The England forwards looked strong, and the stand out performance by man of the match Chris Robshaw, 21 tackles in all almost double his team-mates efforts. The pack was also on top form. The lineout went array a couple of times.
England lost concentration a bit in the second half after everyone from the bench got starts they missed some good opportunities to score.
Head Coach Lancaster's take on the win:
"It feels good, it's been a long time,"
"There are still areas to improve on but there were some real positives, particularly George Ford and Anthony Watson, two young players who did well."
The Samoans had threatened to boycott this match, in an attempt to highlight their plight with their home union and all the concerns they had. Some players not even sure that their air tickets would be paid for, th is just ridiculous in my opinion when you think of all the money rolling around at the IRB. Not sure how Bill Beaumont could smile after that match. Come on IRB sort this all out!!!
The most memorable part of the whole match and day was the England's players showing their appreciation and solidarity by joining the Samoan traditional post-match prayer in a sign of solidarity.
England: Brown, Watson, Barritt, Farrell (Twelvetrees 65), May (Yarde 61), Ford, Youngs; Marler (Brookes 60), Webber (Hartley 70), Wilson (Mullan 60), Attwood, Lawes (Kruis 54), Haskell (Wood), Robshaw, Morgan. Unused replacements: Wigglesworth.
Samoa: K Pisi, Leiua, Lee-Lo, Leota, Lemi, T Pisi (Stanley 69), Fotuali’i; Taulafo (Afatia 78), T Paulo (Leiataua 62), Johnston (Perenise 56), F Paulo (Leo 52), Thompson, Fa’asavalu, Lam (Ioane 56), Treviranus. Unused replacements: Lemalu, Cowley.
Referee: J Peyper (South Africa).
|
England (13) 28 |
|
Tries: May (2), Brown Pens; Ford (3) Cons: Ford (2) |
|
Samoa (6) 9 |
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Pens: T Pisi (3) |
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