20 Nov 2010

Manu Samoa aiming to impress against England

10:31 am on 20 November 2010

Manu Samoa coach Fuimaono Tafua says he wants his team to prove that they belong alongside the top tier of rugby nations.

Tomorrow they face a daunting challenge at Twickenham against an England side who tore Australia's game-plan apart.

Tafua's kept faith in the starting 15 that lost 20-10 to Ireland in Dublin, with the only three squad changes coming on the bench.

He says there's no doubting that England are one of the best teams in the world but with a world cup just ten months away he wants his players to show they can compete with the best.

"We want to - to prove it - we can do it - and it's a very good mixture of our local players and also our overseas players in Europe and in New Zealand. The last time that we played against England, I think it was five years ago, we had a chance to beat England but it cost us in the last 15 minutes. We don't want that to happen again."

The Manu Samoa coach, Fuimaono Tafua.