England have made it four wins from four in Rugby World Cup Pool D by the barest of the margins as they scraped past a spirited Samoa side 18-17 in Lille this evening.
History was made in the 18th minute when Owen Farrell overtook Jonny Wilkinson as the leading points-scorer in England history, although for much of the match it looked like a different piece of history might steal the headlines.
Samoa deservedly led from the 30th minute until the 74th and were agonisingly within sight of recording their first-ever victory over England.
However, a 73rd-minute try from Danny Care - and the subsequent conversion from Farrell - spared the blushes of Steve Borthwick's side as they nudged ahead and just about hung on to ensure that they end the pool stage with four wins.
England were already guaranteed a quarter-final place and top spot in Pool D heading into the match, while they also had last week off, and all of those factors appeared to contribute to a display lacking intent and intensity.
The 2003 winners started brightly enough, with Ollie Chessum scoring the opening try after only nine minutes - although Farrell missed the subsequent conversion to force him to wait a little longer to overtake Wilkinson's record tally.
The England captain only needed one score of any kind to move out on his own as the nation's leading points-scorer of all time, though, and that came when he knocked over a penalty to put his side 8-0 ahead.
Any hopes that the foundations had been laid for a comfortable afternoon were soon dismissed, though, as Samoa outplayed and outfought England for much of the rest of the game.
Nigel Ah-Wong responded with two tries in the space of seven minutes, the second seeing him collect an inch-perfect cross-field kick before showing remarkable dexterity to get the ball down just in time with a world-class finish.
That sent Samoa into the break 14-8 ahead, and it could have been even worse for England as Samoa had two tries disallowed - the first for a knock-on in the buildup, which was brought back after the conversion had been taken, and the second denying Ah-Wong a first-half hat-trick.
A Lima Sopoaga penalty early in the second half edged Samoa more than one score clear, and while Farrell responded in kind before the hour mark, it looked like it would not be England's day when the captain did not take another kick in front of the posts before the end of the shot clock, throwing away a chance to reduce the deficit to three.
It was a sloppy error rarely seen at the top level, but it did not prove to be a costly one for England as Care darted over with seven minutes left, before Farrell knocked over the conversion which put England ahead - taking no chances with the shot clock this time.
Care then produced a moment just as important at the other end, racing back to make a try-saving tackle in the 79th minute to deny Samoa a famous win and ensure England avoided an ignominious defeat to the Pacific Islanders.
Despite the nervy nature of the win, England are now enjoying their longest-ever winning run in the pool stages of World Cups - eight matches - and will now turn their attention to a quarter-final against either Australia or Fiji in Marseille. body check tags ::
