World Cup: England vs Australia

[TITAN PETE]

Kangaroos overcome spirited England
By Liam FitzGibbon
AAP
6:16am Sun 27th

A rusty Australia overcame a poor start and a spirited England performance to open their Rugby League World Cup campaign with a hard-fought 28-20 win in Cardiff on Saturday.

The tournament favourites had to claw back from 10-0 down midway through the first half as England cast aside a troubled build-up.

Playmaker Johnathan Thurston was instrumental as the Kangaroos ultimately had too much class in the tournament-opener match played under the roof at Millennium Stadium.

Australia coach Tim Sheens paid tribute to England, who could lose star forward Sam Burgess to suspension for a high tackle that forced Sam Thaiday off in the second half.

But Kangaroos captain Cameron Smith said the Australia needed to lift considerably in their bid to make amends for the shock loss to New Zealand in the 2008 final.

"It wasn't our best performance by a long shot," Smith said.

"We were pretty ordinary to be blunt in that first 20 minutes but I was really happy with the boys' composure.

"We were under a lot of pressure there but we found a way to come back."

A burst of three tries in 13 minutes allowed Australia to take an unlikely 18-10 lead into halftime after an error-riddled performance opened the door for an English ambush.

"I think a lot of it was to do with a lack of game time we've had," Smith said of the poor start.

"Not too many of us have played in recent weeks.

"In saying that, we are the Australian side we expect a lot more of ourselves ... we've got plenty to work on."

The entertaining-but-scrappy win means Australia are likely to avoid the reigning-champion Kiwis until the final.

"But our goal now is to play really hard over the next two games (pool matches against Fiji and Ireland) to improve ourselves and not drop our intensity," Sheens said.

Man-of-the-match Thurston scored Australia's first try and had a hand in two others while Andrew Fifita, the only debutant in an experienced side, had a solid debut off the bench.

South Sydney twins George and Tom Burgess impressed on debut as they joined Sam to became the first trio of brothers to play for England.

Warriors-bound fullback Sam Tomkins was also among England's best.

Steve McNamara's side had entered the match on the back of a friendly loss to minnows Italy and the axing of forward Gareth Hock for breaking a team alcohol ban.

They were also without dropped Canterbury enforcer James Graham but the dramatic build-up didn't show.

England's ambition was clear early as they twice knocked back gift two-point penalties and their boldness was rewarded with tries to winger Ryan Hall and centre Leroy Cudjoe.

Australia slowly grew into the game and scored in the 27th minute, with Greg Inglis climbing above Tomkins to collect a Cooper Cronk bomb and finding Thurston in support.

Thurston put Greg Bird into a hole to give Australia the lead four minutes before Australia's players' player Billy Slater ran almost 60 metres to score on the stroke of halftime.

Josh Morris finished a sharp backline move to give Australia an ideal start to the second half and it looked like they could run away with it.

But England stayed in the fight, getting back to within a converted try when George Burgess crashed over in the 51st minute.

Thurston gave Australia an eight-point buffer with a 65th minute penalty and the North Queensland playmaker was again involved as Darius Boyd crossed with ten minutes to go.

Winger Josh Charnley capitalised on some sloppy play from Australia with a late try but England left it too late.

"We got a lot of positives from it, but there is a real sense of frustration that we didn't quite go on and finish the job off," McNamara said.

Burgess was reported for a high shot that left Thaiday dazed and in serious doubt to face Fiji in St Helens next Saturday.

[TITAN PETE]

England talk up RLWC chances despite loss
By Liam FitzGibbon
AAP
6:39am Sun 27th

England captain Kevin Sinfield hopes to run into Australia again at the Rugby League World Cup, feeling his men have proved they can match it with the tournament favourites.

England let a huge chance slip on Saturday, surrendering a 10-0 first-half lead in a 28-20 loss to the Kangaroos in the tournament opener in Cardiff.

The defeat means England are now likely to face reigning champions New Zealand in the semi-finals and they could conceivably face Australia again in the final.

Taking plenty of positives out of a gallant performance that came despite a troubled build-up, Sinfield said England would be confident facing either of the tournament's big guns.

"The group we have got is going to get better, a whole lot better," the Leeds Rhinos star said.

"We have a strong squad, and if we are good enough over the next couple of weeks, hopefully we will get another shot at Australia.

"Whichever route we go on in this tournament there are going to be obstacles in our way.

"We are ready to roll our sleeves up and work as hard as we can, and hopefully get the result next week (group match against Ireland).

"We have been beaten today, but we certainly won't throw the towel in."

England endured a disrupted preparation, losing a warm-up game to Italy while coach Steve McNamara had to deal with off-field distractions surrounding Gareth Hock's axing and James Graham's omission from game one.

McNamara, though, remained confident throughout he had a squad that could challenge for the title.

"I've always thought we have a team that is capable of potentially winning this competition if it concentrates and plays to its best, and it has to do that in every game," he added.

"We were a bit off today. We gave far too many penalties away and gave up some field position quite easily, but every time we got to the right end of the field we seemed to trouble Australia.

"... We think we can beat them because we've got a lot more left in us."

