While the loss to Fiji was damaging to Scotland, a loss to Samoa would have been unthinkable. However, Ashman’s early score eased any jitters.
The Australia-bound hooker latched on to a driving maul to put Scotland in the lead after seven minutes, but in those early stages they’d had to stand up to some surging Samoa attack.
But after they landed the first blow, the backline kicked into gear. Stafford McDowall kicked through for Hutchinson to collect with the Northampton man darting over for Scotland’s only central score of the first half.
The next one was much wider, as the impressive Jamie Dobie looped a long miss pass out to the scampering Reed to dot down in the corner.
Five minutes later, they had their fourth. Dobie, Fergus Burke and Rowe all timed passes to perfection, with Steyn cantering in untouched.
They started the second-half in equally clinical fashion. Pounding at the Samoan barricades, the battering ram of Gilchrist eventually broke through to timber over for only his second international score.
Any hope of shutting out the hosts was soon snuffed out as replacement George Horne threw a blind pass on his own five-metre while being bundled into touch. Samoan lock Nee-Nee was on hand to intercept, gleeful at such an opportunity being handed to him.
Scotland responded immediately. From a scrum they went left, then right, then left again. Andy Onyeama-Christie carried hard, as did Matt Fagerson, but it was Burke’s pop-up offload from the deck which gave Rowe the chance to leap into the corner and touch down.
Toulon centre Paia’aua was able to get one back for Samoa, spinning out of the hands of two Scotland tacklers, but Turner got the seventh from the back of a driving maul.
The scoreline could have been far more comfortable, but Burke forgot his kicking boots and could only land one of his four conversion attempts. It was a greasy surface, in fairness to the Scotland newbee.
