England 18 – 17 Samoa

Tries from Ollie Chessum and Danny Care, plus three conversions from Owen Farrell, ultimately earned England the win; Farrell became England’s record points scorer; Samoa showed their strength through tries from Nigel Ah Wong and three Lima Sopoaga conversions

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Sky Sports’ Eleanor Roper looks back on England’s 18-17 win over Samoa at the Rugby World Cup

England preserved their unbeaten record in the Rugby World Cup after a late Danny Care try earned a scrappy 18-17 win over a strong Samoa side in Lille.

England made a decent start as Ollie Chessum scored a ninth-minute try, with Owen Farrell then adding a penalty in the 16th minute to become England’s record points scorer as they took an 8-0 lead.

However, Samoa brilliantly fought back, two tries from Nigel Ah Wong, both converted by Lima Sopoaga, gave them a strong 14-8 lead at the break and, with two other tries also ruled out, they really were the team on top.

In the second half, a Sopoaga penalty increased Samoa’s advantage to 17-8 before England responded with a Farrell penalty, the England captain then leaving three points out there as he was timed out by the shot clock.

With the score at 17-11 to Samoa, and Tumua Manu sent to the sin-bin, Care finally got England over the line for a converted try, his side then holding out for the final five minutes to take the win and secure an unbeaten run in the pool stages.

Story of the match

Samoa showed their attacking prowess in the first few minutes, but it was England who were first on the scoreboard, Joe Marchant popping up in midfield to feed Manu Tuilagi who used his strength to draw the defenders, pass on to Freddie Steward, and then send Chessum over in the corner.

Samoa’s Nigel Ah Wong was on fire in the first half as he secured a double

Farrell then went for the posts in the 16th minute to seal a huge record as he became England’s all-time top points scorer, taking over from Jonny Wilkinson.

It wasn’t long though until Samoa finally got into the match with an incredible passage of play, Ah Wong finishing off the move in the corner and Sopoaga adding the extras to bring the game to 8-7.

That try gave Samoa the momentum and after a huge chance through some more silky passing the penalty came. As they mauled from the lineout, Nerai Fumoi sent the crossfield kick to the corner which Ah Wong brilliantly collected and got down, Sopoaga converting once again as they took a 14-8 lead.

Duncan Paia’aua thought he was in next for Samoa after a poor box-kick from Alex Mitchell caused chaos, but the fullback’s effort was ruled out for a knock on in the build-up, Ah Wong’s potential hat-trick then being chalked off moments later as his foot was in touch, leaving them with a commanding 14-8 lead at half-time.

Samoa started the second half with the same intent they had in the first and got their reward in the 48th minute as Sopoaga increased their advantage with a penalty, giving them a 17-8 lead with just over half an hour to play.

Steve Borthwick then made a big call to take George Ford off and move Farrell to fly-half, Marcus Smith coming in at fullback and Steward and Marchant moving to wing and outside centre respectively.

Owen Farrell took the reins at No 10 in the second 40

England thought they had finally got over the line in the 54th minute but Chessum’s second was ruled out for a double movement, Marchant then having his try ruled out a few minutes later for a forward pass.

Farrell tried to get his side back into the match as he added the penalty for a late shot to reduce the deficit to six but then three points went begging as, when another penalty came, he was timed out by the shot clock as he failed to take the conversion within the 60 seconds allotted.

A soft yellow card for Manu as he took Farrell out in the air then gave England another chance and, with a scrum right on Samoa’s line, Care found the gap and went over. Farrell converted this time to give his side an 18-17 lead and they held out despite immense Samoa pressure for the win.

‘It was scrappy from us’- What they said

England captain Owen Farrell told ITV Sport…

“It was scrappy. It didn’t feel like the best from us, but all credit must go to Samoa.

“The way they came out and fired shots at us was tough to deal with at times.

“I’m glad we found a way back in, and I’m glad when we weren’t at our best, we found a way to win.

“I’m still thinking about the game. It’s [England points record] something I’ll look back on in the future.”

What’s next?

England will now face Fiji or Australia on Saturday, October 15 in Marseille, with kick-off at 4pm.

Samoa are now out of the competition, with either Argentina or Japan the team who will take the second Pool D spot in the next stage.