RLWC Daily Wrap: Semi-Final 2
It was a completely different affair to their round-one matchup as England played Samoa for the opportunity to play Australia in the World Cup Final.
A lovely afternoon in London, though I wish it was played a few hours closer to night for my Australian sake, the rematch between England and Samoa exceeded even my high expectations.
Anyone who expected England to repeat their domination from the first match of the tournament, despite the error of their ways, would have quickly realised that wasn’t the case.
From the ferocious Siva Tau to the opening few minutes, it was clear that this was going to be a closely-contested affair.
Kicking out on the full from the opening kick-off, England was provided with the perfect opportunity to start the match. Failing to convert that to any points, Samoa quickly began to win the momentum and dominate the contact in attack and defence.
Up four points at halftime, Samoa was in the driver's seat.
With five minutes left, it looked like England was going to come out on top.
Heading into Golden Point, it was anyone's game. Samoa stayed calm in the big moments and iced the match.
Key Moments
The referee rules George Williams got the ball back in before going out.
While it's a bit of a wordy heading, there’s no other way to say it. About halfway through the first half, George Williams attempted to make a break down the left edge and was promptly smashed and dragged out.
In the process, he threw the ball back in, which was fumbled along the ground by a Samoan. I thought it was pretty clear that Williams went out first. The referee did not.
In one of the first tackles of the following set, Junior Paulo was penalised for a lifting tackle and sent to the sin bin. Samoa didn’t leak any points when down to 12 men, but it sapped energy that could have been used later on.
Tim Lafai try-saver on Kallum Watkins
In a game that ended up being so close, Tim Lafai’s effort to stop Kallum Watkins from what was a certain try is an incredibly important moment of the match.
Lafai did enough to dislodge the ball enough that it slipped out of Watkins' grasp just before he grounded it. If Watkins had scored, England would have been a lot closer to victory.
Jarome Luai and Junior Paulo combine for an amazing try
Ending in golden point, every try scored in the match could be called a key moment. That’s not the aim of this segment. However, this was a special moment between two of Samoa’s best players to set up a try at a crucial point of the match.
Herbie Farnworth is too big and too strong
There’s nothing quite like a solo effort from one of the best players on the field to bring his team back into the game.
A truly incredible effort from Herbie, he broke the tackles of (at least) five Samoan defenders including Joseph Su’ali’i to slam the ball down and give England a chance.
Penalised Paulo lets England tie it up with 13 minutes left
This has to be one of the softest penalties I have ever seen awarded, especially towards the end of a closely-contested semi-final.
Sam Tomkins puts a bomb up. Junior chases from marker and gets there a bit late to make the tackle. He gives Tomkins a little push. Tomkins collapses to the ground like a baby giraffe.
Was it a penalty? Yes. Which is why the captain's challenge was unsuccessful. Should it have been given? No.
Is he the current intercept King?
With an intercept to win the Grand Final in 2021 and another that looked like it had won Samoa the World Cup semi-final, Stephen Crichton has a knack for making big plays in big moments.
Unlike the Cody Walker pass, which was a great read and perhaps an extravagant pass, Victor Radley almost dropped this one in Crichton's lap. Unfortunately for Samoa, it wasn’t enough to secure the win just yet.
George Williams cuts through the line and puts Farnworth away - Tommy Makinson ties it up
George Williams had some truly bad moments in this game. One of them came only a minute before this one.
However, he made multiple giant plays throughout this match. None bigger than this one.
England capitulates and Crichton stays as cold as ice
There’s no other word to use. England completely collapsed in extra time.
It started with Jack Welsby strangely passing to himself, fumbling it and then fumbling it some more. Luckily, Anthony Milford decided to take a third-tackle field goal that was easily blocked.
This time, it was a Sam Tomkins forward pass from hooker that saw Samoa get the ball back. This time, they went to Crichton. He didn’t miss.
Standout Players
Ligi Sao
Sao was doing everything. With tough hit-ups, working hard in defence and scooting for a try, he had a great game. (40 Tackles, 107m, 2 tackle breaks, 1 line break)
Jarome Luai
The main playmaker for Samoa, it would be hard to find any points Samoa scored that he wasn’t involved in. ( 3 try assists, six tackle breaks, 2 line break assists, 1 line break)
Junior Paulo
Samoa completely dominated the forwards of England and Junior led from the front, despite two crucial (and harsh) penalties. (136m, 54pcm, 5 tackle breaks, 34 tackles)
Tim Lafai
A man who shouldn’t even be in the squad, the right-edge of Englands' defence will be having nightmares involving Lafai for weeks. (2 tries, 187m, 75pcm, 6 tackle breaks, 2 line breaks, 4 offloads)
Joseph Su’ali’i
It feels weird for a 19-year-old to be so trusted. Not once did I feel like he was going to a mistake. Such a powerful runner. (245m, 106pcm, 6 tackle breaks, 1 line break)
Tommy Makinson
In the first minutes of the match, he failed to score a try that he probably should have finished off. From then on, he was probably England’s best. (191m, 74pcm, 9 tackle breaks, 4/4 conversions)
George Williams
Whenever England needed something to happen, it was Williams that they turned to. For some reason, they went away from him in overtime. (2 try assists, 185m, 5 tackle breaks, 2 line breaks, 1 line break assist, 226 kick metres)
Herbie Farnworth
I’ve already said enough. He’s awesome. His two tries were incredibly important and equally awesome. (2 tries, 168m, 7 tackle breaks, 1 line break)
See ya next week for the final RLWC Daily Wrap, as Australia take on Samoa. Don’t worry, there will be plenty more content to enjoy here post-World Cup.
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