NANTES (Reuters) - England stayed on course for the quarter-finals when two tries each for Martin Corry and Paul Sackey helped them beat Samoa 44-22 on Saturday but they were made to fight every inch of the way in a titanic Pool A battle.

The world champions now face Tonga next week where the winner will play Australia in the quarter-finals, while Samoa, who have lost all three games, are out of contention.

England, far more purposeful and aggressive all over the pitch than in their first two games, started strongly with a try after two minutes but were pegged back by the goalkicking of Loki Crichton.

The teams hammered away at each other throughout a tense second half before England finally drew clear in the last 10 minutes.

"Our strength in the tackle was very good, we were a little bit leaky but the basics were there and when the scoreline was close, the way we defended.. I was delighted by that," England captain Corry told ITV.

"We have worked very hard on our attack and it's nice when that hard work does pay off."

Samoa captain Brian Lima was cited yesterday for a dangerous tackle on Jonny Wilkinson during Saturday's match, adding further woe to the beleaguered islanders.

Lima, 35, the only player to play in five World Cups and who will retire from the game at the end of the season, will face a disciplinary hearing today which could end his illustrious tournament campaign prematurely.