Rugby: Rugby-England “focused on Samoa” from position of luxury

LILLE, France (Reuters) – England’s camp are sticking to their “one game at a time” mantra ahead of Saturday’s final Pool D game against Samoa but with top spot already assured they have the luxury of using the match as pressure-free preparation for the quarter-finals.

After a two-week break since hammering Chile 71-0 with a largely reserve team, head coach Steve Borthwick faces a tricky juggling act for Saturday’s game.

He is likely to put out as close to his strongest team as possible, getting them back in the groove ahead of what looks like a probable quarter-final against Fiji in Marseille on Sunday Oct. 15.

However, mindful of the physicality of the Samoans, who could secure third place and automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup with an unlikely win, Borthwick will also be keen to give some sort of protection for his key men and some early substitutions can be expected.

“All our focus is just the Samoa game, we don’t want to look too far ahead because, the moment you take your eye off the ball, that is when you are in a bit of trouble,” prop Kyle Sinckler said on Wednesday.

“One thing with my experience of World Cups and big tests is the importance of being focused on the ‘now’.”

Sinckler has close-up experience of what England will face on Saturday in the shape of his Bristol team mates Steven Luatua and Chris Vui. “They are two massively physical players, great line-out options, great hands, good offloading skills,” he said.

“Don’t be fooled by their (off-field) demeanour though, they can definitely flick the switch and when it is time to go, those guys can really go.”

One man almost certain to start on Saturday is flanker Tom Curry, whose World Cup to date consists of two minutes of action in the opening game before a red card and ban put him on the sidelines.

Captain Owen Farrell, who has played only one game since his four-match ban for a dangerous tackle, is also expected to start, though the big question is whether it will be at flyhalf or, more likely, at inside centre with George Ford returning at 10.

The experiment of playing Marcus Smith at fullback paid off handsomely against Chile and it will be intriguing to see whether Borthwick goes with that option again or recalls the sturdier defensive option of Freddie Steward.

England’s defence at the World Cup has been unrecognisable in comparison with their August warm-ups and they have conceded only one try, at the death against Argentina, in three games. The Chile match was the first time in World Cup history that an England team had prevented their opponents from scoring and the 22 points conceded in three games is the lowest of any team in the 2023 competition.

“Typically the best defensive team of any competition wins the competition or league or cup,” said defence coach Kevin Sinfield.

“We try to make it important. What we showed in August wasn’t a reflection of how hard the lads had worked and how we trained. We have obviously improved since then; we have got to continue improving.

“But what I have been happy to see is how hard they have been prepared to cover each other’s backsides. We’ll get split, we’ll get broken, we’ll concede penalties at times but our attitude and mindset to defend our try line is really, really important. The guys certainly have that at the minute.”

Borthwick will name his team to play Samoa on Thursday.

(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Pritha Sarkar)