Scotland head coach Andy Robinson declared himself delighted with his players despite a close shave against Samoa at Pittodrie.
Scotland boss pleased with side after narrow escape against Samoa
Scotland head coach Andy Robinson declared himself delighted with his players despite their close shave against Samoa at Pittodrie on Saturday.
The hosts needed a last-gasp penalty from replacement fly-half Ruaridh Jackson to secure a narrow 19-16 win after a spirited performance from the visitors.
Jackson held his nerve to secure a fifth win in six Tests for Robinson's side, who rose to their highest-ever world ranking of six after beating South Africa last time out.
And Robinson was pleased that Scotland again found a way to win against a very competitive Samoa outfit.
"It was a tight match but I'm delighted we understood how to win the game. I thought the defence in the last 10 minutes was exemplary," he said.
"Today highlighted that we've got to be at our very best and we probably weren't at our very best as a collective.
Hard
"A lot of people will be frustrated with this, but it was a hard Test match, a physical Test match against a good side."
Scotland have won two out of their three autumn Tests to add to a two-match series sweep over Argentina in the summer and victory in the final match of the Six Nations against Ireland.
Robinson hopes that the good run of form will continue into next year's Six Nations campaign but also acknowledges that Scotland must improve certain areas of their game.
He added: "I'm delighted to be able to do that. It's an 80-minute game and you've got to be able to play through those 80 minutes.
"As we saw after Ireland (in March), winning the last game of the series is great. We won that and winning in Argentina, the back-to-back matches, it gives you a good feel and a good lift.
"Coming away having drawn or lost the game, you'd be pretty down as a group because you want the next week to put it right.
Confidence
"The great thing for us is we won the game and now we can go away with real confidence, understanding that we have to improve and there's a lot for us to improve.
"What I'm delighted about is we're all on the same message, we all want to get better and guys are going away thinking we can achieve that."
Samoa were hoping to end their tour on a winning note after going close against both Ireland and England in recent weeks.
Captain Mahonri Schwalger was disappointed to lose a third straight game but did not offer any excuses after the match.
The hooker said: "We came here to win, obviously we didn't get the result we wanted, but that's the way it is - you win some, you lose some.
"The Scottish kept their composure, that's why they're that sort of level. We didn't do that and we got punished for it.
"The boys are pretty disappointed. We had the win in front of us. But we're heading in the right direction at the moment and we'll build from this."
