Samoa’s Lam to miss England showdown after ban

Samoa winger Ben Lam will miss his side's final Rugby World Cup Pool D clash with England in Lille this weekend after he received an effective two-game suspension on Monday.

Lam received a red card for a dangerous tackle on Japan back row Lappies Labuschagne after 48 minutes of Samoa's 28-22 defeat and accepted his actions had been reckless, according to an Independent Judicial Committee on Monday.

The 32-year-old received a 50 per cent reduction of the mid-range six-game sanction, with a further match chalked off if he completes World Rugby’s ‘tackle school’, a coaching intervention programme. He has indicated that he will.

The committee noted Lam’s “admission of foul play and correctness of the red card at the first opportunity, an exemplary disciplinary record, apology to the player and good character”.

Lam misses the must-win game against England, where Samoa still have the slimmest of hopes of reaching the quarter-finals.

They must win by 29 points or more and hope the other fixture in the pool between Japan and Argentina ends in a draw without either of the teams grabbing a try-scoring bonus point.