England v Samoa: Martin Johnson warns of hero-to-zero danger

Martin Johnson has warned his England players ahead of the clash with Samoa that their heroics against Australia last week could easily be forgotten in today's "instant society".

England will be carried into the game on a wave of a public euphoria following their record 35-18 victory over the Wallabies, which lifted them to fourth in the world rankings.

The identity of Johnson's England, both in terms of personnel and style of play, is finally beginning to take shape, and the future looks much brighter. But Johnson has spent all week trying to play down the notion that England have finally achieved their breakthrough victory.

The 2003 World Cup winning captain has made sure his players have been left under no illusions that the Australia game must be considered a positive step along the road but not the final destination. Anything else, Johnson warned, and they risk coming unstuck at Twickenham against a Samoan team ranked 11th in the world but growing in confidence after their performance in a 20-10 defeat to Ireland last week. "We are completely aware of what it can do to a team if you get ahead of yourselves," said Johnson.

"The world is so volatile. Some of the stuff I've had to deal with this week . . . we've won a game and played well but it's one game. Calm down. We have to back it up through this series and through the Six Nations.

"The perception of where you are is so high and so low, so quickly. It is an external thing and it's not just in our sport or sport as a whole, it's the world in general.

"We all live in an instant society where today's heroes are forgotten tomorrow and vice-versa. Just some of the people who have contacted me this week, about where we are as a team, I just said, 'We're not there yet'.''

Johnson has made only four changes from the Australia game, handing flanker Hendre Fourie his first Test start and Matt Banahan a chance at outside centre. Bath prop David Wilson has come in for Dan Cole while James Haskell will get his first run of the autumn at blindside flanker.

"We need to have the edge we had last week about us because Samoa are perfectly capable of coming to Twickenham and winning a Test match," said Johnson. "They could have won last week in Dublin. They are very, very dangerous."

England: B Foden (Northampton); C Ashton (Northampton), M Banahan (Bath), S Hape (Bath), M Cueto (Sale Sharks); T Flood (Leicester), B Youngs (Leicester); A Sheridan (Sale Sharks), D Hartley (Northampton), D Wilson (Bath), C Lawes (Northampton), T Palmer (Stade Francais), J Haskell (Stade Francais), H Fourie (Leeds Carnegie), N Easter (Harlequins, capt). Replacements: S Thompson (Leeds Carnegie), D Cole (Leicester), D Attwood (Gloucester), T Croft (Leicester), D Care (Harlequins), C Hodgson (Sale Sharks), D Armitage (London Irish).

Samoa: Williams; D Lemi, G Pisi, S Mapusua, A Tuilagi; T Lavea, K Fotualii; S Taulafo, M Schwalger (capt), A Perenise, F Levi, K Thompson, O Trevarinus, M Salavea, G Stowers. Replacements: T Paulo, C Johnson, I Tekori, A Aiono, J Polu, J Helleur, G Williams.

Referee: P Fitzgibbon (Ireland).