:00:40. > :00:46.Welcome to Wembley Stadium for the rugby league World Cup semifinals.
:00:47. > :00:47.They billed it as the big hit, as England face New Zealand, and
:00:48. > :01:01.Australia take on Fiji. In a moment we'll reflect on England
:01:02. > :01:05.against the holders, New Zealand, but first up it is the
:01:06. > :01:10.pre-tournament favourites Australia taking on Fiji. It is a very
:01:11. > :01:16.poignant moment for us here at BBC Sport, as one of the great Ray
:01:17. > :01:20.French takes his place in the TV commentary box for the final time.
:01:21. > :02:18.Alongside him are Brian Noble. Paul Gallen, one of the toughest men
:02:19. > :02:32.with the Sharks. Thurston going through! A superb try.
:02:33. > :02:42.It finally gets to Thurston, and it is a show and go, a simple dummy to
:02:43. > :02:49.the left-hand side and he sees gap and he takes them on. Australia
:02:50. > :02:54.driving it down the middle. Smith looking for support but it wasn't
:02:55. > :03:02.there. Good tackling from Civoniceva.
:03:03. > :03:13.Inglis, and he makes a superb try there. A try given (Inaudible) out
:03:14. > :03:29.of absolutely nothing. At that point he was behind on that
:03:30. > :03:43.one. I'm happy that that's OK. Go to the ground, Inglis. And we go to
:03:44. > :03:53.grounding. And that's a try. Try it is. It is for Gary Boyd. He is
:03:54. > :03:58.trying to offload and gets lucky on the ricochet. Inglis cleans it up.
:03:59. > :04:06.An easy score for Boyd. Two or three metres from that line.
:04:07. > :04:16.He is bringing men with him... No, he isn't. Two tackles remaining.
:04:17. > :04:24.Good defence so far. Knocked down. Australia with the
:04:25. > :04:39.ball again. Cooper Cronk down the short side. A try for Cooper Cronk.
:04:40. > :04:45.Koroibete can't clean the ball up. Cronk times his run to perfection.
:04:46. > :04:49.The only real game Australia have had was with England at the opening
:04:50. > :04:55.of the Millennium Stadium. You begin to wonder, is it hard enough for
:04:56. > :05:00.them? There is nothing wrong with the defence. They've not conceded a
:05:01. > :05:08.point in three or four matches. A good ball. Can he get it down?
:05:09. > :05:10.Good defence. He's given a try! The referee's got a better view than I
:05:11. > :05:33.have. Powerful play. With pure power it was over the
:05:34. > :05:52.line. A good short ball there. Has he got
:05:53. > :06:01.it down? He sensed there was something on but he held up. How did
:06:02. > :06:04.he not score it? I don't know. All he had to do was dive at somebody's
:06:05. > :06:28.toes and he would have been in. Australia still on the drive.
:06:29. > :06:32.Another try for him. Go as hard as you can on the ball and people fall
:06:33. > :06:37.off the back of you. When you're that size there's no stopping you.
:06:38. > :06:51.Fiji trying to make movement down that right-hand side.
:06:52. > :07:03.That's try number four thrashing in. Hayne again. The second of the
:07:04. > :07:17.night. He takes the ball into the tackle.
:07:18. > :07:30.Still three tackles remaining. Inglis, a short pass.
:07:31. > :07:40.Matthew Scott. Another penalty. On your own line. If I was the coach I
:07:41. > :07:44.would substitute somebody. I would do the same thing. The they are
:07:45. > :07:49.struggling to hang on, the Australian as. They are trying to
:07:50. > :08:03.buy as much time as they can. A good drive and that's a try from James
:08:04. > :08:08.Tamou. He just has to use his bulk and strength to get over. Cronk
:08:09. > :08:11.makes the hole for him and ORCEDYELLOW He just has to use his
:08:12. > :08:13.bulk and strength to get over. Cronk makes the hole for him and Tamou
:08:14. > :08:17.says, "Thank you very much." You've got to put this into perspective,
:08:18. > :08:24.they are playing in the world top two teams.
:08:25. > :08:32.There's that man again, Boyd. Too quick, too powerful on the outside.
:08:33. > :08:35.A tiring the defence and Mr Silverwood points to yet another
:08:36. > :08:42.try. Slices down the outside, Brent Tate
:08:43. > :08:44.releases at the right time and it's a foot race. Too much space to be
:08:45. > :08:49.stopped. Australia on the attack, driving in.
