Preview: England v Samoa
Everything you need to know ahead of England Men's Rugby World Cup pool fixture against Samoa in Lille.
Steve Borthwick's charges are chasing a fourth successive victory from four World Cup games as they return to Lille's Stade Pierre-Mauroy having beaten Chile 71-0 there on 23 September.
Tries from Henry Arundell (5), Theo Dan (2), Bevan Rodd, Marcus Smith (2) and Jack Willis, as well as 16 points from the boot of Owen Farrell secured the victory, as England held Los Cóndores scoreless.
| When? | Saturday 7 October |
| Where? | Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille |
| Kick off? | 16:45 BST |
England have their place in a quarter final guaranteed after Japan secured a 28-22 victory over Samoa at the weekend. A win this weekend will secure their position at the top of Pool D and set up a meeting with the runners-up of Pool C in the first knockout stage.
Owen Farrell captains the England side from inside centre as he closes in on a place in the record books. He goes into the game on 1,178 points, needing just two more to overtake Jonny Wilkinson as England's top points scorer of all time.
Samoa opened their Rugby World Cup account with a 43-10 victory over Chile in Bordeaux, before travelling to Saint-Etienne where they fell to a 19-10 defeat at the hands of Michael Cheika's Argentina. They then faced Japan in Toulouse where, despite Seilala Lam, Duncan Paia'aua and Christian Leali'ifano each scoring tries, they were unable to overcome a determined Japan side.
WHERE TO WATCH
- ITV will be broadcasting every Rugby World Cup fixture live.
- Enjoy the ultimate experience at the official England Rugby fanzone at Vinegar Yard, with tickets from just £6.50
- For the travelling rugby fan, check out our supporter's guide to Lille.
VIEWS FROM CAMP
Steve Borthwick: “Whilst we are of course pleased with our results and qualification into the pool stages, we want to continue our improvement with a positive performance against a difficult and in-form Samoa team.
“Samoa are renowned for their physicality and this last game in the pool stages will be an excellent test for us as we continue in our Rugby World Cup journey.
“We are delighted to be heading back to Lille for this weekend’s fixture, where we enjoyed seeing so many England supporters for our last match. Once again, we look forward to seeing a sea of white England shirts in the stands of the Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Saturday.”
Jamie George: "There's been a great atmosphere in camp off the back of our mini break that we've had. The boys are really excited to get going again and we've all got a really good understanding of where we want to go.
"Samoa have got some genuinely world class players and I'm lucky enough to play with one of them - Theo McFarland - at club level. It's going to be tough, this side are a lot better drilled than maybe they have been previously, especially around the set piece. But we also know that every good England team is built around a strong set piece so we're excited for that challenge while being aware of how physical the contest will be.
"We know we're going to have to beat some very good teams in order to win this thing and we know we need to keep getting better throughout the tournament. We started really well against Argentina and I feel we've built on different things regarding our game and we're in a good place, but we just want to keep getting better."
TEAMS
England
15. Freddie Steward, 14. Joe Marchant, 13. Manu Tuilagi, 12. Owen Farrell (C), 11. Jonny May, 10. George Ford, 9. Alex Mitchell, 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Jamie George, 3. Dan Cole, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. Ollie Chessum, 6. Courtney Lawes, 7. Tom Curry, 8. Ben Earl
Replacements
16. Theo Dan, 17. Joe Marler, 18. Kyle Sinckler, 19. George Martin, 20. Billy Vunipola, 21. Danny Care, 22. Marcus Smith, 23. Ollie Lawrence
Samoa
15. Duncan Paia'aua, 14. Nigel Ah-Wong, 13. Tumua Manu, 12. Danny Toala, 11. Neria Fomai, 10. Lima Sopoaga, 9. Jonathan Taumateine, 1. Jordan Lay, 2. Sama Malolo, 3. Michael Alaalatoa (C), 4. Samuel Slade, 5. Brian Alainu'u'ese, 6. Theo McFarland, 7. Fritz Lee, 8. Steven Luatua
Replacements
16. Seilala Lam, 17. James Lay, 18. Paul Alo-Emile, 19. So'otala Fa'aso'o, 20. Alamanda Motuga, 21. Melani Matavao, 22. Christian Lealiifano, 23. Miracle Fai'ilagi
LAST TIME OUT
England 48-14 Samoa | 25 November 2017
The last time these two teams met in an international Test match was at Twickenham Stadium during the 2017 Autumn Internationals.
Mike Brown and Alex Lozowski scored in the early stages of the encounter, before Piula Paasalele returned with a try of his own. Charlie Ewels, Elliot Daly (2), Henry Slade and Semesa Rokoduguni got in on the scoring action, while George Ford kicked five conversions and a penalty to secure the victory on home turf.
England: 15. Mike Brown, 14. Jonny May, 13. Henry Slade, 12. Alex Lozowski, 11. Elliot Daly, 10. George Ford (CC), 9. Danny Care, 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Jamie George, 3. Dan Cole, 4. Joe Launchbury, 5. Charlie Ewels, 6. Maro Itoje, 7. Chris Robshaw (CC), 8. Sam Simmonds
Replacements: 16. Dylan Hartley, 17. Joe Marler, 18. Harry Williams, 19. Nick Isiekwe, 20. Courtney Lawes, 21. Ben Youngs, 22. Piers Francis, 23. Semesa Rokoduguni.
