The England XV dominated Samoa (18-17) on Saturday October 7 at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille. The small islands of Polynesia did not beat the large North Island, but they came close. Almost full, the northern enclosure (50,000 seats) was entirely dressed in white for the occasion. Many supporters of the XV de la Rose crossed the Channel to witness the ninth confrontation between the two teams.
They had reason to be confident since Manu Samoa had never beaten the XV de la Rose. But coach Steve Borthwick’s men did not master their subject at all in this match. The former second row had nevertheless fielded his typical team by starting thirteen of the fifteen players in the starting XV of the winning Argentina team.
History will remember that captain Owen Farrell, despite several failures against the poles, became this Saturday the best scorer in the history of the English selection with 1,186 points. He surpasses Jonny Wilkinson, who held this record for almost twenty-three years. A great reward for the 109th cap for the Saracens captain, who missed the first two matches of the tournament due to a suspension for dangerous play.
First in Group D with three victories in as many matches, the English had qualified for the quarter-finals a week ago. The main interest of this match was to evaluate a XV de la Rose criticized for its boring game, but which seemed to gain strength as the matches progressed.
Strong test
The Samoans were almost eliminated before the match. For the Polynesians to steal second qualifying place from Argentina or Japan, they would have had to win this Saturday by at least 29 points and for the Japanese and South Americans to draw on Sunday in Nantes, without offensive bonus. In other words, a miracle.
The dispossession game advocated by Steve Borthwick, the coach of the English team, showed its limits against the uninhibited Samoans, who like nothing more than attacking with their hands. To the great pleasure of the French present in the stadium, who sang La Marseillaise several times to encourage them, the men of the Pacific played hard, led by Jonathan Taumateine, their scrum half with long peroxide hair.
After opening the scoring with a corner try from second row Ollie Chessum in the 9th minute, the English thought they had got their hands on the match. But that was without the courage and passion of the Rouge et Bleu. Barely five minutes later, winger Nigel Ah-Wong finished a long Samoan sequence with a corner, allowing his team to come back to within one point (8-7).
In the 27th minute, the Polynesians doubled the lead by scoring another converted try (8-14). With a precise pass, center Danny Toala found Nigel Ah-Wong who flattened just before his toes touched the dead ball line. Destabilized, Steve Borthwick’s men could count themselves happy to return to the locker room with only six points behind, two tries having been refused to the Samoans, including one for a contentious forward in the 32nd minute.
Probably shaken at the break by Steve Borthwick, the English returned to the pitch with the intention of imposing a test of strength on the Samoan forwards. And to bring ideas to a team without imagination, the coach also brought in the wisp Marcus Smith at the opening. The effect was quickly felt as the XV de la Rose settled within the opposing 22 meters. In the 55th minute, after a lot of playing time, Owen Farrell passed a penalty, allowing his team to come back to six points (11-17).
The match changed in the 65th minute when the referee gave center Tumua Manu a severe yellow card for dangerous play. The next ten minutes at fourteen against fifteen were fatal for the Samoans. In the 73rd minute, the English finally took the score thanks to a clever try from their number nine Danny Care, who bypassed the scrum to score between the posts. A try transformed by the inevitable Farrell (18-17). The Samoans, who could have scored on their last offensive, may have regrets this evening.
A lackluster playing style
As they sought to reassure themselves ahead of the quarter-finals, the English will undoubtedly leave Lille with their heads full of doubts. Despite his four victories in as many matches, the 2019 World Cup finalist no longer scares anyone. The XV de la Rose plays a dull game, without imagination, without madness, like the player that was Steve Borthwick, rough second row of Bath and Saracens.
Finalist of the 2019 World Cup, the XV de la Rose seems to have made “winning ugly” its motto in the 2023 World Cup. Whoever opens the field, George Ford or Owen Farrell, the English abuse the game based on candles. They were effective in defense in their first three matches, but the two tries conceded against the Samoans highlighted their fragility.
After this disappointing performance, the English now have a week to find the fundamentals of their game before most likely facing the Fijians in the quarter-finals, who only need a point against Portugal on Sunday in Toulouse.
An England-Fiji poster would be the promise of a very open encounter, with an ideal opposition in style between the team which plays the most with the foot in this tournament and the one which plays the most with the hand. It would also be a revenge since the Flying Fijians beat England – at Twickenham moreover – for the first time in their history (30-22), in a preparation match for the World Cup two months ago.
