IT was billed as a qualification showdown, but from Samoa’s perspective, it has turned out to be anything but. Nevertheless, as scrum-half Kahn Fotuali’i looks ahead to his side’s World Cup sign-off against Scotland this afternoon, he insists the restoration of pride will be an adequate motivation.

Having scrambled past the United States in their opening game and received a 40-point thrashing from South Africa, Samoa’s World Cup effectively came crashing to an end when they suffered a 26-5 defeat to Japan in Milton Keynes last weekend.

Sitting fourth in Pool B, the South Sea Islanders cannot qualify for the quarter-finals no matter how they perform at St James’ Park later today. That is a considerable disappointment for a side ranked 11th in the world at the start of the tournament, and who had been tipped as potential dark horses for a place in the last eight.

Their performances in their first three games have contained little of their traditional flair, and so while today’s game could be viewed as a dead rubber from a Samoan perspective, Fotuali’i claims it is important to use it to right a few wrongs.

“We need to get a bit of pride back in our performance,” said the number nine, who plays his club rugby in England with Northampton Saints. “We haven’t played to the best of our ability.

“This group were capable, but we haven’t really fired a shot. We’ve got a chance this weekend, though, to say that we’re a good enough side.”

Samoan assistant coach Alama Ieremia echoes his scrum-half’s sentiments, and is looking for a marked improvement from last weekend’s tame defeat to Japan.

The Samoans are traditionally respected for their rampaging forward play and exciting backline ambition, but neither trait was in evidence as they conceded a run of 26 unanswered points to a Japanese side who encountered little resistance as they quickly established a dominance at both the set-piece and in the loose.

“We still want to finish this tournament on a high,” said Ieremia. “This game is critical for us – we’re playing for a lot of pride and a lot of people that have put their faith in us.

“If anyone is saying we’ll lack motivation, I’d say they’d be wrong. We’re definitely coming up here to have a better performance than the one we did last week.

“We never really gave ourselves a chance (against Japan) – we weren’t in the game, and at half-time, it was too hard. We never really got into our gears last week, and that’s something we want to change.”

Whereas the vast majority of Scotland’s players play for either Edinburgh or Glasgow, Samoa’s management staff have to meld a team from players who are playing their club rugby all over the world.

Their preparation time before the tournament was severely limited, and they do not have a regular opportunity to play against tier one sides. As a result, perhaps it is little wonder their performances have not been up to scratch.

“That’s just the reality of our situation,” said Ieremia. “We’re stuck in the middle of the Pacific, trying to bring our players halfway around the world, so you don’t really get a lot of time together. Those are the cards we’ve been dealt for many years, and you just have to deal with it.”