Rugby World Cup 2015: Scots’ Sean Maitland targets semi-final

The first of five Laidlaw penalties on a productive day for the skipper narrowed Samoa’s lead to eight, Rey Lee-Lo stretching the margin as the jet-heeled centre sped home.

Typically, the grizzled 34-year-old will want to be one of the attack dogs unleashed on the Wallabies at Twickenham in Sunday’s quarter final.

But Maitland’s delight at progressing has been tempered by a belief Scotland have yet to peak and he’s adamant there’s plenty more to come.

He said: “Greig had an outstanding game”. Vern has set high standards for this team and the boys have done likewise. The team also enjoys two bonus points after scoring four tries against the Japanese and the US sides.

Imagine where it could lead if Japan reaches the quarterfinals. We’ve got a lot of talent but we haven’t shown anything of it all tournament. But that came in the 78th minute, when the game was up and Scotland had completed its recovery, eventually winning 36-33. It was achieved with grit, character and spirit in a game the Glasgow Warrior described as a roller-coaster from start to finish.

The Scots settled after a wild first half in which they conceded three tries and their defensive line was broken at will by the Pacific Islanders, who led 26-23 at the break.

And after failing to breach the Scotland defence in the second period until Motu Matu’u went over with just two minutes left, they allowed the Scots the win which sends them through. Yet for a side like Samoa it would have been so disappointing as they dominated large swathes of the game, yet didn’t get the reward for their efforts. The time during the Six Nations, when a few observers began calling for his replacement at scrum-half by Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, feels like a bygone era now. “It was our main goal and we expected to make it. You have to have those goals”. We know it’s going to be really tough – we don’t anticipate anything else.

It was an issue they worked on during the week but again it was on the back foot early, although for the first time in pool play it was able to score a try before halftime. Credit to the coaches for keeping us calm. It was a rollercoaster of a game, there were so many emotions.

“I’m really happy to have got it and it’s a big milestone for me, but during my time in the team I have realised it is about the team first and the individual second, and that’s the kind of squad we are”.

“It was a shame for them because they probably played their best rugby of the tournament”.

“Lifting morale is so important because four weeks is a long time to spend in a hotel and it does get a bit confined at times, but this is just what we need”.

“It comes down to attitude I think”, Strauss said when asked about Scotland’s slow starting habit.

“We weren’t particularly good there”.

However, Scotland only found themselves behind momentarily as they were gifted a try after the restart.

The Scots head to St James’ Park hoping that the oldest football stadium in north-east England will be kinder to them than it has been to regular football hosts Newcastle United this season.