Ford, Farrell start for England, Willis out of tournament

LILLE, France: George Ford and Owen Farrell are back together in England's team to play Samoa on Saturday, while Freddie Steward returns at fullback and Tom Curry, who has played two minutes at the World Cup, starts at flanker.

There was bad news for flanker Jack Willis, however, as he has been ruled out of the tournament with a neck injury sustained in the Chile match.

England are assured of top spot in Pool D but, having not played for two weeks, coach Steve Borthwick wanted his strongest side to get back together before their Marseille quarter-final, which looks likely to be against Fiji.

"We are very focused on this game. Samoa are a really strong, powerful side, they have a lot of pace and they play a physical type of rugby," Borthwick told reporters.

"Our preparation has been has been strong. I'm really pleased with the team this week. We had a break and came to training incredible refreshed and I think that the team has continued to build through this tournament."

Farrell returned from his four-game ban to play at flyhalf against Chile but moves to inside centre as Ford, man of the match in England's first two games, reclaims the number 10 shirt.

It is the first time they have started together since the 2021 Six Nations but it was a combination that previous coach Eddie Jones initially liked.

"I'm very excited to see that partnership go together," Borthwick said.

They were at their best in the 2019 World Cup semi-final victory over New Zealand, when Manu Tuilagi had one of his finest games at outside centre, where he also starts on Saturday.

It will be the first time Tuilagi has played against the country of his birth - he moved to the UK as a teenager.

Steward, known for his security under the high ball and solid defence,