England 26-13 Samoa: Banahan tries harder

Matt Banahan, making his first Test start at outside centre, and replacement flanker Tom Croft scored the tries while Toby Flood added 16 points with the boot.

But it was a long time coming. England struggled to convert a mountain of possession as Samoa produced a defiant defensive performance.

The visitors snatched the lead early in the second half with a try from full-back Paul Williams before England finally discovered their cutting edge.

Samoa had the final say with a try on the whistle from replacement Fautua Otto but England's second victory of the autumn campaign - the minimum requirement set out by new RFU chief executive John Steele - had long been sealed.

The identity of manager Martin Johnson's England is beginning to take shape, based partly on consistency of selection, and so he kept changes to a minimum following the Australia victory.

Banahan started at outside centre after winning his previous five caps on the wing while South Africa-born flanker Hendre Fourie was given his full Test debut. With Lewis Moody rested, Nick Easter took over the captaincy while flanker James Haskell and prop David Wilson got their first starts of the autumn campaign.

Until the interval, England dominated possession almost exclusively but Samoa defended for their lives - making 77 first-half tackles to England's 17 - and Johnson's men failed to translate their constant pressure into a single try.

The Samoans took first blood, a Paul Williams penalty in the fourth minute, only to be pegged back by Toby Flood's two penalties in 16 and 26 minutes. The visitors even led early in the second half after a try from full-back Williams, who missed the conversion.

But a couple more penalties from Flood, two tries from Matt Banahan and a third from Tom Croft, two converted by Flood, ensured England chalked up a hard-fought win.

Easter said later: "I was biting my fingernails for a bit in the second half there and I'm glad to get the win. We've got the result but we're not happy with the performance.

"We were not as clinical as we wanted to be. We found the breakdown very hard today. It really killed us. It took us 70 minutes to work it out but we are learning as a side."

Johnson was relieved that England had come through in the end and was delighted with Banahan's contribution.

"That's Test match rugby," he said. "You don't get anything easy.

"When you go behind in the second half and everyone gets a bit uneasy we've done well to win from there.

"They were very good around the breakdown and it was tough but once we got our first try they had to chase the game a bit.

"We had a couple of efforts inches into touch and one chalked off for a forward pass so we had a few that got away today.

"But it is a case of staying composed. We said during the week that, if it takes 75 minutes to get on top, then it does. It took us an hour today."

Samoan centre Seilala Mapusua was upbeat about their battling performance. "There are a lot of positives we can take from that game," he said.

"We will go away and analyse the match over the next few days but this team has really come on and these are exciting times for Samoa."