'Scrappy' England come from behind to beat inspired Samoa

England captain Owen Farrell said his were "scrappy" as they came back to edge Samoa 18-17 in the Rugby World Cup on Saturday after trailing by nine points with half an hour to play.

The 2003 winners were already guaranteed top spot in Pool D before kick-off and needed Danny Care's late try to beat the Pacific Islanders, who were already knocked out.

Farrell kicked two penalties and a conversion in Lille as he broke Jonny Wilkinson's points record for the country before next Sunday's quarter-final with, in all likelihood, Fiji.

"It was scrappy, it did not feel like the best from us," Farrell told ITV.

"All credit to Samoa and how they came out and got at us, it was tough to deal with at times and we did not deal with it discipline-wise and with mistakes."

After defeats by Japan and Argentina, it marked the end of a disappointing World Cup for the Samoans, although they more than showed their potential in this final pool match.

"I'm incredibly proud of the boys just a little bit disappointed and just gutted for Samoa and all our fans and supporters," said flyhalf Lima Sopoaga.

England head coach Steve Borthwick started Farrell at centre outside flyhalf George Ford as he looked to add some creativity to his side's play after winning their opening three World Cup games.

Borthwick's Samoa counterpart Seilala Mapusua changed his whole front five from last week's loss to Japan, eyeing an unexpected maiden victory over the side eight places above them in the world rankings.

The thousands of travelling English fans sang 'Swing Low Sweet Chariot' in an attempt to distract Samoa's players before their Sivu Tau pre-game war dance, setting the tone for a thrilling encounter.

England opened the scoring after just 10 minutes as Manu Tuilagi,