6 Nov 2006

England roll Samoa over in the Federation Shield group match

7:19 am on 6 November 2006

The England rugby league side has beaten Samoa to complete a clean sweep of group wins in the Federation Shield.

Chris Aston and Ryan Atkins, returning after a broken hand, grabbed two early tries but Samoa touched down twice to close the gap to 16-8 at the break.

But England quickly snuffed out Samoa's charge as Atkins completed a hat-trick, Ashton added a second and Jamie Rooney and David Hodgson also scored.

England face Tonga in next week's final, who beat France 48-10.