Shaun Wane’s hosts were actually underdogs heading into the contest against a powerful and skilful Samoa outfit that contained five players from NRL Grand Final winners Penrith Panthers.
But England shook off any fears of a losing start to the tournament by dominating the contest and running in 10 tries in their toughest group game.
They had close calls before converting their opener courtesy of Jack Welsby running through. Dominic Young added a quickfire second following a superb run, before diving into the corner for his second.
Izack Tago pulled a try back for Samoa by intercepting a loose pass on the halfway line and running clear but they ended the half with a 18-6 deficit.
Kallum Watkins helped England run riot in the second half, as fellow centre Herbie Farnworth, Elliott Whitehead – twice – Tommy Makinson, George Williams and Tom Burgess allowed England to complete a resounding win.
England head to Bolton next Saturday when they face France (17:00 BST), before rounding off Group A against Greece in Sheffield on 29 October.
Clinical England start with statement win
The opening ceremony got off to an embarrassing start for organisers as a “technical issue” meant the PA system faltered and no music was played for the dancers on the pitch.
Brit Award-winning band the Kaiser Chiefs, the headline act before kick-off, were also cut short and could only perform one of their hit songs.
The tournament was pushed back a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, while the opening game also started several minutes later than billed.
Once the action did finally get under way, England almost got off to the perfect start but Farnworth spilled the ball when attempting to touch down from Williams’ grubber kick. St Helens winger Makinson, though, slotted over a penalty which was awarded for obstruction.
England had all the momentum and skipper Sam Tomkins was held up underneath the posts while Tom Burgess could not keep a hold of the ball when looking to ground it.
The pressure eventually told as halves Williams and Welsby linked up, with the Saints player running through for a first score from a short pass to ignite a subdued St James’ Park.
Then 6ft 7in winger Young showcased his strength and power by cutting in from the right, evading a number of Samoan challenges before sliding in between the sticks and acrobatically diving into the corner for his second.
Salford centre Watkins stretched the score to 24-6 and Samoa fell apart once Anthony Milford was sin-binned for a late hit on Sam Tomkins, conceding six tries in the last 16 minutes with Farnworth and Whitehead both benefitting.
And there was more as Makinson slid over in the left corner – ending the match with a tally of 24 points which included 10 conversions – and Williams and Burgess added to a rampant scoreline.
The Samoans have reached the quarter-finals at the previous two World Cups and had been tipped as one of the favourites to win the competition for the first time.
Although they were given a gift when Penrith centre Tago intercepted Welsby’s pass to pull a score back before the break, a combination of injuries and a total capitulation maintained their unwanted record of never beating England.
‘I never expected that sort of scoreline’
England head coach Shaun Wane: “I never expected that sort of scoreline but we can do better and improve on the win. I’m very happy with the scoreline.
“Samoa were a bit off today but our defence put them off. There was a spell in the first half where we were off but apart from that we were brilliant.
“I just wanted to win the game and we did it in such a good manner but we will face tougher tests.”
Player of the match Victor Radley: “I’m not sure how I got player of the match, I’m a bit embarrassed.
“We knew they were going to come out firing and they did. The first 20 minutes I was so tired. It was good for us to hang in there and keep fighting.
“We ended up scoring points at the end which didn’t quite show how the game played out, but I’m really stoked.”
Samoa head coach Matt Parish said: “England had momentum and we couldn’t swing it back. We always knew we were a bit underdone but didn’t expect a result like that.”
England: Tomkins, Makinson, Watkins, Farnworth, Young, Welsby, Williams, Burgess, McIlorum, Thompson, Radley, Whitehead, Knowles.
Interchanges: Lees, Cooper, Hill, McMeeken.
Samoa: Suaalii, Tabuai-Fidow, Tago, Crichton, To’o, Luai, Milford, Papalii, Levi, J. Paulo, Su’a, Aloiai, Tuilagi.
Interchanges:Taupau, Leniu, Harris-Tavita, T. May.
Sin-bin: Milford (62).
Referee: Ashley Klein (Aus)
