Toa Samoa finished second best to the Kiwis 36-14 in a high-octane match, which was a tale of two halves in the Pacific Championship final on Sunday evening.

Samoa rushed to a two-try lead through Brian Too and Simi Sasagi. New Zealand scored a try to close the gap to just a converted try, but a penalty goal on the breather had Toa Samoa leading 14-6.

The second half began with the Kiwis looking like a different side. They deprived Samoa of possession to score three unanswered tries. The Kiwis parked themselves in the Samoa 20 and dominated all aspects of the game.

When Samoa finally had possession, it was nine minutes to play, and two converted tries were needed to win the game. But possession changed hands fast as Samoa made mistakes.

The Kiwis then extended their lead with six minutes on the clock through a penalty kick. Kiwi wing Jamayne Isaako kept his 100 per cent kicking record and slotted it between the posts.

New Zealand, with the ball in hand, saw Isaiah Papalii score. Just a minute later, Charnz Nicoll-Klokstad drove the final nail in the coffin with a try for the Kiwis, taking their lead to 20 points.

Toa Samoa had no answers for the Kiwis in the second half, who were relentless with the ball in hand and looked to be the hungrier of the teams.

Samoa could not sustain the pressure it had applied in the first half.

Toa Samoa co-captain Jarome Loau said they have learnt their lessons and the focus was now the World Cup.