George Ford starts at fly-half for England against Samoa while Owen Farrell captains the side from inside centre; England assured of top spot in Pool D after winning first three games
By Michael Cantillon
Last Updated: 05/10/23 4:30pm
Owen Farrell and George Ford have both been named to start for England vs Samoa in Rugby World Cup Pool D
Owen Farrell and George Ford have both been named to start for England in Saturday’s Rugby World Cup Pool D match against Samoa, with skipper Farrell moving into midfield.
The selection is the first time head coach Steve Borthwick has chosen to deploy Ford and Farrell in a dual 10-12 playmaking axis, with Marcus Smith dropping to the bench as a result of Freddie Steward returning at full-back.
England are assured of top spot and progression to the quarter-finals already, having won their opening three pool games.
Should Fiji take at least a point in their final pool game against Portugal, they will be England’s last-eight opponents on October 15.
England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Joe Marchant, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Owen Farrell (c), 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Jamie George, 3 Dan Cole, 4 Maro Itoje, 5 Ollie Chessum, 6 Courtney Lawes, 7 Tom Curry, 8 Ben Earl.
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 George Martin, 20 Billy Vunipola, 21 Danny Care, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Ollie Lawrence.
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James Cole explains the permutations involved in Pool B at the Rugby World Cup which could see either Ireland, Scotland or defending world champions South Africa being knocked out of the tournament.
More to follow…
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