Jackson penalty sinks Samoa

Young fly-half Ruaridh Jackson kicked a last-minute penalty as Scotland managed to scrape a 19-16 victory over Samoa in a tough contest at Pittodrie.

The hosts, coming off the back of a shock victory against world champions South Africa, were more than matched by Samoa for much of the 80 minutes in Aberdeen.

Samoa scored the opening try of the game as scrum-half Kahn Fotuali'i rounded off a neat move to give the tourists a shock lead in the early stages.

But Scotland responded with a try of their own from Nikki Walker before a string of penalties resulted in a kicking battle between Dan Parks and Paul Williams.

Both sides threatened to win it as the clock ticked down but an infringement in the ruck handed the final chance to Scotland and with Parks off the pitch, Jackson stepped up to secure a dramatic victory.

Allan Jacobsen and Sean Lamont won their 50th caps as the hosts looked to end a successful 2010 on a high after climbing to sixth in the world rankings.

Unbeaten

They were also looking to extend their unbeaten run against Samoa, having won five and drawn one of their previous six meetings.

And the hosts made the stronger start, immediately applying forward pressure on the Samoa line and Parks' slotted over an early penalty for a 3-0 lead.

But Samoa went in front with nine minutes on the clock as George Pisi threaded a neat kick through the Scotland back-line after breaking down the left and Fotuali'i scored after taking Seilala Mapusua's handoff.

But Scotland hit back five minutes later as Walker came off his wing to break through the line and touch down under the posts with Parks adding the easy extras.

Parks was then uncharacteristically off-target with a penalty but made amends by slotting through the posts after Kelly Brown was penalised for not rolling away from a tackle.

Williams then reduced the deficit with a penalty of his own as Scotland went into the half-time break with a narrow 13-10 advantage.

The scores were levelled two minutes into the second half as Williams notched three more points before Parks passed up a chance to regain the lead with another missed penalty.

Pressure

The hosts enjoyed a period of heavy pressure but could not break down the Samoa defence and Parks was forced to settle for a drop-goal.

It was then Samoa's turn to pile on the pressure from the restart and although they just fell short of a second try, a penalty for offside allowed the visitors to draw level again through Williams.

Scotland coach Andy Robinson then turned to his bench for reinforcements with 20 minutes left in the match, with scrum-half Mike Blair, prop Moray Low, fly-half Jackson, lock Jim Hamilton and centre Max Evans all being brought on.

Blair was called into action immediately as he caught Ofisa Treviranus in the corner to deny Samoa what would have been a crucial try.

Graeme Morrison then broke through the middle as Scotland responded but the flowing move broke down after a knock-on by Lamont.

Lamont was eventually forced off with a hip injury, leading No. 8 Richie Vernon to switch to the wing for the final six minutes and Ross Rennie to come into the back row.

Despite the loss, Scotland were on top in the closing stages and Samoa replacement Iosefa Tekori was penalised at the breakdown in the last minute, giving Scotland a chance to win it with the last kick of the game.

And Glasgow stand-off Jackson rose to the challenge in the absence of Parks, converting his first points in international rugby in only his second cap to seal victory.