Samoa led 17-11 thanks to two first-half touchdowns by winger Nigel Ah-Wong, and they were on the skids until Care scored a 73rd minute try from a clean break round the open side of a scrum on the fourth reset of a set-piece siege. The oldest man on the pitch had given them a shot at redemption, and Owen Farrell's conversion provided England with their great escape.
Care's late command performance after coming on with 14 minutes. left to play was one of England's few highlights, with the veteran making an immediate impact by making a try-saving tackle on Saracens blindside Theo McFarland, who had an outstanding match for the Pacific islanders throughout the entire script.
Care even managed to trump that by making another try-saving tackle as the Samoans launched a rip-roaring last-gasp attack to sink England. It began with a brilliant jinking counter-attack sparked by Care's opposite number, Melani Matavao, and when the ball was whisked from lock Brian Alainu'uese to livewire full-back Duncan Paia'aua, and finally to winger Neria Fomai, it looked like curtains for England's unbeaten run in Pool D.
However, with Care tackling Fomai around his bootstraps the Samoans were thwarted, and Farrell, who broke Jonny Wilkinson's England points-scoring record of 1,179 midway through the first half, was able to breathe a sigh of relief as he banged the ball into touch.
However, this was a big retrograde step before a likely meeting with Fiji in next Sunday’s quarter-final in Marseille, with England reverting to the sluggish, disjointed displays that characterised their warm-up shortcomings.
Denne historien er fra October 08, 2023-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra October 08, 2023-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
England show who's No.1
ENGLAND women’s head coach John Mitchell says his side will take valuable lessons from the 24-12 win over world champions New Zealand as they build towards their WXV1 title defence.
Skivington: We're going to roll dice and go for it
THE Cherry and Whites are the enigmas of the Premiership.
Looking to go one step beyond this time around
NE small step is what it will take for Bath to go one better than last season and secure the Premiership for the first time, but it would be one of the biggest taken by the club in the professional era.
Four-try England make it 17 wins on the spin
ENGLAND women opened the Allianz Stadium era at HQ with a victory over New Zealand to make it 17 wins on the bounce before their WXV title defence.
Time for Borthwick to prove his worth
HONEYMOON periods are not set in stone and in my estimation Steve Borthwick’s ends this summer. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still in good shape.
Barrington ready to power up the Mob
RICHARD Barrington has signed up to the Ampthill “Mob” reassured that he’ll still have a target on his back most weeks.
Skivington keen to build identity
GLOUCESTER won their first trophy for nine years last season and reached the Challenge Cup final, but when George Skivington went on holiday the day after the campaign ended the words in his head were never again.
Roebuck targets England success
WINNING a maiden England Test cap to top the best season of his career will not be enough for Sale winger Tom Roebuck.
Booth: Tough telling players I was leaving
TOBY Booth admits telling his Ospreys players that he would be leaving at the end of the season was one of the hardest things he has had to do in his career.
Stephens' debut try sees off old rivals
DORKING had to dig deep in another tight game between two old rivals, with the lead changing hands twice and result in doubt right up to the final whistle.
