I was at the Tonga v Samoa game, each side was at full tilt/speed in the collisions, not for one minute do I think we, England, cannot beat them, but, what I am convinced of is English RL players do not run at full yes full speed into collisions & certainly not for a full game, the supporters all around the ground ouud & ahhd, all the brutal contacts that could be heard only for players to rise & get on with things.
There was no thought given to safety !
These two teams players mostly play NRL, they never beat Australia/Australian players - So, in my opinion, Super League British players can match the skills of NRL players but NOT the 80 minutes constant high speed collisions.
However I would love us to do the lot of them !

Really disagree with this to be honest.

I don’t know if you were at the game of if you watched it on tv.

I was at the game and was underwhelmed by the contact from kick off. I was expecting huge hits from the off but they didn’t deliver instead going for a more measured approach.

Intensity did increase at about the 30 minute mark when you could hear the contacts from time to time and there was obviously a big hit or 2 not least from Katoa on the wing.

One thing that was very noticeable was line speed or lack of it.

Having been to a few England games our line speed has been unbelievable and been the foundation for our attacking defence.

Both Tonga and Samoa in comparison to England looked very laboured jogging off the line, where England have been running/sprinting.

Watched James Grahams interview with coach Nathan Brown on his pod cast ‘the bye round’ which was really good. Because both have had success in both hemispheres, they were talking about the differences between the leagues. Brown said you could hang your hat on a British forward going to the NRL and being a success as while 18-21 year olds are still playing SG Ball or NSW/QLD cup, our forwards are mixing it within the SL from really young ages, a lot of the time in conditions where 1 up rugby forward battles are key. We’ve always been able to Mix it with any Country physically in the forwards, we’ve been let down by our lack of quality within the halves and outside backs over the last 20 years, that’s where the Aussies have flourished.

Totally agree, some people are easily pleased.

It was a good game but nothing more than you see in the better SL tussles.

People are confusing being big with being physical, they are not the same thing.

It may well be different when we play them in the semi but so far Samoa have not matched England in physicality, line speed and handling and they have been nowhere near on game management.

The only team I’ve seen who look possibly better than us are Australia, but you have to factor in that so far they haven’t played anyone. Potentially NZ but rather like Samoa they are yet to truly impress.

Of course all that may change at the weekend, but for now we can only go on what we’ve seen.

It’s very typical for Brits to put themselves down, but anyone being honest has to say that so far England have technically been excellent and by far the most entertaining imo.

The only team I fear are Australia, but that’s a given, you’d be an idiot not to.

We will find out next Saturday Australia R Lhave supplied the majority of the last 8 teams .The 2 best games of the World cup by far have been in the last 8 the New Zealand game and the Samoa game .Let's see what happens when England start getting hit hard for 80 mins and play against a Samoa team that as not just got of a plane

Was stood at the Tonga v Samoa game with a lad who was an analyst for the RFL’s high performance team under Wayne Bennett.

I mentioned the lower intensity than I expected and he put it down to the Islanders being more prevalent in the NRL systems and more measured in their approach to play not just relying on their physicality because inevitably they could not play to the high levels of intensity for the full 80.

What I find somewhat odd about your post is it seems like you are almost hoping the England team struggle on Saturday and are certainly not giving them credit for how good they have been so far in the tournament.

The NRL/Australian comps were always going to supply the majority of the knock out team players as quite simply there are 20 times the players playing the game professionally over there and even more than that playing the game as juniors.

Penrith Panthers alone have a junior linked system with more junior players in it than the whole of England has juniors playing the game.

I don’t think England will win by 60 again far from it, but I do think there will be 2 or 3 scores in it.

He’s not hoping, what he’s doing is using the typical English defence mechanism. Talk England down so you if we get beaten you can say I told you so and avoid humiliation.

TBF I don’t blame people, how many times have we been here before, only to get wiped out when it gets serious?

I don’t predict these days, all I can do is say that so far England have looked good. What I don’t understand is why Alegend feels the need to dismiss that element, that I do find a bit odd.

I think the Samoa Tonga game was by far the most competitive of the tournament so far, maybe because both teams were as fast as each other, regarding 'line speed' etc.
Whether the big hits appeared or not, to me doesn't detract from the fact that no player on the park had anything else to give at the end of the game and that to me is all you can ask for.
I thought personally it was a great game.
England have looked very good so far, and I suppose the yardstick will ultimately be against Australia - after we overcome a very different Samoa to the one we played in the first game.
I think England have their best chance for years of success - but those Aussies just won't lie down easily!

Agreed. I think we genuinely have a chance of winning it. We are second favourites behind the Aussies but for the first time in decades I think they have weaknesses that can be exposed.

The key for them in my opinion is Harry Grant. The pack is not one that terrifies me any more in fact I would say it is the most average pack the my have sent over in my lifetime. Grant though when he is playing well and allowed even a half yard of space gets them on the front foot superbly well.

This is where I think the Pacific nations lack a little quality and depth. They have wonderful athletes who seem purpose built physically for the game, but they do lack a bit of consistency and depth at 9, 6 & 7 and their 13s tend to be a little one dimensional.

I am of the opinion this England team can match most teams physically and also skill wise if we can keep out best 17 fit. It’s the belief and the Aussies knowing how to win that worries me.

We cannot overlook Samoa who will be a very different animal to the one we played in the first game but I think we will have the quality to go in confident we can and should beat them.

I’ve never seen an England forward pack dominated, though we have been consistently dominated 1-7 since I can remember. If we can contain Latrell and co we stand a chance.

At the risk of howls of derision, I fancy the Kiwis to get it together on Friday night and beat Australia.

the left edge of the aussies is the one - keep latrell and the Addo-carr. Keeping them quiet for me is the way to win the game.

That would be the best result for us. It's not that I don't rate the Kiwis less than the Aussies as a team, I just don't think they have quite the psychological advantage over us that the Aussies do.

I don't think they'll be even close.

Fox Sports NRL page is saying that the Kiwis are really upset that the World Cup organisers have booked their flights home for Sunday, expecting them to lose, which will cost the organisers thousands of pounds if they have to reorganise the flights. If that doesn't get them up for the game, nothing will.