Samoa - Manu Samoa

Samoa has been punching above its weight for more than 15 years and a fifth-successive World Cup appearance is no mean feat for a country with a population of fewer than 200,000.

Add to that the continual problem of top players transferring their allegiance to the virtually invincible New Zealand and the Pacific Islanders' record against the world's elite seems even better.

They reached the 2007 World Cup with victory in the 2005 Pacific Tri-Nations tournament also featuring Tonga and Fiji.

And in France, they will have the chance to gain revenge on England and South Africa, two of the countries who beat them at the last World Cup, and will fancy their chances against England in particular, which is a shadow of the side which won the Webb Ellis Trophy four years ago.

The highest-ranked of the second-tier nations at No.10 in the world, Samoa will be far from an easy opponent for the big guns of Pool A and its marauding pack especially difficult to handle.

Although Samoa has a number of home-based players, most of the squad plies its trade for top overseas clubs in New Zealand, England and Ireland.

England will be familiar with several of the squad, like wingers Brian Lima and David Lemi, Harlequins halfback Steve So'oialo and fullback Loki Crichton from Newcastle.

The South Africa game will also mean a reunion for some of the Samoan players, who regularly face members of the Springboks squad in the Super 14.

England and South Africa will both be favourites to brush aside Samoa when they come up against the islanders in the group, with the speed of the South Africans on the flanks likely to pose a serious threat and England, for all its poor form, still the defending champion.

Other first stage opponents Tonga and the United States though will not provide anywhere near as stern tests.

Samoa has been preparing for the showpiece event in France by playing in this summer's IRB Pacific Nations Cup, but its form in the tournament was mixed.

It struggled to an 8-3 win in its opening game against a young Fijian side, but showed its mettle in a 31-10 defeat to a Junior All Blacks side containing 10 full internationals hoping to force their way into New Zealand's World Cup squad.

The signs were ominous when the All Blacks scored two tries inside the first six minutes, but Samoa fought back to salvage some pride when a demoralising rout looked on the cards.

The islanders then went down 27-15 to an Australia A side which had begun the competition with a 60-15 rout of Tonga, before bouncing back with successive victories over Japan and Tonga.

Samoa made hard work of its 13-3 triumph over the Japanese, Lome Fa'atau scoring the only try of the game, but showed rather more class against its fellow Pacific islanders, racking up a half-century of points to run out a 50-3 winner.

Despite failing to upset either Australia's or New Zealand's second string, Samoa's performance was an improvement on its showing in the inaugural IRB Pacific Five Nations the year before (Australia did not take part).

The second-place finish behind the Junior All Blacks in that tournament was rather flattering after it found itself on the receiving end of a Kiwi hiding and also slipped to defeat against Fiji.

Comfortable wins over Japan and Tonga could not be taken as an indication of a fearsome outfit.

Samoa first showed it was a force to be reckoned with at the 1991 World Cup when, as Western Samoa, victories over Wales in Cardiff and Argentina took it to the quarter-finals, where it went down to Scotland.

The islanders equalled that achievement in South Africa four years later, beating Italy and Argentina again and losing by just a single point to England in the group stages before being knocked out by the hosts and eventual winners.

But Samoa has not been able to scale such heights since then, going out in a quarter-final playoff at the 1999 World Cup and at the first hurdle in 2003.

In 1999, despite winning its opening match against Japan and beating Wales, the improving Argentina gained revenge for the previous two tournaments before defeat to Scotland sent them crashing out.

Samoa started the last World Cup with a bang, recording an emphatic 60-13 win over Uruguay and comfortably beating Georgia to make it two wins out of two.

It also gave winners England a fright, leading for much of the game before going down 35-22, but was then hammered 60-10 by South Africa to finish third in the five-team group and miss out on the latter stages.

Samoa will be hoping for revenge and a return to the knockout stages this time around.