Samoa scare for Springboks

Habana: Try scorer in the first half

South Africa made sure of their place in the quarter-finals after a bruising 13-5 victory over Samoa in Auckland.

It was a brutal encounter at the North Harbour Stadium at times, with both sides putting in some mammoth hits.

However the Springboks were able to keep their cool to come out on top - with their pragmatic approach paying dividends and ensuring Wales will join them in the last eight regardless of their result against Fiji.

The combined kicking efforts of Morne Steyn and Frans Steyn kept the Samoans at bay - they landed eight points between them - while Bryan Habana scored their only try.

The Boks, though, had to survive a sustained Samoa onslaught after the interval, with the South Sea islanders unlucky to score just one try through George Stowers.

And Samoa were left fuming after Paul Williams was harshly red carded for clashing with Heinrich Brussow.

South Africa got off to fast start as they tried to take advantage of the strong wind at their backs.

Morne Steyn saw a drop-goal attempt in the second minute drift wide, while Frans Steyn's long-range penalty rebounded off the bar.

However it took a superb diving finish from Habana to move the Boks into the lead after eight minutes, with David Lemi's tackle unable to prevent the winger grounding the ball in the corner. Morne Steyn converted.

Impressing

Samoa responded superbly and went toe-to-toe with the Boks - Kahn Fotuali'i and Williams in particular impressing - but too many errors at the breakdown and constant struggles at the set-piece left them frustrated.

Another big kick from Frans Steyn this time sailed over to extend the lead, with Morne Steyn making it 13-0 with a regulation effort.

Despite their problems in the scrums, Samoa continued to threaten in the loose and they almost got the try their enterprise deserved at the end of the half, with Seilala Mapusua lacking the support.

There was a scare for the defending champions after the break as Habana was forced off after feeling the effects of some tough tackling, while his replacement Francois Hougaard was then left needing treatment.

Samoa were finally rewarded for their adventure as Stowers powered over after some superb offloads.

Morne Steyn failed to take advantage of a slip up from the Samoans at the restart, with his penalty kick dropping short.

And a few South African hearts will have been in mouths as Lemi opened up the Boks defence, only for a desperate tackle from Patrick Lambie and the whistle of Nigel Owens to deny him.

The Boks thought they had put the result beyond doubt on the hour when a driving maul saw Bismarck Du Plessis carry over the line but the video evidence was inconclusive as to whether he had grounded the ball.

Samoa again had chances with Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu and Lemi making good breaks, while Mahonri Schwalger knocked on close to the line.

However Samoa's hopes looked to have been dealt a fatal blow when Williams was red carded for pushing Brussow in the face after the full-back retaliated to being hit.

But John Smit was then shown a yellow card with ten minutes left for a professional foul to leave both sides with 14 men.

Try as they might, though, Samoa couldn't gather the losing bonus point they needed to keep their quarter-final hopes alive.