England begin their Rugby League World Cup campaign with a tough encounter with Samoa.
Delayed by a year due to the pandemic, the tournament will be held in England across the next two months, with the men’s, women’s and wheelchair competitions running in parallel for the first time.
Three-time World Cup winners England have plenty of experience in their squad and were beaten finalists last time around.
But Shaun Wane’s side face a tough start against a Samoan team containing a number of Australian-based stars, including eight players who appeared in the NRL Grand Final earlier in October.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the Group A opening fixture.
When and where is it?
England vs Samoa is due to kick off at 2.30pm BST on Saturday 15 October at St James’ Park in Newcastle, England.
How can I watch it?
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on BBC One, with coverage from 1.15pm BST. The action can be streamed via the BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.
Team news
Dominic Young is in line to win his first England cap, with the talented wing starring in the uncapped warm-up game against Fiji. The 21-year-old is part of a 19-man squad selected to face Samoa, with Ryan Hall, England’s leading all-time try-scorer, ommited. Michael McIlorum has got the nod ahead of Andy Ackers, with John Bateman, Mikolaj Oledski and Joe Batchelor also left out from the 24-man squad named by Shaun Wane for the tournament.
Samoa are optimistic they can better a disappointing showing at the 2017 tournament, with plenty of quality at Matt Parish’s disposal. Teenage star Joseph Sua’ali’i has resisted a potential call from Australia to play for the nation of his father and grandparents, while six of Parish’s World Cup squad were part of the NRL-winning Penrith Panthers team.
“It’s not necessarily about spoiling the party,” said Samoa captain Junior Paulo ahead of the game. “But beating England would signify a massive achievement for Samoa on the international scale.”
Squads
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 McIlorum, 10 Luke Thompson, 11 Elliott Whitehead, 13 Victor Radley, 14 Dom Young, 15 Morgan Knowles, 16 Matty Lees, 17 Mike Cooper, 18 Chris Hill, 20 Mike McMeeken, 21 Marc Sneyd, 24 Kai Pearce-Paul.
Samoa 19-man squad: 1 Joseph Suaalii, 4 Stephen Crichton, 5 Brian To’o, 6 Jarome Luai, 7 Anthony Milford, 8 Josh Papalii, 9 Danny Levi, 10 Junior Paulo, 12 Jayden Su’a, 13 Josh Aloiai, 14 Tyrone May, 16 Spencer Leniu, 17 Martin Taupa’u, 18 Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, 20 Chanel Harris-Tavita, 22 Kelma Tuilagi, 23 Oregon Kaufusi, 24 Braden Hamlin-Uele.
Odds
England win 5/4
Draw 20/1
Samoa win 8/11
Prediction
It is likely to be a tight affair in Newcastle, with Samoa keen to right the wrongs of the last World Cup and England likely to be able to draw on the backing of strong home support. There’s plenty of quality in both squads - there may be only a single try in it. Samoa to win by four points.
