The Samoans were not an unknown entity after the Boks faced them in a friendly at Ellis Park in Johannesburg before the RWC, winning 60-8 with Chester Williams scoring two tries.
Williams was back in the frame for the RWC quarter-final after missing the pool phase through injury, and he made up for that by scoring four tries against Western Samoa as the Boks went on to win comfortably by 42-12, with Chris Rossouw and Mark Andrews also scoring tries, and Gavin Johnson adding three conversions and two penalty goals.
The high-flying French were their next opponents, in a rain-soaked Durban where the kick-off was postponed due to an unplayable wet pitch.
When the action finally started, it was a proper arm wrestle with Ruben Kruger's try the difference as the Boks progressed to the RWC Final courtesy of a 19-15 semi-final victory. Joel Stransky added a conversion and four penalty goals to their tally.
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All pictures from Gallo Images or Grant Leversha.
