England vs Samoa

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England has secured the top spot in Pool D, and although they might be tempted to relax a bit when facing Samoa, they understand the importance of putting on a strong performance before entering the knockout stage. Despite their impressive recovery after a lackluster Six Nations and warm-up campaign, England is cautious about not undoing their progress in France. Fielding a formidable lineup against a revamped Samoa team should result in another convincing victory.

The only player retained from England's previous match against Chile is their captain, Owen Farrell, who moves to inside centre, while George Ford returns as the fly-half. With Manu Tuilagi alongside Farrell and a swift back three of Jonny May, Joe Marchant, and Freddie Steward, England boasts plenty of speed in the backs. However, their strength is expected to come from the forward pack.

Samoa has completely overhauled their front five since their loss to Japan. While the choice of Lima Sopoaga over Christian Leali'ifano may hint at a more aggressive approach from the Pacific islanders, there's a lingering sense that Samoa is offering a final opportunity to their entire squad, which could potentially lead to some lack of cohesion.

These teams haven't faced each other in six years, but England comfortably defeated Samoa at Twickenham in 2017, scoring seven tries. England is well-rested and enters this matchup in excellent shape.

Historically, in the past 15 encounters against tier-two teams dating back to the 2015 Rugby World Cup, England has won 14 of them by at least a 20-point margin, indicating that they are likely to surpass that threshold once again in this game.

After successfully handling two challenging matches within their group, Steve Borthwick's team faced Chile in their third match, where they dominated with a resounding 71-0 victory. Henry Arundell delivered an exceptional performance, scoring five tries and also making history by tying the record for the most tries scored by an English player in a rugby union Test match.

Despite securing their position as the leaders of the table, Borthwick remains focused on ensuring his team maintains their confidence and momentum heading into the knockout stages, with Samoa as their upcoming opponent. The quarter-finals are likely to see them face Fiji, who are one win away from securing second place in Pool C. However, if Fiji stumbles, it could offer a lifeline to Eddie Jones's Wallabies in the competition.

While Samoa isn't technically out of the tournament yet, their chances of advancing to the next stage are slim and would require a remarkable series of events. To progress, Samoa not only needs to defeat England by a 28-point margin but also relies on second-placed Argentina and third-placed Japan to draw their match on Sunday evening.

Seilala Mapusua's team had regrets about their lack of discipline in their match against Japan. Despite appearing stronger on the day, they ended up losing with 14 men on the field due to Ben Lam's yellow card being upgraded to a red, and Jonathan Taumateine also spending time in the sin bin during the match.

Nonetheless, as long as there's a glimmer of hope, Samoa is determined to put up a fierce fight in this match. While winning may be a significant challenge, they aim to exit the competition with a memorable performance.