England learnt some valuable lessons during their 26-13 victory over Samoa at Twickenham according to coach Martin Johnson.
Hard-fought win was 'good experience' says coach
England learnt some valuable lessons during their 26-13 victory over Samoa at Twickenham according to coach Martin Johnson.
Samoa made Johnson's men work hard for their victory at Twickenham and early in the second half led their hosts 8-6 following Paul Willams' try.
But England retained their composure and in the end class shone through as they ground down their determined opponents to claim victory.
"I said before that if it takes us 75 minutes to break them down then that's what it takes," Johnson said.
"There were more tries disallowed than in any game I've ever been involved in. To concede just after half-time was poor, but composure is the best word for it.
"You keep on playing and go for the breakthrough, which we eventually got."
Frustrated
The match will not be remembered like the record win over Australia a week earlier, but Johnson insisted that his side would learn from the experience.
"It was a very different game to last week," he added. "There were a lot of reset scrums, a lot of penalties and lot of bodies around the breakaway.
"I said at half-time that we had to be far better at the breakdown and I think we adjusted to it pretty well.
"You get a bit frustrated when decisions go against you a little bit and a few of the guys are a bit disappointed, but that's Test rugby and we ground our way to a win.
"It's a good experience for them. Getting quick ball was harder because they committed a lot of bodies and we were not up to speed in that area.
"It was harder to get the ball away, but you've got to deal with it. We could have scored a couple of tries in the first-half, but in a way it was a goodthing we didn't. I thought we were far more accurate in the second-half.
"They are very big and strong guys. There was no surprise in that and we varied our game pretty well."
Tenacious
Johnson praised England's ability to hold their nerve after trailing the visitors and find a way to break down Samoa's tenacious defence .
"The good thing is that we came out of it and got comfortably ahead. Last week you could hardly get your breath and today was stop-start,
"But it's what a lot of Test matches are and it was a really good game for them to see what it's all about.
"I think we played a team that prides itself on its physicality and ball-carrying and you have to go and experience it.
"When you go through a long series like this you almost have to put aside what's happened the week before.
"Now we have one big shot at the world champions and everything has got to have a little bit more intensity and accuracy.
"I think we have clearly taken steps and I think some of them have been pretty big as a group. Not finishing and going behind are all experiences."
