A statistical preview of Saturday's final Rugby World Cup Pool A encounter between Ireland and Samoa at Fukuoka Hakatanamori Stadium (kick-off 7.45pm local time/11.45am Irish time).
RUGBY WORLD CUP – POOL A: Saturday, October 12
IRELAND (2nd) v SAMOA (4th), Fukuoka Hakatanamori Stadium, 7.45pm local time/11.45am Irish time (live eir Sport 1/RTÉ 2/UTV/ITV/RTÉ Radio 1/BBC Radio Ulster/BBC Radio 5 Live/IRFU Live Blog)
IRELAND: Jordan Larmour (St. Mary's College/Leinster); Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster), Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster), Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht), Jacob Stockdale (Lurgan/Ulster); Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary's College/Leinster), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster); Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster) (capt), Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster), Iain Henderson (Queen's University/Ulster), James Ryan (UCD/Leinster), Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster), Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster), CJ Stander (Shannon/Munster).
Replacements: Niall Scannell (Dolphin/Munster), Dave Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster), Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster), Jean Kleyn (Munster), Peter O'Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster), Luke McGrath (UCD/Leinster), Joey Carbery (Clontarf/Munster), Andrew Conway (Garryowen/Munster).
SAMOA: Tim Nanai-Williams (Clermont Auvergne); Ah See Tuala (Northampton Saints), Alapati Leiua (Bristol), Henry Taefu (Western Force), Ed Fidow (Worcester Warriors); Ulupano Seuteni (Bordeaux-Begles), Dwayne Polataivao (Doncaster Knights); Logovi'i Mulipola (Newcastle Falcons), Seilala Lam (Perpignan), Michael Alaalatoa (Crusaders), Filo Paulo (London Irish), Kane Le’aupepe (Hurricanes), Chris Vui (Bristol), TJ Ioane (London Irish), Jack Lam (Bristol) (capt).
Replacements: Ray Niuia (Highlanders), Paul Alo-Emile (Stade Francais), Jordan Lay (Bristol), Piula Faasalele (Toulouse), Josh Tyrell (Oyonnax), Pele Cowley (Ponsonby), Tusi Pisi (Toyota Industries Shuttles), Kieron Fonotia (Scarlets).
Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Romain Poite (France), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
Television Match Official: Rowan Kitt (England)
Head-To-Head:
Played – 6
Ireland Won – 5
Samoa Won – 1
Ireland v Samoa – Previous Results:
Saturday, October 29, 1988 – Tour Match: Ireland 49 Samoa 22, Lansdowne Road
Tuesday, November 12, 1996 – Tour Match: Ireland 25 Samoa 40, Lansdowne Road
Sunday, November 11, 2001 – Autumn Test: Ireland 35 Samoa 8, Lansdowne Road
Friday, June 20, 2003 – Summer Tour: Samoa 14 Ireland 40, Apia Park, Apia
Saturday, November 13, 2010 – GUINNESS Series: Ireland 20 Samoa 10, Aviva Stadium
Saturday, November 9, 2013 – GUINNESS Series: Ireland 40 Samoa 9, Aviva Stadium
Biggest Wins:
Ireland: Points: 40-9, 2013 GUINNESS Series
Samoa: Points & Margin: 40-25, 1996 Tour Match
Individual Records In The Series:
Most Points In A Match: Ireland 32 (Ronan O'Gara, 2003 Summer Test); Samoa 15 (Earl Va'a, 1996 Tour Match)
Most Tries In A Match: Ireland 2 (Keith Crossan, 1988 Tour Match; Ronan O'Gara, 2003 Summer Test, Dave Kearney, 2013 GUINNESS Series); Samoa 2 (Phineas Young, 1988 Tour Match; To'o Vaega, 1996 Tour Match)
Most Appearances – Ireland v Samoa:
3 – Brian O'Driscoll, Ronan O'Gara, Earl Va'a
2 - Jonathan Bell, Rory Best, Tommy Bowe, Emmet Byrne, Sean Cronin, Gordon D'Arcy, Guy Easterby, Simon Easterby, Lome Fa'atau, Kahn Fotuali'i, Mick Galwey, John Hayes, Cian Healy, Jamie Heaslip, Tamato Leupolu, Brian Lima, Denis McBride, Jon Meredith, Eric Miller, Mike Mullins, Sean O'Brien, Donncha O'Callaghan, Paul O'Connell, Opeta Palepoi, George Pisi, Semo Sititi, Afato So'oalo, Steve So'oialo, George Stowers, Peter Stringer, Zak Taulafo, Joe Tekori, Jeremy Tomuli, Devin Toner, Ofisa Treviranus, Inga Tuigamala, To'o Vaega, Kitiona Viliamu
