Yahoo Sports England must learn lessons before Samoa Tests - Last
England will be "a lot better" in their autumn Tests against Samoa for the lessons learned during Saturday's 40-8 victory over France, assistant coach Andy Last says.
A disjointed build-up to their mid-season Test was reflected in a shaky opening 20 minutes, during which England fell 8-0 behind before recovering to score eight unanswered tries.
Head coach Shaun Wane was unable to travel to Toulouse for the match, needing time to recover from an ankle operation.
Last, who is also Catalans Dragons assistant coach, was then delayed in arriving from France to join a training session in Wigan on Wednesday because of flight issues.
Wane was in communication with the England coaching team to relay his frustrations with their start to the game, with Last acknowledging that despite the win there was room for improvement.
"Shaun messaged our analyst at half-time and gave a couple of pointers with regard to some of the things that we needed to do a little bit better," Last told BBC Sport.
"He wasn’t happy, obviously, with our contact in defence in that first half. We were a little bit loose in certain aspects. That message was delivered to the players at half-time.
"I thought there were periods where we looked really, really strong and periods where we were a little bit off the mark and not quite at the level that we need to be at for England.
"There are lessons to learn. We’ll have a look at it on the video and we’ll certainly be a lot better for that come the end of the season against Samoa."
'I've been a long time aiming for that' - Minchella
After conceding an early try to Fouad Yaha, England recovered thanks to a rush of four tries in 11 minutes.
Leeds winger Ash Handley, St Helens full-back Jack Welsby and Catalans' Tom Johnstone all scored twice, while Warrington duo Matty Nicholson and captain George Williams also crossed.
England gave debuts to four players, with Castleford Tigers centre Sam Wood, Wigan Warriors hooker Brad O'Neill and Hull KR loose forward Elliot Minchella featuring from the start, and Huddersfield Giants forward Oliver Wilson coming on from the bench.
Minchella was making his England debut at the age of 28, having completed a circuitous route back to the top after being released by Leeds nine years ago - he worked on a building site while playing part-time before working his way back to Super League with Hull KR.
"I've been a long time aiming for that," Minchella told BBC Sport. "I'm 28, I started playing 11 years ago in Super League. I've been on a bit of a journey since then.
"I loved it. I've really enjoyed the week. It's been full of obstacles but that probably sums up my journey."
