England coach Shaun Wane watched his side thrash a dangerous Samoa 60-6 in their opening World Cup match in Newcastle and warned there is more to come.
Wane’s men made a nonsense of the underdogs tag as they ran in 10 tries to one at St James’ Park to claim a victory that potentially enables them to avoid Tonga in the quarter-finals.
“We won’t get carried way, it’s not the English way,” Wane said. “We have to get better and we will.
“I know nobody gave us a chance but we knew what we could do. We enjoyed all that negativity to be honest.
“Without sounding arrogant or disrespecting Samoa, I’ve got to know these players really well over the last two years and I know what they can do.
“I thought we were very patient, our discipline was good and I was happy with the pressure we put them under but we can improve, without any shadow of doubt.”
Anticipating a decisive battle up front, Wane selected four forwards on his bench and was delighted with the dominant performance from his pack.
“They were 10, 15, 20 kilos a man heavier than us and for us to manage that so well was outstanding,” Wane said.
“One thing we do have is big hearts and we don’t back down from anyone. That will bode well for us further in the competition.”
Newcastle Knights winger Dom Young, one of three NRL-based players who caught the eye on their competitive debuts, justified his selection ahead of England’s all-time record try-scorer Ryan Hall by scoring twice in the first half as the home side made a fast start.
“It was a dream come true,” said Young. “I could never have imagined anything like that before the game.
“My mum’s side of the family are from here and she and my grandma were extra proud watching in the stand.”
Winger Tommy Makinson led the spree with a personal haul of 24 points, scoring a try and adding 10 goals from 12 attempts.
Wane reported no injuries from the game and said the players who missed out on selection against Samoa will play in the next group game against France in Bolton next Saturday.
So much was expected of Samoa, who were hoping to gain a first win over a tier-one nation after their squad was boosted by the presence of a host of new star men, including Penrith’s Grand Final-winning duo Jarome Luai and Brian To’o.
That helped make Matt Parish’s men pre-match favourites but, without a warm-up match, they were vastly under-prepared and lacked any kind of cohesion.
To make matters worse, Parish says loose forward Braden Hamlin-Uele (calf), utility back Tyrone May (dislocated hip) and winger Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (ankle) are unlikely to take any further part in the World Cup.
“It wasn’t the result we wanted, obviously,” Parish said. “It is what it is.
“The English team played very well, we had a few injuries and didn’t handle the setbacks as well as we could.
“We’re not looking for excuses, without doubt we need to be better than that today.
“It’s disappointing but we’ve still got a group of guys in there who are determined to do something in this World Cup. Nothing has changed.”
Samoa, whose only try came via an interception from Izack Tago, will hope to bounce back against Greece in Doncaster next weekend.
Captain Junior Paulo said: “They outclassed us today but it’s the start of the tournament.
“We’ve got to regroup. We’re still a quality team, despite a few injuries. It’s a good test of character I guess for us moving forward.”
