RLWC2021 – England v Samoa: Team news, how to watch on TV & predictions

Josh McAllister 11 Nov 2022 2:02 PM

Everything you need to know – England v Samoa.

England and Samoa face off again in the second semi-final of the World Cup on Saturday, with both sides vying for a place in the final next Saturday at Old Trafford.

The two sides met in the opening game of the tournament in Newcastle when England ran out emphatic winners by 60-6.

England booked their place in the semi-final in convincing fashion, dispatching Papua New Guinea 46-6 in Wigan in the quarter-finals, while Samoa battled past Tonga 20-18 in an enthralling contest in Warrington.

Match details

England v Samoa
Date: Saturday 12th November
Kick-off time: 2:30pm
Venue: Emirates Stadium, London
Semi-finals

England v Samoa

England 19-man squad: 1. Sam Tomkins, 2. Tommy Makinson, 3. Kallum Watkins 4. Herbie Farnworth, 6. Jack Welsby, 7. George Williams, 8. Tom Burgess, 9. Michael Mcllorum, 10. Luke Thomspon, 11. Elliott Whitehead, 12. John Bateman, 13. Victor Radley, 14. Dom Young, 15. Morgan Knowles, 17. Mike Cooper, 18. Chris Hill, 20. Mike McMeeken, 21. Marc Sneyd, 24. Kai Pearce-Paul

Samoa 19-man squad: 1. Joseph Suaali’I, 2. Taylan May, 4. Stephen Crichton, 5. Brian To’o, 6. Jerome Luai, 7. Anthony Milford, 8. Josh Papali’I, 10. Junior Paulo, 11. Ligi Sao, 12. Jaydn Su’a, 15. Royce Hunt, 16. Spencer Leniu, 17. Martin Taupa’u*, 20. Chanel Harris-Tavita, 21. Fa’amanu Brown, 22. Kelma Tuilagi, 23. Oregon Kaufusi, 25. Tim Lafai, 26. Ken Sio

*A late withdrawal from the squad

What the two camps are saying

England boss Shaun Wane said: “We know this team we’ll play on Saturday will be a different team (from the game in Newcastle), they’re talented, they’ve got a lot of really, really good players from the NRL and they’re going to challenge us and we’ve got to be ready.

Samoa ead coach Matt Parish said: “This tournament was never about the first game, it was about the last game,” he said.

“We were never going to be at our best in the first game. It was always going to be about building through the tournament. I’ve been through it numerous times, obviously the scoreline wasn’t great, things didn’t go our way and we lost three or four players in the game.

“England were unreal, we were pretty ordinary. What can we say about it? We’ve moved on.”

How can I watch the game on TV?

Every game across the men’s, women’s and wheelchair World Cup tournaments is being broadcast by the BBC.

England v Samoa will be on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Odds and predictions

England head into the semi-final as favourites with Planet Sport Bet. England are priced at 4/11, whilst Samoa’s odds are at 5/2.

It will certainly be a closer game than the opening meeting in Newcastle. However, it’s hard to look past an England side that have performed pretty much perfectly throughout the tournament and are coming off the back of thrashing a good PNG side in the quarter-finals.

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England v Samoa

What the two camps are saying

How can I watch the game on TV?

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