STATS
This will be the ninth meeting between England and Samoa in men’s Test rugby, with England winning each of their previous eight clashes, only against Italy (30) have England played more Test matches without losing than they have against Samoa.
England have won their final pool stage game in each of their previous nine Rugby World Cup appearances, by an average margin of 41 points.
Samoa have scored more maul tries (3) and gained more metres per maul (5.3) than any other side in this year’s Rugby World Cup.
Samoa’s Fritz Lee has won six turnovers in this year’s Rugby World Cup, the joint-most of any player (also Manuel Ardao).
FIXTURES AND RESULTS
Summer Series
Rugby World Cup 2023
England v Samoa - 7 October - Lille
Related topics
- Attack
- T - Tries
- M - Metres carried
- C - Carries
- DB - Defenders beaten
- CB - Clean breaks
- P - Passes
- O - Offloads
- TC - Turnovers conceded
- TA - Try assists
- PTS - Points
- Defence
- Tackles - Tackles
- MT - Missed tackles
- TW - Turnovers won
- Kicking
- K - Kicks in play
- C - Conversions
- PG - Penalty goals
- DG - Drop goals
- Set plays
- TW - Throws won
- LW - Lineouts won
- LS - Lineout steals
- Discipline
- PC - Penalties conceded
- RC - Red cards
- YC - Yellow cards
England defeat Samoa in Lille
Owen Farrell became England's top points scorer of all time, kicking two penalties and a conversion to overtake Jonny Wilkinson's tally of 1,179.
Nigel Ah-Wong's first-half brace gave Samoa an 8-14 lead at the break in Lille, but tries from Ollie Chessum and Danny Care secured the 18-17 victory to ensure England remain unbeaten in Pool D after four games.
A frenetic opening ten minutes saw both sides looking for defensive holes, and Chessum found one as he opened the scoring after Manu Tuilagi drew the Samoan defence to gift the lock a simple run down the left flank for his second try in an England shirt.
Farrell opted for the tee in the 17th minute following a Samoan penalty deep in the 22. The captain slotted the kick to write his name in the history books and confirm his place as England's leading Test points scorer.
There was no time for celebration, however, as Samoa responded immediately with two tries through Ah-Wong. The wing profited from a string of offloads to stretch over the line before receipt of a Lima Sopoaga cross field kick afforded him a second opportunity to put his side ahead.
The Pacific Islanders continued to frustrate Steve Borthwick's men in the closing encounters of the first forty. Duncan Paia'aua scooped up a loose ball and dived for the line, but referee Andrew Brace called it back for a knock on from Tumua Manu. Another Ah-Wong effort was then ruled out for a foot in touch, but the one-way traffic had England struggling to regain a foothold in the contest as they went into the break trailing by six points.
Samoa came out firing in the second half, pressing the England defence and setting up camp deep inside the 22, where Sopoaga extended the lead with a penalty kick.
Another Chessum try was on the cards after a flurry of tight carries from the England pack. The lock stretched for the line, but the score was chalked off after the TMO deemed the action a second movement after the tackle had been made. Instead, Farrell kicked his second penalty of the evening to shorten the deficit to 11-17.
Tumua Manu was shown a yellow card for tackling Farrell off the ball and England took advantage of the extra man. Danny Care sniped from the base of the scrum and sprinted to the line unmarked, dotting the ball down at the base of the left upright. Farrell converted to give his side a one-point lead, which they retained until the final whistle despite threats from Samoa's energetic attack.
Borthwick's men now head to Marseille, where they will face the runner up of Pool C in the quarter-final on Sunday 15 October.
TEAMS
England
15. Freddie Steward, 14. Joe Marchant, 13. Manu Tuilagi, 12. Owen Farrell (C), 11. Jonny May, 10. George Ford, 9. Alex Mitchell, 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Jamie George, 3. Dan Cole, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. Ollie Chessum, 6. Courtney Lawes, 7. Tom Curry, 8. Ben Earl
Replacements
16. Theo Dan, 17. Joe Marler, 18. Kyle Sinckler, 19. George Martin, 20. Billy Vunipola, 21. Danny Care, 22. Marcus Smith, 23. Ollie Lawrence
Samoa
15. Duncan Paia'aua, 14. Nigel Ah-Wong, 13. Tumua Manu, 12. Danny Toala, 11. Neria Fomai, 10. Lima Sopoaga, 9. Jonathan Taumateine, 1. Jordan Lay, 2. Sama Malolo, 3. Michael Alaalatoa (C), 4. Samuel Slade, 5. Brian Alainu'u'ese, 6. Theo McFarland, 7. Fritz Lee, 8. Steven Luatua
Replacements
16. Seilala Lam, 17. James Lay, 18. Paul Alo-Emile, 19. So'otala Fa'aso'o, 20. Alamanda Motuga, 21. Melani Matavao, 22. Christian Lealiifano, 23. Miracle Fai'ilagi
FIXTURES AND RESULTS
Summer Series
Rugby World Cup 2023
England 18-17 Samoa
