England down Samoa in league thriller

England have overcome an early attack of the dropsies and a ferocious Samoan outfit to open the Four Nations rugby league tournament with a 32-26 victory in a 10-try thriller at Suncorp Stadium.

Both sides crossed five times in a highly entertaining tournament opener on Saturday but, in the end, it was goalkicking which cost Samoa a slice of history.

No fourth nation has tasted victory in the tournament but the Pacific Island underdogs were well on track by grabbing the lead midway through the second half.

Down 20-10 on a hot Brisbane day, the Samoans – and the 35,000-plus crowd – roared to life when super-sub Pita Godinet darted over for two dummy-half tries in five minutes.

But their hopes of a stunning upset were effectively “bombed” in England’s next two sets when Matty Smith kicked swirling high balls which fullback Tim Simona couldn’t defuse.

While it’s been the Burgess twins who have attracted most of the English attention, it was another pair of brothers – the Tomkins – who ultimately sealed the result with Joel and Sam crossing from the Smith bombs for a 32-22 advantage.

Samoa, brilliantly led by Frank Pritchard and Josh McGuire, rallied when Pritchard showed Simona how it was done to set up winger Antonio Winterstein.

Only desperate scrambling English defence prevented golden-point extra-time and another loss like their pre-World Cup ambush by Italy last year.

Gareth Widdop’s six-from-six goalkicking effort compared to three from five by the Samoans proved the difference.

Any concerns that Samoa might prove to be easybeats were quickly dispelled when they dominated the opening 20 minutes, with their brutal defence forcing a sloppy England into error.

Although Samoa enjoyed all the early possession thanks to their rivals’ poor ball control, it was England who opened the scoring when Super League Man of Steel Darryl Clark came off the bench in the 21st minute.

With his first touch of the ball, the elusive Clark scampered past three defenders and drew fullback Simona for Michael Shenton to cross.

Local boy McGuire threw a deft pass for Isaac Lui to barge his way through four defenders to score to have the pro-Samoa crowd roaring.

An upset then looked well in the offing as another Brisbane player Daniel Vidot crossed in the corner after Kyle Stanley and Joey Leilua wriggled out of tackles and slipped offloads.

While Parramatta’s Mose Masoe was causing grief all over the paddock, Smith ensured England took the lead at the end of a topsy-turvy first half with quick hands for Kallum Watkins to score.

Stay up to date with the latest sports news
Follow our social accounts to get exclusive content and all the latest sporting news!