England ready to 'put the foot down'

England manager Martin Johnson has warned his team against complacency as they bid to build on the record victory over Australia against Samoa in London Saturday.

England's stylish demolition of the Wallabies last weekend sent euphoria soaring to stratospheric levels, with Johnson's emerging side now being talked about as possible contenders for next year's World Cup.

Johnson, however, has been determined to keep his team's feet on the ground and knows from experience that a physical Samoan side are more than capable of bringing England back to earth with a bump.

Samoa almost derailed England's progress through the group phase at the 2003 World Cup, when the South Pacific islanders led England, captained by Johnson, three times before eventually succumbing 35-22.

While both teams have changed beyond recognition in the years since, Samoa showed they are still capable of making life difficult for better-funded sides by restricting Ireland to a 20-10 scoreline in Dublin last Saturday.

With that in mind, Johnson is urging England to hit the ground running when they face the Samoans on Saturday.

"The trick against Samoa is that we take care of our performance and mindset. We have to go out there and get the tempo like we did last week," Johnson said.

"It is about keeping the foot down. The key is having the right mindset. That is what good teams do - go out and play. That is what we are trying to do, become consistent.

"We need to try to be better this week. Samoa are a real, real danger this weekend. This is no different to any other Test in the series. They have our full attention."

Although England face world champions South Africa in their final year-end international next weekend, Johnson has resisted the temptation to field a second string for the Samoa match.

Eleven of the team which started against Australia will line up against the Samoans. Captain Lewis Moody is rested to make way for South Africa-born Hendre Fourie, while Matt Banahan, James Haskell and David Wilson also come in.

The inclusion of the hulking Banahan at centre in place of Mike Tindall should ensure England will not shirk the physical challenge posed by Samoa, who Johnson described as a "very dangerous side."

"They are very confrontational and direct. The players are all very skilful and if we are not right on our game we will be in trouble like any other Test match," Johnson said.

Otherwise Johnson has maintained the key partnerships which performed so well against Australia, with Tom Palmer and Courtney Lawes paired at lock and Ben Foden, Chris Ashton and Mark Cueto forming the back three.

Leicester teammates Ben Youngs and Toby Flood will line up at scrumhalf and flyhalf respectively as Johnson seeks to foster an atmosphere of continuity within his squad.

"The good thing is that we played well in the last game and have done okay in the game before that [26-16 defeat by New Zealand]," Johnson said.

"The team is doing well but we want to keep the continuity and we've seen the rewards of that. We don't want to break it up too much.

"The performance [against Australia] didn't come out of the clouds, it was a build-up of what we've been doing for a while."

Samoa meanwhile are determined to make the most of their latest meeting with England, whom they have never beaten before.

"The English are one of the teams you measure yourself against," said Samoa captain Mahonri Schwalger.

"I have been saying that to the boys - this opportunity will never come twice. Grab it with two hands and make sure you win.

"We did feel the same with Ireland last week. We felt like we could have won the game and there is now a sense of frustration."

AFP