The Twickenham crowd were treated to a fine performance from England on Saturday and Martin Johnson will be keen for the weekend international against Samoa not to be a case of ‘after the Lord Mayor’s show’. Johnson has made four chances to his team in a bid to freshen things up and will be demanding a high-octane performance when they take to the field.

“This is a different challenge but just as difficult,” said Johnson. “We’ve got to take care of our own mindset, not get away from that edge. In rugby, if you think that same thing is going to happen again, often it doesn’t. Good teams have the right mindset. We’ve got to be able to handle what the week holds.”

Matt Banahan will make his debut at centre and will be partnered by Bath team-mate Shontayne Hape as the head coach hopes for the pair to make inroads into a creaking Samoan rearguard.

“There’s more involvement and decision-making, which I enjoy,” said Banahan. “I don’t just want to be seen as a heavy lump.

“You can’t calm yourself down because it’s a physical game but you’ve got to have control. I’ve tried to learn from people like boxer David Haye. He came into the ring very relaxed but as soon as that bell went he was totally different.”