USA vs Samoa Predictions - Tight contest for 3rd place

Samoa have five wins and the USA two in the seven previous encounters.

The USA are a rugby nation trying to build a team to be competitive in tier two and eventually tier one as they will host the 2031 Rugby World Cup. However, they failed to qualify for the 2023 World Cup which has made many people doubt their credentials.

In July this year, the USA lost 22-20 to Romania and 42-7 to Scotland, both games were played at home. However, they bounced back in the Pacific Nations Cup opener to defeat Canada 28-15. 

Thereafter, the USA found Japan too good as the Brave Blossoms won 41-24. The win against Canada was enough to secure a semi-final against Fiji last week.

The USA lost but they performed admirably, particularly on defence, losing the game 22-3. Against a Fijian side that were scoring points at will, that is no mean feat.

The USA are likely to try stick with continuity from last week.

Samoa have been disappointing for some time and will want to pick up in performance. They have historically produced some great players and have a lot of quality today, but they often fail to get it together on the field.

Samoa lost 42-16 to Fiji in their opening game of the Pacific Nations Cup but bounced back to beat Tonga 43-17 to qualify for the semis.

Last week Samoa lost in the semi-final 49-27 to Japan. Earlier this year, Samoa did beat Spain and Italy on home soil, which was good results, particularly against the Italians.

Samoa have not had their strongest side available for this tournament, but still have plenty of quality. I do not think they will make too many changes.