The young Wales side are out to complete an unbeaten summer tour against the South Sea Islanders after battling to a 24-6 triumph over Tonga on Friday night. Samoa were hammered 78-0 by a rampant All Blacks side at Eden Park, but Roberts expects them to hit top form on the hard ground at Apia Park.
He said: “When we get to phase three and four, we have to be better and look after the ball. If we don’t, Samoa will punish us next week on a dry track. That’s the main lesson. I thought we finished well and I’m delighted more than anything for the new caps. I think everyone got off the bench and for them to win their first cap at a venue like Eden Park in a win for Wales is pretty special. We’ll have a few cold ones tonight.
“It will be a different challenge next week. It will be very hot and a dry track. Apparently the pitch is like concrete. Samoa are a very strong team and the main lesson for us is turnovers. If we do that next week, Samoa will hurt us. We’ll put that down to the greasy conditions and we’ll work on that.”
A total of nine players were exposed to Test match rugby for the first time against Tonga. A further seven players could make their Wales bow if selected against Samoa, and Roberts giving a host of players a taste of top-class rugby will help Wales grow an extra layer of strength.
He said: “We have a squad of 32. Some players missed out today and if we lose a few, others will get an opportunity. We have to develop our strength in depth across the senior playing group in this Welsh squad, especially with 12 away with the Lions and some injuries. We’re doing that well at the moment. It’s something to build on and if we lost some, we have the artillery to come in.”