Top Points Scorers – Ireland v Samoa:
62 – Ronan O'Gara
27 – Earl Va'a
20 – Simon Mason
18 - Michael Kiernan
15 - Paddy Jackson
10 - Dave Kearney, Afato So'oalo, To'o Vaega
Top Try Scorers – Ireland v Samoa:
3 – Ronan O'Gara
2 – Keith Crossan, Dave Kearney, Afato So'oalo, To'o Vaega, Phineas Young
Ireland – Form Guide From Start Of The 2018 Six Nations:
Won 15-13 v France away (Six Nations)
Won 56-19 v Italy home (Six Nations)
Won 37-27 v Wales home (Six Nations)
Won 30-25 v Scotland home (Six Nations)
Won 24-15 v England away (Six Nations)
Lost 18-9 v Australia away (Summer Series)
Won 26-21 v Australia away (Summer Series)
Won 20-16 v Australia away (Summer Series)
Won 54-7 v Italy neutral (Autumn Test)
Won 28-17 v Argentina home (GUINNESS Series)
Won 16-9 v New Zealand home (GUINNESS Series)
Won 57-14 v USA home (GUINNESS Series)
Lost 32-20 v England home (Six Nations)
Won 22-13 v Scotland away (Six Nations)
Won 26-16 v Italy away (Six Nations)
Won 26-14 v France home (Six Nations)
Lost 25-7 v Wales away (Six Nations)
Won 29-10 v Italy home (GUINNESS Summer Series)
Lost 57-15 v England away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 22-17 v Wales away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 19-10 v Wales home (GUINNESS Summer Series)
Won 27-3 v Scotland neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Lost 19-12 v Japan away (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Won 35-0 v Russia neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Samoa – Form Guide From Start Of The 2018 Test Season:
Lost 24-22 v Fiji away (Pacific Nations Cup)
Lost 28-18 v Tonga neutral (Pacific Nations Cup)
Won 66-15 v Germany home (Rugby World Cup Qualifier)
Won 42-28 v Germany away (Rugby World Cup Qualifier)
Lost 30-29 v USA neutral (Autumn Tour)
Lost 27-19 v Georgia away (Autumn Tour)
Won 28-10 v Spain away (Autumn Tour)
Won 25-17 v Tonga home (Pacific Nations Cup)
Lost 13-10 v USA neutral (Pacific Nations Cup)
Lost 10-3 v Fiji away (Pacific Nations Cup)
Lost 34-15 v Australia away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 34-9 v Russia neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Lost 34-0 v Scotland neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Lost 38-19 v Japan away (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Ireland – Most-Capped Players:
133 Brian O'Driscoll
128 Ronan O'Gara
122 Rory Best
108 Paul O'Connell
105 John Hayes
98 Peter Stringer
95 Jamie Heaslip
94 Rob Kearney
94 Donncha O'Callaghan
93 Cian Healy
92 Malcolm O'Kelly
86 Jonathan Sexton
82 Gordon D'Arcy
82 Girvan Dempsey
80 Keith Earls
76 Conor Murray
72 Sean Cronin
72 David Humphreys
72 Geordan Murphy
72 David Wallace
71 Eoin Reddan
70 Kevin Maggs
70 Andrew Trimble
69 Tommy Bowe
69 Mike Gibson
Ireland – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:
1083 Ronan O'Gara
773 Jonathan Sexton
560 David Humphreys
308 Michael Kiernan
296 Eric Elwood
245 Brian O'Driscoll
217 Ollie Campbell
195 Paddy Jackson
158 Tom Kiernan
150 Tommy Bowe
150 Keith Earls
145 Denis Hickie
Ireland – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:
46 Brian O'Driscoll
30 Tommy Bowe
30 Keith Earls
29 Denis Hickie
21 Shane Horgan
19 Girvan Dempsey
18 Geordan Murphy
17 Brendan Mullin
17 Andrew Trimble
16 Rob Kearney
16 Ronan O'Gara
16 Jacob Stockdale
15 Kevin Maggs
15 Keith Wood
14 Conor Murray
14 George Stephenson
13 Jamie Heaslip
12 Keith Crossan
12 David Wallace
11 Rory Best
11 Alan Duggan
11 Simon Geoghegan
Samoa – Most-Capped Players:
65 Brian Lima
61 To'o Vaega
59 Semo Sititi
57 Census Johnston
54 David Lemi
44 Zak Taulafo
43 Opeta Palepoi
42 Ofisa Treviranus
41 Tusi Pisi
40 Mahonri Schwalger
39 Daniel Leo
38 Steve So'oialo
