England secured a strong victory in their opening Test match against Samoa, which took place at The Brick Community Stadium in Wigan on Sunday, in front of a 15,000+ crowd.

Shaun Wane's side were out to avenge their heartbreaking World Cup's Semi-Final defeat in 2022 and did so in style with six tries from five different scorers.

The opening forty was very England-heavy, with Shaun Wane’s side dominating most of the territory.

Possession was turned into points early doors, as the first score came from Sydney Roosters’ Herbie Farnworth, who side-stepped his Samoa defenders to touch down from close range.

England soon doubled their advantage through Matty Ashton, as he danced his way over the try-line in trademark fashion.

England captain, George Williams, was also the scoresheet by the 20th minute, as he twisted and turned before crashing over the whitewash, giving England a confident 16-0 lead.

But Samoa, who had eight debutants in their match-day squad, ferociously hit back with six minutes of the half remaining to immediately relieve any pressure.

Breakout star, Deine Mariner - on his international debut - intercepted Daryl Clark’s long pass to race away and touch down, bringing the scores to 16-6 at half-time.

England started the second stanza strong as Farnworth and Victor Radley combined eight minutes in - Farnworth offloading a fantastic pass with Radley in support – and the Inflictor showing his ability.

The brutal battle continued, and Samoa went on produce some stunning play just over the hour mark, with superstar Jerome Luai’s magic at the heart of it.

The skipper’s initial pass sparked this play - the ball passing through three attackers before finding Luai once again who sensationally offloaded to Mariner who crossed for his second.

But there was no panic from a composed England, who worked their way into their opposition’s half and delivered yet another blow, with Ashton spinning out of a tackle to complete his double – mirroring his performance in last year’s second Test against Tonga.

Mikey Lewis then rounded off a confident England win when he was there to support Dom Young who broke away down the right edge. Lewis collected a timely pass from Young to score England’s sixth try of the afternoon, as celebrations began.

Gordon Chan Kum Tong did power over for Samoa’s third try - despite an incredible try-saving attempt from Ashton, before a tasty affair unfolded in the final ten minutes - setting up an exciting second spectacle next Saturday.