Thu. Nov 21st, 2024
Occasional Digest - a story for you

Throughout the build-up to these two autumn internationals, the England camp had made it clear that they would only be satisfied by completing a series win.

And Wane will have delighted in the way his side stepped up their intensity levels against a Samoa team who showed clear improvements from the first test in Wigan six days ago.

The short turnaround meant that Tom Burgess was unable to shake off an illness to play, while Kai Pearce-Paul (calf) and Dom Young (hand) were also unavailable because of injuries.

In their place, Luke Thompson returned from suspension, with the strength in depth at Wane’s disposal underlined further by international bows for Super League’s Young Player of the Year Junior Nsemba and the competition’s top try scorer Marshall.

In Harry Smith, Williams and the exciting Farnworth, there also the players capable of taking the game away from any opposition.

Junior Pauga’s trip to the sin-bin in the first half only helped the hosts, who were edging a tight encounter 8-6 at the time but were able to capitalise ruthlessly on their man advantage to construct a commanding lead at the break.

However, Farnworth was the man to steal the show.

The 24-year-old’s elusive running and ability to offload from tackles against caused Samoa no end of problems and ensured he was a worthy recipient of the man-of-the-match award.

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