AJ MacGinty kicks USA to 10-13 win over Samoa

Samoa 10 - 13 United States of America, Suva

AJ MacGinty kicked all the points for United States of America as they edged out Samoa 10-13 in their Pacific Nations Cup clash in Suva on Saturday.

This is USA's second win from as many games as they occupy the pole position in Pool A while Samoa are at second place in Pool B.

MacGinty started the proceeding for USA with a third minute penalty goal but Samoa responded back in the sixth minute when Alapati Leuia made full use of the offload from AJ Alatimu to cross over for the opening try in the game. Alatimu also kicked the conversion to make the scoreline 7-3.

Just as the first quarter was about to end, MacGinty put USA back into the lead with a converted try in the 20th minute to make the scoreline 7-10.

As the half-time was approaching, Samoa had a big decision going against them with Johnny Vaili knocking down Iosefo’s pass after which he regathered for a clear run to the line but official Nigel Owens pulled the whistle wrong for what he thought was a knock-on.

The second half saw both the teams desperate for points and the breakthrough did not come until the 73rd minute when Taefu kicked a three-pointer to level the scores 10-10. Just as the full-time was approaching, USA earned a vital penalty which MacGinty delivered to complete a three point win.