England 60-6 Samoa Player Ratings: St Helens men shine, NRL boys stand out and ex-Wigan Warriors stars prove doubters wrong

Many questioned Shaun Wane’s selections for the World Cup and for today’s game, but the outstanding performance from his side saw them batter Samoa 60-6 despite the fact Samoa went into the game as favourites.

England had many star players, Super League Grand Final winners stood out as did the men from the NRL as well as the ex-Wigan Warriors contingent whose selection had been qiuestioned.

1 Sam Tomkins – 9
Skippers need to lead the way and that’s what Tomkins did. He wasn’t too flashy but organised well at the back and created problems for Samoa including sparking the opening try into life with a ball to George Williams. He later nailed a 40/20 which led to the last try of the game for Tom Burgess. Outstanding.

2 Tommy Makinson – 9
Most of the fun was had by his wing partner but Makinson showed his worth from start to finish with some great runs out of England’s end to get them on the front foot which was the key to victory today. Credit to him too for the way he stayed in field after Tomkins’ pass had set him free down the left. He then assisted Whitehead to score before scoring himself from a lovely grubbed.

3 Kallum Watkins – 8
Like Makinson, Watkins got England going with great runs at the starts of sets and it was his quick play the ball which led to the opening try. He also got a try of his own.

4 Herbie Farnworth – 8
You can almost copy and paste that and put it for Farnworth. A threat over on the left especially cutting back inside,l. He too got a deserved try.

14 Dom Young – 9
You’d go a long way to find a winger score such a lovely brace of tries. The young man showed great agility and strength to go round the Samoan fullback to score England’s second before an acrobatic finish saw him make it 18-0. He too carried the ball brilliantly out of his own end.

6 Jack Welsby – 9
Welsby created those two tries for Young and scored one himself showing great support play after Williams broke. He showed that he’s the man England should build their campaign around.

7 George Williams – 9
This was Williams back to his best. He was a running threat throughout and organised his team well. Great to see and got a deserved try to round it off.

8 Tom Burgess – 8
Should have scored early in the game, but made amends with great work ethic allowing England to control the middle of the field. He later would get a deserved try to take the tally up to 60 for the afternoon.

9 Michael McIlorum – 8
Many questioned this decision but McIlorum did everything right today without being flashy.

18 Chris Hill – 8
Outstanding first stint to get England on top and also quite the attacking threat around a quick ruck.

20 Mike McMeeken – 8
Mike McMeeken got through plenty of work and was a real threat out wide for England.

11 Elliot Whitehead – 8
Another copy and paste job this from above although add a brace of lovely tries to his name too.

13 Victor Radley – 9
He was the glue that held England together at the start. Got plenty of work done and did a sound job at nine later in the game.

Substitutes
17 Mike Cooper – 7
15 Morgan Knowles – 7
10 Luke Thompson – 7
16 Matty Lees – 7

All subs did pretty much the same job as they kept England strong down the middle. Wane made the right decision to go with a big bench as it allowed England to constantly control the middle.