WE will get to the mistakes in a minute. The first thing to be noted about Scotland’s remarkable 36-33 triumph over Samoa on Saturday is the sheer strength of character that saw the team through to victory.

In World Cups past, in seasons past, and even earlier this year, this was a match that Scotland would have lost. It is greatly to their credit that they by and large maintained their discipline, stuck to their task and held on to claim the points they needed to finish second in Pool B and go through to a quarter-final against Australia.

The leadership of Greig Laidlaw was exemplary. The time during the Six Nations, when some observers began calling for his replacement at scrum-half by Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, feels like a bygone era now. Laidlaw is more firmly established than ever in the team, not only because of his individual ability both as a No 9 and as a place-kicker, but also because of his composure under pressure.

When Scotland were just three points ahead late in the second half and were awarded a very kickable penalty, the safe option would have been to go for goal. Captains who opt otherwise in such situations and get it wrong, as Chris Robshaw did for England against Wales, often end up being vilified by their own support.

So it was a tough call for Laidlaw to make, but make it he did: let’s go for the scrum, he said, and strike from there. In the few metres between gathering from the base and touching down, three Samoans made contact with him, but he would not be denied.

His conversion of his own score gave Scotland a ten-point lead, 36-26, compared to the six-point lead that a penalty would have produced, and that proved vital when Samoa hit back with a converted try of their own with under two minutes left to play. If Laidlaw’s individual composure under pressure was impressive, so too was the team’s collective calmness in the following passage of play. They chased down Finn Russell’s restart, and, conscious of the clock ticking into the last minute, they relentlessly harried every Samoan who got his hands on the ball. The islanders did not get out of their own half again, and an epic battle had been won.

Besides Laidlaw, there were colossal contributions from, among others, John Hardie, who tirelessly pursued his opponents in the loose and selflessly allowed himself to be subjected to some serious punishment, and Ross Ford, who had one of his finest games for the national team. But, while those individuals stood out, and the team stood together when it mattered most, for much of the contest Scotland suffered a serious collective failing.

The defence, such an improved aspect of the team’s performance over recent months, was not so much suspect against the Samoan onslaught as it was tried and found guilty of multiple weaknesses. A failure to halt opponents of such ferocious physicality would be understandable if the players had got to grips with their opposite numbers but simply not had the strength to deal with them. But at times the Samoans simply sailed through, availing themselves of gaps in the blue line that faced them.

It looked like there was something wrong with the Scots’ system, and if so it should be readily fixed. Good habits acquired over years of practice may go awol from time to time, but they do not go missing entirely overnight.

Having said that, the Wallabies, whose own defence reached new heights of magnificence later the same day against Wales, will watch a recording of this game and savour some of the deficiencies in Scotland’s play. Those deficiencies were glaringly obvious in a first half which saw Samoa score three tries and have another touchdown chalked off.

The Samoans had faults of their own, of course, the most obvious of which was their willingness to attack ball in hand from deep inside their own 22. At its best their approach was cavalier, but at its worst it was calamitous, above all when Tommy Seymour picked off a loose pass to score the first of Scotland’s three tries.

A potential turning point came when Ryan Wilson was yellow-carded for foul play. If the flanker had been sent off, there might have been no way back for Scotland, but as it was they stuck in and claimed their second try, scored by Hardie, while down to 14 men.

Given the pressure they had been under and the errors they had made, Scotland had to be pleased with the three-point deficit that they took into the second half. They were more pleased, of course, when Laidlaw first equalised with a penalty and then put his team in front for the first time with another three-pointer.

If felt then as if the tide had turned, and the feeling was enhanced by the captain’s own try. But Samoa, after appearing to have tired, hit back to produce one of the most nervewracking conclusions to an international that Scotland’s long-suffering support have experienced for some time.

Scorers:

SAMOA: Tries: T Pisi, Leiataua, Lee-Lo, Matu’u. Cons: T Pisi, P Fa’apale. Pens: T Pisi 3.

SCOTLAND: Tries: Seymour, Hardie, Laidlaw. Cons: Laidlaw 3. Pens: Laidlaw 5

Referee: J Peyper (South Africa). Attendance: 51,982.