SAMOA (vs England – October 7th, Lille, 16:45 KO)
England and Samoa have met on eight occasions throughout their shared history, with England able to secure the win 100% of the time. England’s recent shock defeat to Fiji was the first time that a Pacific Island side had beaten them, with Samoa eager to follow in the Fijian footsteps, as they wrap up the action for their final match in Pool D.
The two sides have met at the Rugby World Cup on three occasions, with Samoa coincidentally scoring 22 points in each encounter. The first recorded match between the two nations dates back to the 1995 Rugby World Cup pool stages.
The 44-22 England win against Western Samoa, featured tries from Rory Underwood and Neil Back, as well as a nicely struck drop goal from Mike Catt. The two sides had a re-match later that year, when Samoa went on a December ’95 tour with matches against the Springboks, England and Scotland. Manu Samoa drew 15-15 with Scotland, but then suffered a defeat as they travelled down South of the border, as England ran out 29-7 winners.
Samoa provided an beatable roadblock in England’s path to Rugby World Cup glory, when they met in the pool stage of their 2003 coronation year. The eventual world champions saw off Samoa in Melbourne, with a 35-22 margin of victory.
The most recent Rugby World Cup meeting saw England and Samoa re-ignite their rivalry in the pool stages of the 2007 competition. After a poor start to their campaign with a 36-0 loss to South Africa, the soon-to-be finalists racked up a 44-22 win against the Pacific Islanders, to put their campaign back on the right track.