After going 10-nil down in the first seven minutes in the face of a magnificent opening salvo from Samoa, England -- and No.10 Jonny Wilkinson -- regained their composure to beat the battling Islanders by 35-22 in a Pool C clash in Melbourne.
So, England's place in the quarter-finals of the competition is assured but for about 60 minutes on Sunday evening, it looked as if one of the greatest upsets in the history of rugby -- if not the history of sport -- was on the cards as Samoa ran the much-vaunted men in white off their feet.
England -- number one in the Zurich World Rankings and, after their recent victory over South Africa, near-favourites for the World Cup -- were made to look distinctly second-class by a Samoan team that boasted pace, power and invention.
For the cash-strapped Samoans, whose very existence is under threat because of a lack of funding, this was a simply magnificent performance and one which will send the clearest message possible to rugby's rulers -- let us die and the sport will be infinitely poorer.
It was an extraordinary start to the match as England -- at near full-strength -- were reduced to the role of spectators, watching their opponents go through their full repertoire of dazzling skills to rattle up a 10-nil lead in just seven minutes.
The much-vaunted England defence, which had not conceded a try in the tournament going into this match, simply dissolved in the face of the all-out attack supplied by the Samoa, the Islanders ghosting through the first line of defence on several occasions to cause chaos -- and even panic -- amongst Johnson's men.
As Samoa threw their body and soul into the task, England lost their composure -- the pressure telling on their stuttering backline, with fly-half Jonny Wilkinson, in particular, having a match to forget.
His general play went to pieces during that opening period -- English fans around the ground no doubt rubbing their eyes in disbelief as their golden boy first tossed a forward pass in midfield and then missed a sitter of a penalty kick from a position he could normally kick blind-folded.
After just three minutes England realised that they were in a for a testing afternoon, as a near-faultless passage of play from Samoa pinned them back in their half and led to an off-side decision.
Fly-half Earl Va'a -- as composed as his opposite number was rattled -- slotted the three-pointer and Samoa took the lead, a lead they were to hold until the 50th minute.
At this point, we might have expected the English to settle into their familiar pattern, but Samoa had other ideas.
After regaining possession, they launched another attack from deep, moving the ball at lightning speed from the breakdown and spreading it wide.
Winger Lome Fa'atau burst out of an attempted tackle and Samoa were behind the gainline and England were back-pedalling, as Samoa's superb continuity play resulted in skipper Semo Sititi charging over for the try.
With Va'a supplying the conversion that made it 10-0 and England's RWC campaign looked in serious jeopardy.
But in the end, it was England's forwards who came to the rescue of the cause, their superior power up-front -- particularly in the scrummage, where Julian White was an immense figure -- helped to squeeze the life out the out-gunned Samoans.
With their backline seriously malfunctioning, England realised that there was only going to be one winner if they continued to play it wide, switching their tactics to trench warfare, Martin Johnson and co. closing ranks to do some heavy duty damage to the Samoans.
England's dominance in the pack told in 30th minute, flanker Neil Back carrying the ball over the line after a classic old-fashioned dynamic maul.
It wasn't as pretty as the Samoan try, but it helped settle some English nerves at a crucial point in the game -- as did the touchline conversion slotted by Wilkinson.
Wilkinson dragged his side back into the match with two first-half penalties, but the teams went into the dressing room at the break with Samoa ahead by 16-13.
The second-half saw England start in determined mood, but Wilkinson's missed drop-goal did not get the dream start they were after.
But this was the point where the scrum came into its own, the Men in White piling on the pressure on their counterparts to gain a penalty try.
That was the crucial score of the entire match and even though Va'a struck another penalty to put his side 22-20 ahead going into the final quarter, the momentum was with England and their forwards.
Wilkinson landed a drop-goal, then late tries from Iain Balshaw and Phil Vickery sealed the England victory.
But despite gaining the full five points from the match, England will be disappointed with their performance, while Samoa can only dream of what might have been if they could have gained parity in the set-piece with their opponents.
Man of the match: Surely some mistake, doesn't Jonny Wilkinson has this spot tied up in perpetuity? Well, not today, that's for sure. While there were some superb performances from some individuals -- not least in the English front five -- it was Samoan fly-half Earl Va'a who was the key figure of the game, out-Wilkinsoning his opposite number with an assured and graceful performance.
Moment of the match: Absolutely no contest, it has to be Samoan skipper Semo Setiti's first-half try. It was a real team effort, with Samoa stretching the English defence this way and that through a magnificent long range attack started by wing Lome Fa'atautu. Some 60 metres downfield, with white jerseys in disarray all around the field, the back rower gallloped away in the left-hand corner to score a famous try.
Villain of the match: That a team capable of such magnificent rugby is in serious danger of extinction should cause no little amount of soul-searching on the part of rugby's wealthier nations. Chuck these guys a lifeline (inclusion in the Tri-Nations?) and do it now -- or they could be lost to us forever. Just imagine what Samoa could do if they were able to put out their first team.
The Teams:
England: 1 Jason Leonard, 2 Mark Regan, 3 Julian White, 4 Ben Kay, 5 Martin Johnson (c), 6 Neil Back, 7 Joe Worsley, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio, 9 Matt Dawson, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 11 Iain Balshaw, 12 Mike Tindall, 13 Stuart Abbott, 14 Ben Cohen, 15 Jason Robinson
Reserves: Mike Catt, Phil Vickery, Lewis Moody, Steve Thompson
Unused: Martin Corry, Andy Gomarsall, Dan Luger
Samoa: 1 Jeremy Tomuli, 2 Jonathan Meredith, 3 Kas Lealamanu'a, 4 Leo Lafaiali'i, 5 Opeta Palepoi, 6 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 7 Peter Poulos, 8 Semo Sititi, 9 Steven So'oialo, 10 Earl Va'a, 11 Lome Fa'atau, 12 Terry Fanolua, 13 Brian Lima, 14 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 15 Tanner Vili
Reserves: Dominic Feaunati, Des Tuiali'i, Simon Lemalu, Mahonri Schwalger, Denning Tyrell, Kitiona Viliamu, Dale Rasmussen
Attendance: 50647
Referee: Kaplan j.
Points Scorers:
England
Tries: Balshaw I.R. 1, Back N.A. 1, Vickery P.J. 1, Penalty try 1
Conv: Wilkinson J.P. 3
Pen K.: Wilkinson J.P. 2
Drop G.: Wilkinson J.P. 1
Samoa
Tries: Sititi S. 1
Conv: Va'a E.V. 1
Pen K.: Va'a E.V. 5
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