgia in Tbilisi on the same day.
