England 35 Samoa 22
England had to endure a major World Cup scare against Samoa as they fought back from a half-time deficit to clinch a quarter-final place at Telstra Dome.
England had to endure a major World Cup scare against Samoa as they fought back from a half-time deficit to clinch a quarter-final place at Telstra Dome.
The Six Nations champions trailed 16-13, and then 22-20 after 62 minutes before late tries from wing Iain Balshaw and substitute prop Phil Vickery saw them home.
But there was confusion at the end, when it looked as though England briefly had 16 players on the pitch following replacement Dan Luger's appearance. Fly-half Jonny Wilkinson kicked 15 points, and there was also a penalty try and a touchdown from flanker Neil Back.
Samoan skipper Semo Sititi scored a wonderful early try, and fly-half Earl Va'a booted 17 points, but England prevailed, and remain on course for a quarter-final appointment with Wales.
"I thought Samoa played fantastically well," admitted England skipper Martin Johnson. "There were too many mistakes from us. All credit to Samoa, they were great, but we need to take a long look at ourselves this week."
England enjoyed early possession, but they were unable to make headway outside their own half, and Samoa had the first scoring chance when Johnson infringed. Despite a difficult angle, former Newcastle and Richmond fly-half Va'a slotted his penalty opportunity comfortably, and England trailed 3-0 inside three minutes.
Samoa continued to press, and it got worse for England, who could not have made a more demoralising start. England could not get their hands on possession, and Samoa were hell-bent on spinning possession wide. With under seven minutes gone on the clock, Samoa launched a blistering raid deep into England territory, and after possession had been moved through several pairs of hands, skipper Sititi crossed for an outstanding try.
The shock waves could almost be felt around the stadium, and when Va'a slotted a difficult conversion, England found themselves in the improbable position of being 10-0 adrift after conceding their first try of the competition.
It was an astonishing start by Samoa, and posed real questions for England as they looked to establish some momentum on proceedings. Not even goalkicking star Wilkinson could make an impression, sending a 13th-minute penalty chance wide. It was his first miss in 25 kicks at goal, stretching back to England's summer victory over world champions Australia on the same ground.
England had been smashed out of their stride, and they need something quickly to restore confidence against a Samoan side who looked far more composed with ball in hand. Wilkinson then found touch deep inside Samoa's 22, establishing a first really threatening attacking position, and the result was immediate. England's forwards rolled on from the resulting line-out - a classic Leicester move - and Tigers flanker Back touched down to claim a pressure-relieving try.
Wilkinson landed the touchline conversion, and then booted a 35-metre penalty on 28 minutes to tie the score at 10-10.
English relief was almost tangible, yet Samoa responded in direct fashion, putting pressure on England inside their own 22 and establishing an attacking platform from which they prospered. England, somewhat predictably, conceded a penalty, and Va'a came up trumps from 20 metres to put Samoa back in front with two further penalties.
Even superman Wilkinson had caught the English disease of panicking under pressure, and as half-time approached, it needed something special to buckle Samoa's hard-hitting defence. England had to content themselves with Wilkinson's second successful penalty though, which meant they trailed - against all odds - 16-13 at half-time.
In the second-half, Samoa had every confidence to attack England with ball in hand, and the Six Nations champions required every ounce of their collective experience to keep their opponents out. England, given their displays over the past 18 months under Woodward, were a shambles.
It was nothing like the controlled rugby English fans had come to expect. Samoa suffered an injury blow on 46 minutes when their Gloucester centre Terry Fanolua limped off, to be replaced by Dale Rasmussen, and Woodward's lack of patience was illustrated through a triple substitution.
Hooker Steve Thompson, prop Vickery and flanker Lewis Moody were the respective replacements for Mark Regan, Julian White and Joe Worsley, but England's failings in attack were again exposed when an intended pass to number eight Lawrence Dallaglio drifted into touch.
England looked to make the most of a five-metre scrum, and an irresistible drive led to Samoan prop Jeremy Tomuli collapsing it. South African referee Jonathan Kaplan immediately awarded a penalty try, as England went ahead for the first time. Wilkinson's conversion made it 20-16.
Va'a prospered from Samoa's first real second-half attacking raid, slotting a 25-metre penalty to make it 20-19 and underline England's chronic state of uncertainty. But the world-ranked number one team came up trumps when it mattered, and victory was ultimately secured.