37 Andrew Aiolupo
37 Jack Lam
37 Joe Tekori
37 Alesana Tuilagi
Samoa – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:
245 Tusi Pisi
174 Earl Va'a
145 Silao Leaegailesolo
140 Brian Lima
137 Darren Kellett
119 Roger Warren
106 Gavin Williams
99 Tanner Vili
90 Alesana Tuilagi
89 Andrew Aiolupo
85 Semo Sititi
Samoa – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:
29 Brian Lima
18 Alesana Tuilagi
17 Semo Sititi
16 Afato So'oalo
14 Lome Fa'atau
14 To'o Vaega
13 David Lemi
10 Ed Fidow
10 George Leaupepe
9 Tupo Fa'amasino
9 Alapati Leiua
9 Elvis Seveali'i
World Rugby All-Time Top Points Scorers:
1598 Dan Carter (New Zealand)
1246 Jonny Wilkinson (1179-England, 67-Lions)
1090 Neil Jenkins (1049-Wales, 41-Lions)
1083 Ronan O'Gara (Ireland)
1010 Diego Dominguez (27-Argentina, 983-Italy)
970 Stephen Jones (917-Wales, 53-Lions)
967 Andrew Mehrtens (New Zealand)
951 Florin Vlaicu (Romania)
911 Michael Lynagh (Australia)
893 Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
878 Matt Burke (Australia)
872 Owen Farrell (England)
840 Merab Kvirikashvili (Georgia)
809 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
778 Jonathan Sexton (Ireland-773, 5-Lions)
World Rugby All-Time Top Try Scorers:
67 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
64 David Campese (Australia)
60 Shane Williams (58-Wales, 2-Lions)
50 Rory Underwood (49-England, 1-Lions)
49 Doug Howlett (New Zealand)
47 Brian O'Driscoll (46-Ireland, 1-Lions)
46 Christian Cullen (New Zealand)
46 Joe Rokocoko (New Zealand)
46 Julian Savea (New Zealand)
44 Jeff Wilson (New Zealand)
41 George North (39-Wales, 2-Lions)
41 Gareth Thomas (40-Wales, 1-Lions)
40 Chris Latham (Australia)
(Note: Daisuke Ohata scored 69 tries for Japan, but not all against major international opposition)
The '100 Caps' Club:
148 Richie McCaw (New Zealand)
142 Sergio Parisse (Italy)
141 Brian O'Driscoll (133-Ireland, 8-Lions)
140 Alun Wyn Jones (131-Wales, 9-Lions)
139 George Gregan (Australia)
134 Gethin Jenkins (129-Wales, 5-Lions)
132 Keven Mealamu (New Zealand)
130 Ronan O'Gara (128-Ireland, 2-Lions)
129 Stephen Moore (Australia)
127 Victor Matfield (South Africa)
124 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
124 Kieran Read (New Zealand)
122 Rory Best (Ireland)
121 Adam Ashley-Cooper (Australia)
120 Florin Vlaicu (Romania)
119 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy)
119 Davit Kacharava (Georgia)
119 Jason Leonard (114-England, 5-Lions)
118 Fabien Pelous (France)
118 Tony Woodcock (New Zealand)
117 Alessandro Zanni (Italy)
116 Nathan Sharpe (Australia)
115 Merab Kvirikashvili (Georgia)
115 Paul O'Connell (108-Ireland, 7-Lions)
115 Sam Whitelock (New Zealand)
114 Tendai Mtawarira (South Africa)
112 Marco Bortolami (Italy)
112 Dan Carter (New Zealand)
112 Yuri Kushnarev (Russia)
111 Ross Ford (110-Scotland, 1-Lions)
111 Philippe Sella (France)
111 John Smit (South Africa)
111 George Smith (Australia)
110 Stephen Jones (104-Wales, 6-Lions)
110 Sekope Kepu (Australia)
109 Jean de Villiers (South Africa)
109 Will Genia (Australia)
109 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
108 Owen Franks (New Zealand)
107 Catalin Fercu (Romania)
107 John Hayes (105-Ireland, 2-Lions)
106 Mauro Bergamasco (Italy)
105 Sean Lamont (Scotland)
104 Leonardo Ghiraldini (Italy)
104 Martyn Williams (100-Wales, 4-Lions)
103 Matt Giteau (Australia)
103 Andrea Lo Cicero (Italy)
103 Ma'a Nonu (New Zealand)
103 Gareth Thomas (100-Wales, 3-Lions)
102 Stephen Larkham (Australia)
102 Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
101 David Campese (Australia)
101 Giorgi Chkhaidze (Georgia)
101 Alessandro Troncon (Italy)
101 Goncalo Uva (Portugal)
101 Vasco Uva (Portugal)
100 Valentin Calafeteanu (Romania)
100 Jamie Heaslip (95-Ireland, 5-Lions)
100 Adam Jones (95-Wales, 5-Lions)
100 Mils Muliaina (New Zealand)
100 Rob Simmons (Australia)