The senior men's Samoa rugby squad were put through their paces at The Lensbury last week ahead of their Autumn Nations Series opener against Italy this Saturday.

The Teddington riverside hotel and leisure club has become a hotspot for sports sides over the years, notably accommodating England's Lionesses in the summer during their historic success as Sarina Wiegman's side went on to become European Champions.

The Samoan side have become the Lensbury's latest high profile guests and Seilala Mapusua will be hoping the Teddington base can extend its lucky charm to his side during their Autumn Nation Series campaign.

Samoa will take on Italy this Saturday, 5th November (Image: The Lensbury).

The Autumn Internationals take place over five rounds of fixtures from Saturday 29 October to Saturday 26 November, Australia edged Scotland 16-15 in the series opener.

Internationals over Autumn have long been among the most anticipated matches of the year for casual fans and die-hard supports alike, with the Autumn Nations Cup (2020) and the Autumn Nations Series (2021) taking the competition to the next level in recent seasons.

Samoan players involved in a scrum at The Lensbury during last week's training (Image: The Lensbury).

This time round, the world's best will once again reignite their age-old rivalries in front of packed stadiums across Europe as the best of the Southern Hemisphere travel north for 21 Autumn Nations Series clashes.

Amongst the standout clashes, England host New Zealand on Saturday, 19 November at Twickenham - the team's first meeting since the 2019 World Cup semi-final and Wales take on Australia November 26. Wales defeated the Wallabies 29-28 in the 2021 Autumn Tests.

To view the full set of fixtures for the 2022 Autumn Nations Series and stay up to date with the latest team news, visit the link here.