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VERSAILLES - England defence coach Mike Ford says he expects Samoa to run at a "million miles an hour" against the champions in Nantes on Sunday (2am, NZT) in what is now a must-win encounter for both sides if they want to reach the World Cup quarterfinals.
England were left on the backfoot after South Africa thrashed them 36-0 at the Stade de France on Friday only for Tonga to upset the formbook 48 hours later in Montpellier by beating Samoa 19-15 despite finishing the match against their Pacific Island rivals with 13 men after a sending-off and a yellow card.
Ford, speaking before today's surprise result, said of Samoa: "Defensively they are very strong individuals and they run a million miles an hour at you.
"They've got a great offloading game and that always creates problems should they have a good day at the office.
"Against South Africa (when Samoa lost 59-7), I thought for probably up to 45 minutes into the game, they were in it and when they got a try disallowed that might have changed the tempo.
"But the longer these teams are in the game, as you saw (on Saturday) with Georgia (only beaten 14-10 by Ireland), it becomes harder."
England have struggled to impose themselves on their opponents so far, looking sluggish during an unimpressive 28-10 opening pool A win against the United States before being overwhelmed by the Springboks.
At the end of the last World Cup, five England players - Will Greenwood, Jonny Wilkinson, Lawrence Dallaglio, Martin Johnson and Phil Vickery - made it into the World 15 chosen at the end of the tournament.
But World Cup-winning leader Johnson and centre Greenwood have both since retired. Meanwhile, No 8 Dallaglio was dropped for Friday's match where current captain Phil Vickery was serving the first of a two-game ban for tripping that rules him out of the Samoa match.
And as for Wilkinson, the dropped goal hero of England's final victory four years ago, he has yet to feature at this World Cup because of an ankle injury.
Ford, in a remarkably frank assessment, said there was no getting away from the lack of quality within the 2007 England squad.
"That's no disrespect to anybody, we just haven't got them sort of world-class players in our team.
"It is disappointing. In 2003, I think everyone would agree, we had six or seven (players) who would probably get in a World 15. I'm not too sure now, how many we would get in."
But he was adamant England had the character to rally against Samoa, pointing to stand-in captain Martin Corry and Wilkinson as examples of the team's spirit.
"People are calling us underdogs now even against Samoa. But Martin Corry has never been an underdog in his life, and Jonny Wilkinson hasn't either."
Even if they beat Samoa, England are likely to need a win over Tonga in their final Pool match on September 28 at Paris' Parc des Princes to be sure of a last eight spot.
- AFP
