England v Samoa LIVE: Rugby World Cup result and final score as late Danny Care try prevents upset
England 18-17 Samoa: The Pacific Islanders were minutes away from a first ever win against England but were denied by Care’s late score
Danny Care scored the winning try seven minutes from time to spare England’s blushes and complete a 18-17 victory over superb Samoa in their Rugby World Cup Pool D clash on Saturday.
Two tries from winger Nigel Ah-Wong had Samoa leading deep into the match, but their dreams of a first win over England were ended by poor discipline as they lost centre Tumua Manu to a yellow card and conceded repeated penalties that gave England the territory they needed.
England lost 30-22 to Fiji in a warm-up fixture ahead of the World Cup and may meet them again in the quarter-finals, where they will need an improved performance after a sloppy showing against Samoa where they made numerous handling errors and battled with the high tempo game of the Pacific Islanders.
England had secured top spot in Pool D but advance with a clean sweep of four wins after lock Ollie Chessum scored their opening try on a day when captain Owen Farrell broke Jonny Wilkinson’s points record of 1,178 as he kicked three penalties.
Follow all the action as England face Samoa in their Pool D match plus get all the latest Rugby World Cup odds and tips here:
Kick-off fast approaching
The fans are here and kick-off is just ten minutes away...
England vs Samoa - live updates
Closing in on kick-off here in Lille. Here’s a final reminder of how Pool D looks:
1st. England - 14 points
2nd. Argentina - 9 points
3rd. Japan - 9 points
4th. Samoa - 6 points
5th. Chile - 0 points
Manu Tuilagi comes full circle for historic Rugby World Cup showdown with extra meaning
Back to tonight’s game. And although, England vs Samoa in Pool D at the 2023 Rugby World Cup may not go down as the most important fixture in the tournament’s history, for the Tuilagi rugby dynasty, it will be one of the most special and historic days of their sporting lives as the youngest member of the rugby-playing clan faces his homeland for the very first time.
After more than a decade in the international game, there is little that Manu Tuilagi hasn’t done but when he pulls on the No 13 England jersey on Saturday in Lille, he will be squaring off against not only the country in which he was born but the very team after which he was named.
One final chance to read Luke Baker’s preview for this afternoon’s clash below:
Manu Tuilagi comes full circle for historic World Cup showdown with extra meaning
When England face Samoa in Lille on Saturday, Tuilagi will line up against his homeland, and the team he was named after, for the first time
Louis Rees-Zammit scores World Cup hat-trick as Wales comfortably top group
Earlier in the afternoon, Wales wrapped up their group-stage campaign with a 43-19 win over Georgia to maintain an unbeaten march to the quarter-finals.
Warren Gatland’s team needed one point to finish top of Pool C after securing a last-eight place almost two weeks ago by defeating Australia in record-breaking fashion.
And they accomplished it on the same ground that 16 years ago Fiji condemned them to a World Cup pool-stage exit.
Wing Louis Rees-Zammit scored three tries, while there were also touchdowns for prop Tomas Francis, full-back Liam Williams and centre George North.
Louis Rees-Zammit scores World Cup hat-trick as Wales comfortably top group
Wales 43-19 Georgia: Prop Tomas Francis, full-back Liam Williams and centre George North also crossed as Warren Gatland’s side topped Pool C
Matthieu Jalibert’s magic touch leads France into Rugby World Cup quarter-finals
And last night it was the turn of France to book their spot in the knockout stages after a thumping win over Italy.
Flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert’s lightning-quick passing and inspired try lifted Les Bleus to the top of Pool A with other tries by Damian Penaud (2), Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Peato Mauvaka, Yoram Moefana (2) and Thomas Ramos, who also scored 15 points from the tee.
Fabien Galthie’s team, without Dupont as the mercurial scrumhalf recovers from cheekbone surgery, won all their group games and are likely to face defending champions South Africa on October 15, even if Ireland and Scotland are still possible opponents for a place in the last four.
The full match report for that one is also below:
Matthieu Jalibert’s magic touch leads France into Rugby World Cup quarter-finals
France 60-7 Italy: The World Cup hosts reach the quarter-finals with emphatic win over Italy
New Zealand thrash Uruguay as All Blacks storm into World Cup quarter-finals
Two teams have already secured their spots in the quarter-finals over the last couple of days, so let’s take a brief look back at those matches.
On Thursday, the All Blacks stormed into the World Cup quarter-finals with another mesmeric display of attacking rugby to put down an initially troublesome Uruguay 73-0 in their final Pool A match on Thursday.
