ENG 18-17 SAM: Samoa reaction (Sopoaga)

Reaction from Samoa's Mastercard Player of the Match Lima Sopoaga and captain Michael Alaalatoa following their 18-17 loss against England in Pool D at Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Saturday, 7 October.

Lima Sopoaga, Mastercard Player of the Match and fly-half

On his bittersweet feelings:

"It has been a disappointing couple of weeks, we felt we just didn’t give the jersey the justice it deserved. Tonight I’m proud, we didn’t come away with the chocolates but we left it all out there and that’s all that anyone can ask. I’m incredibly proud of the boys, just a little bit disappointed and just gutted for Samoa and all our fans and supporters."

On the turning points in the game:

"I guess a call here and there, a mistake here and there and at the highest level you’ll pay. That’s a quality England team, they hung in there and they got over the line in the end. But I am incredibly proud of the team and what we tried to give out there. We were down early and we kept fighting and unfortunately it just wasn't our day today."

Michael Alaalatoa, captain

On putting on their best performance of the tournament:

"Really disappointed. Lost for words really around the way the result went but that’s the game we were looking for this whole World Cup. We’ve shown in glimpses what we can do and tonight we put in an 80-minute performance that we can be proud of. Immensely proud of my boys, we left it all out there and we did everything we could to win that game. Some of the England players said themselves that it’s the toughest game they’ve had so far. It’s good to know that as well."

On coming so close to an upset:  

"As I said, we’ve only shown glimpses of what we can do and tonight wasn’t perfect by any means, there were a few opportunities that we capitalised on and a few we left out there and when you are playing against a team like England, you need to maximise every opportunity you get.

"But tonight was our best performance by far and I am glad we were able to end on a high in terms of our performance, but absolutely gutted.

"I hope we made our people proud back home."