England fail to make points

Jules Verne found inspiration for his novels in the city of Nantes, and England coach Brian Ashton could do with a similar bout of stimulation ahead of his team's decisive clash with Samoa in the Loire capital. It seems the whole world has got their opinion on the thorny issue of the Red Rose's difficult encounter with the Pacific Islanders, but one thing is for sure however; they all agree that England should struggle. Having played both teams, South Africa surely have the best idea about which team will prevail and the Springbok coach, Jake White, gleefully leaped off the fence after his side steamrollered England 36-0 last Friday. White said on Sunday: "Our players are under the impression that if Samoa play the way they played against us they will beat England, that was the feeling of what our players said." It is a stark assessment of the relative chances of Ashton's beleaguered squad. I was excited about backing Samoa ahead of the tournament when the handicap for this fixture stood at 25 points. You can get around 17 now the bookies have had a better idea of what both sides are capable of. William Hill, however, have opened a book on how many points England will score. The firm go 5/4 that Ashton's men manage 31 points or more, 9/2 that they score between 28 and 31, and 11/10 that they accumulate 27 or fewer. England's record away from Twickenham is awful. They last scored 31 points of more away from Middlesex against Italy last year. They have managed the feat just three times in their last 20 such games going back to RWC 2003 and the 11/10 looks real value despite the return of points machine Jonny Wilkinson. Verdict: England to score fewer than 27 points @ 11/10 (William Hill) (Editor's Note: Wilkinson may be back but will the lack of attacking nous yet again restrict England's scoring? Take the 11/10 on offer that they fail to score over 27 points with William Hill!)