England v Samoa: Five takeaways from an almighty Rugby World Cup tussle

Following England’s 18-17 victory over Samoa, here are our five takeaways from the Rugby World Cup Pool D clash.

The top line

An almighty tussle in a brutal and ill-tempered game in Lille took a Harlequins-inspired fightback from Joe Marler, Danny Care and Marcus Smith to get England over the line in a breathless closing chapter that had every fan in the stadium on the edge of their seats.

Two tries from right-wing Nigel Ah Wong and a masterclass from the massive Samoan back-row, supported brilliantly by Lima Sopoaga, did enough to derail England and Steve Borthwick’s progress for much of the game, but the bottom line is England scraped a win and are still in the tournament, and they top Pool D at the end of the first stage of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

England have only themselves to blame for their stodgy performance. So many little things went wrong, from shot clock miscalculations to poor control at the base of the scrum, and it’s the combination of these types of errors that erode both confidence and platform.

But it was the introduction of those mighty Quins that made the difference, and Care might be buying Marler beers for the rest of the tournament for the impact the loosehead had on England’s scrummage and the space his power created to allow the number nine to dart over to clinch the game.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇼🇸 Relief for England as Danny Care crosses. #ENGvSAM #RWC2023pic.twitter.com/7NlbUXnlW3

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 7, 2023

Ford/Farrell axis

The decision to squeeze Owen Farrell back into the England side at 12 was a crucial call in the outcomes of this match. It wasn’t the interplay between Ford and the England skipper that caused the issue, but more so it was the moving of Manu Tuilagi one out to 13, losing the defensive brilliance of Joe Marchant as he found himself out on the wing.

Tuilagi defended far too tight and narrow around that corner, and given he isn’t quite as quick as a few years ago, Samoa and Sopoaga targeted the outside channel, with swathes of runners stretching England across and exposing the defence, an area of strength for Borthwick’s team before this game.

However, on the couple of occasions when it fired, it did so with some panache, and the try for Ollie Chessum showed the benefit of the second playmaker, especially when Freddie Steward made the extra man in the line to send the big Tiger trundling over in the corner.

England knew this was a trade-off, and the moment Smith came on with Marchant back at 13, England looked tighter and more efficient in attack and defence. This, combined with the amount England lost in that wide channel protection by playing Tuilagi at 13, means that Borthwick must now go for one or the other as England moves forward to the knockout stages.

World class Samoans

Given the number of world-class players at their disposal, there was always a feeling that Samoa had a performance in them, and they chose the match against England to deliver it.

They got many things right in this match, and a big part of that was selection. Theo McFarland moved from lock to blindside flank and looked absolutely liberated in the relative freedom of the back row, causing havoc in the wide channels with dominant catches and smashing up in midfield with leggy carries and sympathetic offloads.

At 10, Sopoaga delivered a display that reminded all why he was once one of the most highly paid players in the Premiership and in the centres, Danny Toala’s crossfield kick to Nigel Ah-Wong for Samoa’s second try was the moment of the first half.

🇼🇸 Some finish from Samoa wing Nigel Ah Wong! #ENGvSAM #RWC2023pic.twitter.com/bCmwPyz2Lc

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 7, 2023

Best of all, they played dynamic heads-up rugby and reacted to the situations in front of them. As they gained ascendancy in the collision so, their backs spotted weaknesses in the England defence; the propensity to play with their wingers too high at times and that gaping hole in the wide midfield channel. As they gained momentum in carry, so confidence and belief increased proportionally and at times, they looked a completely different side to the stuttering team we saw against Argentina and others.

Selection issues

England are in the position of having a number of form options to change the dynamic of this performance; Henry Arundell, who didn’t feature today, is sure to be in contention to add pace and creativity to England’s backline, whilst despite the long-standing relationship of Ford and Farrell reunited in Lille, England might consider going back to a more powerful midfield with Tuilagi switching back to the 12 channel, especially given his difficulties defending the wider channels on Saturday.

There’s also a question mark up front at loosehead with the proven scrummage power of Marler splitting the Samoan scrum in half the moment he came on, and with Ellis Genge undoubtedly more suited to impact work, we may well see a role reversal next time England take the field.

The last question revolves around the back-row; England were well and truly beaten up at the breakdown by the brilliant Samoans, Fritz Lee, McFarland and Steven Luatua, and they sorely missed the ability of Lewis Ludlam to carry behind the first tackle and create a retreating defence. It might well be that balance is the issue here, and the Northampton Saint might well feature in the next round, especially given Ben Earl’s control issues at the back of the scrum.

Looking ahead

England will almost certainly face Fiji, who need just one pool point against Portugal to progress, in a winner-takes-all-quarter final in Marseilles next Sunday, knowing that the last time they met the talented Pacific Islanders at Twickenham, it ended in embarrassment for Borthwick’s men.

But his charges have moved forward considerably since that moment, this match notwithstanding, with defence, breakdown and set-piece all making significant strides during this competition and the attack starting to show the green shoots of understanding between the back division.

Whatever happens, Borthwick and his team will not and cannot afford to underestimate the Flying Fijians, especially after this experience in Lille. This is a team with world-class players in both backs and forwards, with Levani Botia and Waisea Nayacalevu two of the finest players in the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

The bottom line is that England have made the quarter-finals and have probably matched the baseline expectations before the tournament; if they progress past that stage, it is to their credit that both Borthwick and England have delivered a tournament way ahead of what was considered possible at the end of the Six Nations in March and have a platform to build upon for the future.

READ MORE: England survive Samoa scare to complete clean sweep in Pool D