GEORGE Williams has urged his England teammates to play the game rather than the occasion when they open their Rugby League World Cup campaign tomorrow.

Shaun Wane’s side face Samoa on Saturday afternoon to kick off a five-week festival of rugby league, with the world’s finest players having arrived in England for the tournament.

Williams – Warrington Wolves’ sole representative in the squad – is set to start in the halves at Newcastle’s St James’ Park, which is set to welcome more than 40,000 fans for the game.

The highly-fancied Samoa team arrive with a star-studded squad full of top NRL talent, including several members of the Penrith Panthers side that have won back-to-back Premierships.

However, Williams is merely focused on what his side can do and as opposed to opening up with an easy fixture, he is glad to have one of the tournament’s toughest tests up first.

“It’s just another game – I’ve played hundreds in my life and so has everybody else here – and we can’t let the occasion get the better of us,” he said.

“You want to be involved in the big games and I can’t think of much bigger than this for us as a team and as a sport.

“We know what Samoa will bring – they will be physical as they have a lot of big bodies.

“There’s a lot of talent in that side, but our main focus is on ourselves. We can’t think about them too much.

“If we’re at our best, we can beat anyone and we’ve got to be at our best tomorrow.

“If we’re going to go all the way, we’re going to have to beat the best teams so why not start with a big one?”

Tomorrow’s game is likely to determine who finishes top of Group A to – in theory at least – secure an easier path through the knockout phases.

A good England performance in front of a large crowd will also be key to capturing the imaginations of casual viewers, and Williams is hoping the home support can make a big difference.

“It’s special for us all and the amount of tickets sold really excites the group. It’s set up for a great game,” he said.

“The atmosphere can have a massive impact – if it’s a tight game in that last 10-15 minutes, having that crowd behind us could be a massive factor.

“Being on home soil, we want to make our home fans proud. We appreciate them coming out in good numbers.

“We’re really looking forward to it – it’s a massive challenge but it doesn’t get any bigger than this.”