After losing their tournament opener to France, New Zealand ran in 11 tries against Namibia, 14 against Italy and added another 11 against Los Teros at OL Stadium.
Damian McKenzie score two tries and made a couple more in an outstanding display, while winger Will Jordan grabbed his 26th and 27th five-pointers in only his 28th test with a performance just as good.
You can read the full match report below:
New Zealand thrash Uruguay as All Blacks storm into World Cup quarter-finals
New Zealand 73-0 Uruguay: The All Blacks produced another fine display in Lyon to secure their place in the last eight
England vs Samoa - Line-ups
Around half an hour to go until kick-off. Here’s a reminder of how both sides will line up:
England XV: 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Jamie George, 3 Dan Cole; 4 Maro Itoje, 5 Ollie Chessum; 6 Courtney Lawes, 7 Tom Curry, 8 Ben Earl; 9 Alex Mitchell, 10 George Ford; 11 Jonny May, 12 Owen Farrell (captain), 13 Manu Tuilagi, 14 Joe Marchant; 15 Freddie Steward.
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 George Martin, 20 Billy Vunipola; 21 Danny Care, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Ollie Lawrence.
Samoa XV: 1 Jordan Lay, 2 Sama Malolo, 3 Michael Alaalatoa (captain); 4 Sam Slade, 5 Brian Alainu’u’ese; 6 Theo McFarland, 7 Fritz Lee, 8 Steven Luatua; 9 Jonathan Taumateine, 10 Lima Sopoaga; 11 Neria Fomai, 12 Danny Toala, 13 Tumua Manu, 14 Nigel Ah-Wong; 15 Duncan Paia’aua.
Replacements: 16 Seilala Lam, 17 James Lay, 18 Paul Alo-Emile, 19 Sootala Fa’aso’o, 20 Alamanda Motuga; 21 Melani Matavao, 22 Christian Leali’ifano, 23 Miracle Fai’ilagi.
Stuart Hogg: Here’s how Scotland can shock Ireland and escape group of death
The former Scotland full-back has been writing a weekly column for The Independent throughout the tournament and this week, he focuses in on tonight’s crunch game between Scotland and Ireland.
Scotland need to upset the odds to stand a chance of reaching the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.
How can they do that? Hogg explains below:
Stuart Hogg: Here’s how Scotland can shock Ireland and escape group of death
It’s a Herculean challenge: Scotland must defeat the world No 1 side in Paris to avoid a World Cup exit, writes Stuart Hogg. But our columnist says if captain Jamie Ritchie can outmuscle Peter O’Mahony early on and the defence can find a way to stop the genius of Johnny Sexton, they might just stand a chance
Jamie George keen to ‘grow the game’ with historic England tour of Samoa
Jamie George would welcome the opportunity for England to embark on a historical maiden tour of Samoa as part of a reshaped global calendar.
England clash with Seilala Mapusua’s underdogs in their final World Cup group game in Lille on Saturday in what will be only the ninth meeting between the rivals and their first since 2017.
Of the previous encounters, none of them have been staged in Samoa, while England’s total visits to the Pacific Islands consist of two Tests played in Fiji in 1988 and 1991.
The game’s powerbrokers are seeking to establish a two-division international competition operating in the July and November windows, with the summer potentially offering scope to play in a region that is estimated to supply 20 per cent of all professional players across the world.
Read the thoughts of the England hooker below:
Jamie George keen to ‘grow the game’ with historic England tour of Samoa
England face Samoa in the Rugby World Cup on Saturday but have only played two games in the Pacific Islands in their entire history
Steve Borthwick ready for “physical” Samoa test
Steve Borthwick’s side have enjoyed a great start to their Rugby World Cup, winning all three of their games so far. England came into this tournament after a disappointing run of results but have so far looked like a much-improved outfit.
For Borthwick, however, there is still more to work on as they face off against Samoa, who beat England in a pre-World Cup warm-up fixture.
“Whilst we are of course pleased with our results and qualification into the pool stages, we want to continue our improvement with a positive performance against a difficult and in-form Samoa team,” said Borthwick. “Samoa are renowned for their physicality and this last game in the pool stages will be an excellent test for us as we continue in our Rugby World Cup journey.
“We are delighted to be heading back to Lille for this weekend’s fixture, where we enjoyed seeing so many England supporters for our last match. Once again, we look forward to seeing a sea of white England shirts in the stands of the Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Saturday.”
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