Scotland will face Australia in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup next weekend after fighting back to beat Samoa in their final Pool B match this afternoon.
After a frenetic, end-to-end first half which they lost by three points, Scotland tightened up in the second half and, led by captain Greig Laidlaw, eked out a 36-33 win to finish second in the group.
Flanker Josh Strauss was introduced shortly after the break and helped the Scots fight past their Pacific Island opponents to reach the last eight.
Sports Mole caught up with the owner of the tournament's best beard after the match to get his thoughts on a gripping encounter in Newcastle.
© Getty Images
You must be delighted to be through to the quarters?
"Yeah of course. We're ecstatic with that. It was the goal from the offset. It's been two-and-a-half months of very hard work. We're not done, obviously, but to achieve what we set out to achieve is a brilliant feeling.
"The boys are all feeling pretty relaxed at the moment and you get about a day of it like that before it's all back in and fully focussed."
It looked like a really physical encounter out there. How did you find it when you came on?
"Yeah it is physical, but it's a different kind of physicality because they're big guys who throw the ball about and they're great ball players. That's what you expect from them, though, and people love watching them play."
Can you remember a game like that where the two halves were so different?
"Well, I've been playing rugby for a very long time, so there might be a few, but nothing comes to mind at the moment. I was on the bench in the first half a bit frustrated because you want to get out there. The bounce of the ball is not always going to go your way, but that's life, that's rugby.
"I think the good thing is that at half time we didn't change anything too dramatically. We knew they were going to play fast and I think you have to give them credit for executing very well."
Looking ahead to the quarters, how are you feeling about that?
"Well we've got a long week ahead. The boys will relax tonight, but we'll soon be looking at where we need to improve. I think tonight's match was a good game to have going into a quarter-final because there is so much to improve on. It's a wake-up call as well, but we did show great character to win the game."
If you had to pinpoint a couple of things that you think you need to improve, what would you pick out?
"I think our contact work. They turned us over quite a few times and that has been a bit of a trend. It's something we've been working on, but we have to get better going into the knockout stage.
"Also exiting. Every time we got points we'd give them points right back and that is a big concern. It's not like we don't work on it, but things don't always go your way."
© Getty Images
And a final word on your skipper's performance? He's now the tournament's leading scorer after notching 26 tonight.
"Yeah Greig's a great captain. He's a very passionate guy and you see that every day. We're together in each other's company for a long period and you see the pride he takes in the role all the time.
"He shows it every team talk, every training session. Sometimes you can get a bit down when you're away for so long in hotels so you need guys like Greig to give you that extra bit of motivation."
Pascal Lemesre
