England will hold an in-depth debrief on Monday into their lacklustre victory against Samoa, with Maro Itoje calling for honesty and pledging “awkward and tough” conversations before attention turns to Sunday’s quarter-final against Fiji in Marseille.
Itoje and co finished their pool‑stage campaign with four wins from four but needed Danny Care’s late try and last-ditch tackle to overcome an inspired Samoa team, who gave England an almighty scare in Lille. England trailed 17-8 early in the second half and were error-prone throughout, harking back to their pre-World Cup campaign in which they endured disappointing defeats against Wales, Ireland and Fiji.