McNamara was thrilled with an eye-catching debut from George Burgess, who joined siblings and South Sydney teammates Sam and Tom in becoming the first trio of brothers to play in the same England team.

George, 21, scored one try, narrowly missed another and contributed 14 hit-ups and 25 tackles.

"He was very, very good. He was a handful for the opposition all day and what a great way to make his debut," McNamara said.

McNamara could be without older sibling Sam for the clash with Ireland, though, after he was placed on report for a high shot on Sam Thaiday.

[TITAN PETE]

Player ratings: Australia v England

NRL.com
9:10am Sun 27th October, 2013



Player ratings from Australia's win over England in the opening match of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup.

AUSTRALIA

1. Billy Slater – Scored a terrific solo try and frequently looked dangerous in attack, although he did produce three errors including the mistake that led to England's final try. 7.5

2. Brett Morris – Did his job well on the right wing, showing good strength for his try and making 153 metres from 13 runs. 7.5

3. Brent Tate – As solid as ever, making 15 tackles and producing two offloads in an error-free performance. 7

4. Greg Inglis – Brilliantly brought down a bomb and got away a pass to set up Johnathan Thurston's try and was otherwise solid if unspectacular. 7.5

5. Darius Boyd – Grabbed a try and was otherwise safe in a typical rep performance from Boyd. 7

6. Johnathan Thurston – Scored one try, set up another, made four one-on-one tackles when isolated by England's forwards and landed all three of his first-half conversions to help set up the win. Named Man of the Match. 8.5

7. Cooper Cronk – Took on the bulk of the general kicking duties to help free up Thurston and produced a try assist of his own. 8

8. Matthew Scott – Did his job with 10 hit-ups, 16 tackles and no errors. 7

9. Cameron Smith – Led the Kangaroos tackle count, kicked a key (if controversial) 40/20, and was his usual creative self from dummy half before switching to lock late in the game. 8

10. James Tamou – Put in the hard yards with 16 carries and 19 tackles. 7

11. Greg Bird – Crashed over for a first-half try and was busy in attack with 14 hit-ups. 7

12. Sam Thaiday – Had limited impact in attack before being left dazed by a Sam Burges high shot in the second half. 6

13. Paul Gallen – A typical Paul Gallen performance. Led the go-forward for Australia with 156 metres from 21 hit-ups, to go with four tackle breaks, two offloads and 30 tackles. 8

14. Robbie Farah – Added some good spark off the bench with a couple of well-chosen dummy-half runs and was rock solid in defence. 7

15. Andrew Fifita – A strong Test debut from the hulking Shark, matching it with the Burgess brothers in the middle and producing an error-free display. 7

16. Luke Lewis – Like Fifita, Lewis did all was asked and didn't miss a tackle or make an error. 7

17. Corey Parker – The busy Bronco came off the bench to make 23 tackles, two offloads and a tackle break. 7.5

ENGLAND

1. Sam Tomkins – Repeatedly nullified Australian attacks at the back and set up England's first try with a great cut-out pass. 8

2. Josh Charnley – Picked up a late try and was otherwise solid. 6.5

3. Kallum Watkins – Made three tackle breaks and was kept busy in defence as Australia pressed its advantage in the second half. 7

4. Leroy Cudjoe – Chased down a Kevin Sinfield kick to score and was frequently involved with 10 carries and 23 tackles. 7

5. Ryan Hall – Looked strong in attack with nine runs for 83 metres plus four tackle breaks, a line break and a try. 7

6. Rangi Chase – The least-involved half on the field, Chase couldn't find the spark in attack to breach Australia's defensive line. 6

7. Kevin Sinfield – The England skipper kicked well, led his team's tackle count and set up a try in a quality performance in a losing side. 8

8. Chris Hill – Helped make up for James Graham's absence with 14 hit-ups, 20 tackles, three tackle breaks and three offloads. 7.5

9. James Roby – Produced a try assist and defended well all match. 7

10. George Burgess – England's most dangerous forward, Burgess crashed over for one try, came close to scoring another and made 14 carries, 25 tackles and five tackle busts. 8

11. Brett Ferres – Didn't grab any headlines but did all that was asked with 12 hit-ups and 28 tackles. 7.5

12. Ben Westwood – Conceded three penalties and was the least effective of England's starting forwards in attack. 6

13. Sam Burgess – Had plenty of involvement in both attack and defence but could have been sent off for his high shot on Sam Thaiday and was let down by poor discipline with three penalties and three errors. 6

14. Gareth Widdop – Underused off the bench and had a limited impact. 5

15. Carl Ablett – Made a couple of tackle busts off the bench and defended well. 6

16. Thomas Burgess – Combined well with the other England big men in the forward rotation. 6.5

17. Lee Mossop – Did a ton of work in defence but conceded a couple of penalties. 6.5

[DIEHARD]

Well that was an enjoyable and fitting opening to the World Cup. Burgess is probably going to miss at least a couple matches for the swinging arm. Far too many penalties though. Australia looked very rusty.

[DIEHARD]

[DIEHARD]

45,000 people attending is a great result. Especially for a game in Wales.