George Williams believes England’s “unreal” defence was the catalyst for their massive victory over Samoa in Newcastle.
England started the World Cup on fire with a 60-6 mauling of the Polynesian nation at St James’ Park.
It was a record win and puts them in the driving seat to topping Group A.
The hosts scored ten tries and kept the Samoans to just a single try from an interception
“It was really good, really good,” Williams said.
“The most impressive thing was they only scored six points and it was an interception. Our D was good. They’ve got some big, big bodies there. They caused us trouble with their offloads but overall our defence was unreal and to score 60 is probably beyond our dreams.”
Williams endured a difficult season in Super League with Warrington, but he has looked a different player while on the field for the national team.
“I think it helps when the forwards lay the platform like they did and then I just play my natural game,” he said.
“The forwards laid a good platform and we’ve got some classy backs. I just feed them the ball and they make me look good.”
Williams set up England’s opening try for Jack Welsby and scored one of his own in Newcastle.
The playmaker is building an impressive combination with St Helens star Welsby, and he feels their partnership can get even better.
“There was zero doubt in my mind (about Welsby playing in the halves),” he said.
“I trained with him in the past couple of weeks and I’ve played with him before. He’s a world-class player and I think we’ve seen that today. Some of his passes were outstanding and he got over for the first try. We’ve got a good little combination going and hopefully we can build on it.”
The above content is also available in the regular weekly edition of League Express, on newsstands every Monday in the UK and as a digital download. Click here for more details.
