Rugby World Cup 2023 - England struggle to gritty victory over Samoa to finish up pool stage

England won their final Pool D fixture 18-17 with a scrappy performance in Lille that saw Samoa shine in defeat.

It was a historic day in France as Owen Farrell became England’s top points scorer of all time as he overtook Jonny Wilkinson’s record that had previously stood for 22 years. Additionally, it was the closest score between the two sides in their nine-match history.

Ollie Chessum opened the scoring for England, but two tries from Nigel Ah-Wong in the first half gave Samoa the lead at halftime. Replacement scrum-half Danny Care scored England’s winning try in the second half to take them into the quarter-finals unbeaten.

Chessum scored England’s first try as he strode away on the wing after he received the pass from Tuilagi nine minutes into the match.

Farrell then had his first opportunity to break the England all-time points-scoring record, but his missed conversion meant he had to wait a little longer to reach the coveted milestone.

In the 17th minute the captain had a second opportunity, this time successful as he slotted a penalty to overtake Wilkinson’s points tally.

Samoa then swiftly turned the tables and curtailed any England celebrations from the moments before.

After a passage of play that combined imposing physicality with smooth handling, Ah-Wong dove over the line with Jonny May clinging to his ankles. Steven Luatua had sent the initial pass to Ah-Wong, but it was the tip on from Tumua Manu that delivered the ball safely to his hands.

Lima Sopoaga added the conversion and moved Samoa to within one point. The fly-half then provided the assist for Ah-Wong’s second score minutes later. His perfectly weighted cross-field kick landed nicely in the arms of Ah-Wong who held off the pressure from Freddie Steward to dot the ball down with his foot within blades of grass of the dead ball line.

Two further disallowed tries for Samoa followed and while they didn’t change the scoreline, they did provide a wake-up call for a forlorn England before half-time.

England’s first-half woes were not diminished as the second half started. A turnover by Samoa early on saw Paia'aua able to run away to within five metres of the England line. George Ford provided a desperately needed try-saving tackle to minimise the scoring threat.

Sopoaga then extended Samoa’s lead with a penalty seven minutes into the second half, just after Ah-Wong almost scored his third. The winger’s foot moved into touch to deny him the score in the corner.

England were then denied twice, the first in what looked to be Chessum’s second try but the lock made a double movement on the floor in his stretch to the line. The second saw Joe Marchant sprint away to score, but the pass he received from Itoje was found to be forward. Farrell then managed to move England closer to Samoa’s score through a penalty in the 57th minute.

England’s captain then had an opportunity for a second a few minutes later, but the 60-second shot clock timed out before he struck the ball, and the chance to pull England to within three points was wasted.

Care then provided the winning score for England in the 72nd minute as he darted away from the scrum on the blindside after spotting a gap in the 14-man Samoan defence close to the line. Farrell converted to put England in the lead by a point.

Care’s work for the afternoon didn’t stop there, and he executed a vital try-saving tackle to rescue England from defeat in the dying minutes of the match. England will have lots to work on in the build-up to their quarter-final as Samoa provided a real scare for Steve Borthwick's side in Lille.

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Owen Farrell’s penalty in the 18th minute saw him surpass Jonny Wilkinson as top England points scorer of all time. His history-making first half was slightly tainted by being timed out on a kick in the second, however, his conversion in the final minutes won them the match. England progress to the quarter-finals unbeaten, but it was touch-and-go at points as Samoa had the upper hand for the majority of the match.

While it feels forbidden to give player of the match to a player from the losing team, Ah-Wong was brilliant in a gleaming Samoa side. He scored two spectacular tries, the second within centimetres of the dead ball area, and almost added a third. Lima Sopoaga was also spectacular for Samoa and he was named official player of the match.

England XV: Freddie Steward 6, Joe Marchant, Manu Tuilagi , Owen Farrell 6, Jonny May 6, George Ford 7, Alex Mitchell 6; Ellis Genge 6, Jamie George 7, Dan Cole 6, Maro Itoje 6, Ollie Chessum 8, Courtney Lawes 6, Tom Curry 6, Ben Earl 6

Replacements: Theo Dan (n/a), Joe Marler 6, Kyle Sinckler 6, George Martin 7, Billy Vunipola 6, Danny Care 9, Marcus Smith 6, Ollie Lawrence 6

Samoa XV: Duncan Paia'aua 7, Nigel Ah-Wong 8, Tumua Manu 5, Danny Toala 5, Neria Fomai 5, Lima Sopoaga 8, Jonathan Taumateine 6; Jordan Lay 5, Sama Malolo 5, Michael Alaalatoa (capt.) 5, Sam Slade 5, Brian Alainu'u'ese 5, Theo McFarland 7, Fritz Lee 5, Steven Luatua 6.

Replacements: Seilala Lam 5, James Lay 5, Paul Alo-Emile 5, Sootala Fa'aso'o (n/a), Alamanda Motuga 5, Melani Matavao 5, Christian Leali'ifano 5, Miracle Faiilagi 5

9’ - Ollie Chessum opens the scoring

18' - Owen Farrell breaks Jonny Wilkinson’s England points-scoring record with a penalty

22’ - Nigel Ah-Wong scores his first try

24’ - Lima Sopoaga converts

29’ - Ah-Wong adds a second to boost Samoa’s lead

30’ - Sopoaga converts for a second time after his cross-field assist

48' - Sopoaga’s penalty adds to their scoreline

58' - Farrell moves England closer with a successful penalty

73' - Danny Care scores the final try to move England within two points

74’ - Farrell’s conversion gives England the win by one point

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