England player ratings: Huge performances and nightmare outings as Samoa stun World Cup hosts

The hosts twice came from behind late on to force the semi-final to extra time but were denied an Old Trafford place by Stephen Crichton's nerveless drop goal.

As Samoa prepare for a first-ever final against defending champions Australia, the England inquest begins.

Shaun Wane's men trailed for the first time in the competition after Tim Lafai got the better of Salford Red Devils team-mate Kallum Watkins.

Samoa were reduced to 12 men when Junior Paulo was sin-binned for a spear tackle on Tom Burgess and suffered more disruption following a collision that forced off Oregon Kaufusi and Nu Brown.

England were unable to make their one-man advantage count during Paulo's absence, Watkins guilty of knocking on over the line.

George Williams got England going with strong play to put Elliott Whitehead over but Ligi Sao took advantage of the hosts' leaky right edge to put Samoa back in front.

John Bateman benefited from a blunder by Lafai to swing the game back in England's favour, only for the Samoans to come charging back.

Crichton went over at the end of a sensational passage of play before Lafai added a second on the back of a bad mistake by Dom Young.

On the brink of a painful exit, England found another gear following a flashpoint involving Sam Tomkins and were right back in it thanks to a powerful effort from Herbie Farnworth.

A dubious penalty gave Tommy Makinson the chance to pull Wane's side level but Samoa appeared to have won it when Crichton picked off a pass by Victor Radley to go 60 metres.

Williams and Farnworth combined to take the game to golden point, only to see Crichton win it for Samoa with a long-range drop goal.

Here, The Yorkshire Post rates the England players after suffering the harshest of defeats.

Sam Tomkins: The hosts lacked composure throughout and the full-back must take a share of the blame as the most experienced member of the spine, with his forward pass in golden point giving Crichton the chance to end England's hopes. 5

Dom Young: An afternoon to forget for the young winger at the end of a breakout tournament – coming up with a costly error to give Samoa the field position for Lafai's second try – but he will no doubt come back stronger. 5

Kallum Watkins: A nightmare outing for the Salford man who looked suspect defensively and dropped the ball over the line. 4

Herbie Farnworth: When the going got tough the young centre stepped up to the plate to score two crucial tries. Did not deserve to be on the losing side. 8

Tommy Makinson: Another player who ran his blood to water in a losing cause and showed nerves of steel from the kicking tee to keep England in the game. 8

Jack Welsby: Looked great in the opening game but has been messed about since and looked like a player who is still getting to grips with the half-back position. Came up with a costly error in golden point. 5

George Williams: Guilty of a lack of composure for long periods but came up with some big plays to underline his value to his country. 7

Tom Burgess: Strong when he was on the field but did not get enough minutes. 7

Michael McIlorum: The hooker's limitations were laid bare, making four metres from one run according to the stats. 5

Chris Hill: Another strong effort from the evergreen prop. Can hold his head high. 7

Elliott Whitehead: Scored the opening try and came up with some huge plays – none more than his charge down in golden point – but will be replaying the moment he passed when he should have taken the tackle in the dying seconds of normal time. 8

John Bateman: In the right place to score at the start of the second half and was at his gritty best throughout. 7

Victor Radley: Strong in the main but came up with a horror pass to gift Crichton a second. 6

Substitutes

Morgan Knowles: Tried to bring aggression off the bench. 6

Luke Thompson: Added some punch but the intensity dropped again when the starting middles left the field. 6

Mike Cooper: In the same bracket as Thompson – England needed more from their bench. 6

Mike McMeeken: It was a tough game to get into as a late interchange. 6