England vs. Samoa

Rugby World Cup 2007 - Pool ‘A'

Match Preview.

This, as they say, is it. No, not just it, but IT! This Saturday, all will be won, or all will be lost. World Cup dreams shattered or plucked up from the jaws of death by the winged angels of victory. Win, and England's slim hopes of performing a Lazarean miracle remain intact. Lose, and face the ignominy of a premature return to Heathrow; no screaming fans this time, no golden trophy to parade through the overcrowded  terminal, no smiles of beaming pride, just sorrow and the stench of defeat. This, is IT!

Well, er, actually, no it isn't. Everything I've just written is rubbish. Thanks to some plucky Tongans and lacklustre Samoans, and to the chagrin of television advert makers and the writers of such vile paragraphs of the one above, this is not it. Defeat against South Africa ought to have left England up at the wall, needing a win against Michael Jones' Samoa to make the quarter finals. As it is, however, England can yet lose this Saturday's encounter and mathematically still qualify for the knock-out stages. Bit of a disappointment really.

But then this tepid anti-climax is very much in keeping with the odiously dull and frankly insipid campaign of Brian Ashton's side thus far. A campaign that grew more tiresome with the announcement that Tom Rees would be the major casualty of the Saint-Denis massacre, and hat Joe Worsley would take his lace on the open side, with the immovable presence of Martin Corry (seriously: does the man have a stamp with his name on it, surreptitiously placed in Ashton's pocket before team announcement) and the living essence of the good club man, Nick Easter, completing the back row. It seems that every rugby writer in the land has grown especially fond of the word ‘stolid' this last week; after 80 minutes of Saturday one suspects that myriad new uses will still be required.

This selection was vindicated by Ashton's comments stating that he was looking for his side to play "a particular way in this game." Nobody needs me or anybody else to say what that way will be. This rather ruined a thought I had at work earlier, that Ashton might possibly be some kind of devious genius. A modern day Iago, as two-faced as the day is long, plying the media with his false hope and self-belief while cackling inwardly at his masterstroke of sacrificing the old men to save the youngsters for future tournaments in which they might have a chance to shine. Alas, it was not to be. Instead, this decision has put great weight behind my other theory regarding Ashton: that he hasn't the faintest idea what he is doing.

Our esteemed man-at-the-helm saw fit to call up Toby Flood after a sumptuous return to Premiership rugby on Sunday only to exclude him from his 22-man squad for this match. In short, the call-up has done nothing to benefit England, it has done nothing to benefit Flood (short of the improved Gallic climate), and if I were Falcon I would be spitting feathers. Literally.

Elsewhere in the side, George Chuter is the beneficiary of the World Cup's most ineffectual individual performance yet, displacing as he does Mark Regan who drops to the bench. Injuries to Jamie Noon and Jason Robinson have allowed for the back three to resume the game of musical chairs that they have been playing since 2003, with Josh Lewsey reverting to full-back, Mark Cueto on one wing with Paul Sackey on the other. This allows Mathew Tait a massively overdue start at 13 outside Olly Barkley. Barkley is, for my money, where he belongs and where he should stay (form permitting) for the foreseeable International future. Jonny Wilkinson comes in at 10 as the management wafts a considerable "Thanks, but no thanks" in the direction of the laughable "Farrel-Catt axis" - the only "axis" more maligned contains, amongst others, North Korea. And the barrel is scraped bare at scrumhalf, where Andy Gomarsall makes his first start of the campaign.

Samoa will be looking to atone for their slip-up against the Tongans and with the mathematical machinations of the sides trailing South Africa in Pool ‘A', push, still, for a place in the quarter finals. Waiting on the fitness of full-back and chief goal kicker Gavin Williams - who does not make the side, his place taken by Loki Crichton - until Thursday, Michael Jones has made his most significant of five changes by bringing in Brian Lima to partner Seilala Mapusua at centre. The veteran centre is the only player to appear in five World Cups - a handsome achievement, this being only the sixth such tournament - and his experience is one of a different kind to that of England's old guard in that it is mostly experience of scaring people to death. Two familiar faces to Premiership viewers, Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu (only two attempts to spell that!) and Henry Tuilagi join ‘The Chiropractor' in the side. Samoa will be looking to run, and run hard. Their extra pace around the fringes, and extra power in midfield will be pivotal to their gameplan. Personally, I favour the former as the more likely successful tactic.

Having established that this fixture is not the be all and end all for England, what is it? It would be naïve to suggest that it is the next step towards a successful title defence and with the team picked it is hardly a viable development game. As far as I am concerned, it is an excellent opportunity for England's best centre pairing to chuck the pill about for 80 minutes, and to prove that the future is indeed bright, to put down a marker for the VI Nations and beyond.

Elsewhere, expect it to be ‘stolid', ‘turgid' and any other words of the moment of which you can think. Should England lose, heads will roll - and not just Mike Ford's. Should England win, Corry and Ashton will no doubt tell you that the campaign is on track. If England win by fewer than 40, don't believe a word of it.

ENGLAND:

Lewsey; Sackey, Tait, Barkley, Cueto; Wilkinson, Gomarsall; Sheridan, Chuter, Stevens, Shaw, Kay, Corry (capt), Worsley, Easter.
Replacements: Regan, Freshwater, Borthwick, Moody, Richards, Farrell, Hipkiss.

SAMOA:

L Crichton (Worcester); D Lemi (Bristol), S Mapusua (London Irish), B Lima (Bristol), A Tuilagi (Leicester); E Fuimaono-Sapolu (Bath), J Polu (North Harbour); K Lealamanua (Dax), M Schwalger (Wellington Hurricanes), C Johnston (Saracens), J Tekori (Waitakere), K Thompson (Otago Highlanders), D Leo (Wasps), S Sititi (Docomo Kansai, capt), H Tuilagi (Perpignan).
Replacements: T Fuga (Harlequins), F Palaamo (Leeds), J Purdie (Wellington), A Vaeluaga (Bristol), S So'oialo (Harlequins), J Meafou (Scopa), L Lui (Moata'a).

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