:08:50. > :09:07.No mercy to be shown. He wants somebody to come up the
:09:08. > :09:19.inside and it looks as if Gareth Hayne is in for another. This is
:09:20. > :09:24.Hall with a double drop-off. He couldn't do anything. Too powerful.
:09:25. > :09:26.An inside ball from Smith. Smith. Do your best but it's not good enough
:09:27. > :09:38.against Hayne. Terrific running down the right-hand
:09:39. > :09:50.side. And he's in at the corner! Greg Morris in for his first try of
:09:51. > :09:56.the night. Is it a try? I'm happy everything's OK there. That's a try.
:09:57. > :10:01.Hayne makes the bust out of the sideline and I'm sure he could have
:10:02. > :10:05.got there himself. But Morris did finish in the corner. Will Australia
:10:06. > :10:09.finish with a flourish in yet another try? They are doing their
:10:10. > :10:14.best. They are pushing it down the left-hand side. Brave tackling from
:10:15. > :10:21.Fiji. They've got just over two minutes to keep them out. The crowd
:10:22. > :10:33.getting behind them. Australia back inside to Boyd. Good tackling. Three
:10:34. > :10:45.tackles remaining. He's in surely... Yes he is! He was coming like a run
:10:46. > :10:49.away truck. You stop him. Him. No chance to stop at that speed,
:10:50. > :11:12.Fifita. Even the post couldn't tackle him.
:11:13. > :11:17.What's your investigate on this afternoon? Obviously a business
:11:18. > :11:22.disappointing today, considering we were pretty good. The Aussies were a
:11:23. > :11:29.bit slick for us and we didn't make it easy for us and the champion team
:11:30. > :11:34.put the nail in the coffin for us. It would've been bittersweet to
:11:35. > :11:39.finish the way we did. Would you have preferred a closer work-out
:11:40. > :11:45.ahead of the final? Surprisingly although the score line doesn't show
:11:46. > :11:49.it, it was a hard game. Fiji are a strong side. Technically we were too
:11:50. > :11:56.good for them, but as far as wanting to have a go, they were in their
:11:57. > :12:02.game, playing it tough and hitting hard, so... What the way you would
:12:03. > :12:06.have wished to bow out I guess? No doubt. I'm so lucky and fortunate.
:12:07. > :12:13.I'm blessed to have had the career that I've had. I'm 37. I'm still
:12:14. > :12:17.playing, so I just look back an so many great memories coming to this
:12:18. > :12:22.country and playing in front of these tremendous crowds. It's been a
:12:23. > :12:27.huge honour, so I've got so many great memories to retire with. A
:12:28. > :12:31.comfortable win for Australia. With me are John will kin and Earl
:12:32. > :12:38.Crabtree. They didn't have to put on too much of a sweat, Australia? No,
:12:39. > :12:43.they showed touches of quality. What will be pleasing for Tim Sheens, the
:12:44. > :12:48.way they defended the, some real stamps of quality. Hayne had an
:12:49. > :12:51.outstanding game. Both half-backs exceptional. A consistently good
:12:52. > :12:56.throughout the tournamentment watching them there you can't help
:12:57. > :13:01.but feel they are the favourites. They've produced exciting rugby
:13:02. > :13:08.again. Fiji, a game too far for them? A little bit disappointing for
:13:09. > :13:12.me. I think they'll be disappointed with themselves. You can tell from
:13:13. > :13:17.their interview, their play was lack luster in the first half. Didn't
:13:18. > :13:22.offer much, which is a sad sign. It is about the legacy. Fiji is a name
:13:23. > :13:27.associated with rugby league in a massive way. And they've won hearts
:13:28. > :13:32.as well as minds, Fiji, in this World Cup? They have. They've
:13:33. > :13:36.contributed. Their attitude towards the game and life, the way they
:13:37. > :13:41.incorporate other teams in the post-match celebration, it is an
:13:42. > :13:45.iconic stand-out moment in the tournament. They've got great
:13:46. > :13:50.players and the key to it is the legacy in Fiji. How we develop the
:13:51. > :13:54.infrastructure of that game in that country and make sure that Fiji in
:13:55. > :13:58.the four nations a success and Fiji going forward produces world class
:13:59. > :14:11.players. Do you feel we've learnt anything about Australia in that
:14:12. > :14:14.game? Apart from the obvious, that they are really good. Cameron Smith
:14:15. > :14:18.really impressed me, along with Cronk as well. They do not make any
:14:19. > :14:23.errors, that is what is so important. They were just ripping
:14:24. > :14:28.the Fiji defence to pieces. It is a scary sight when Australia are on
:14:29. > :14:34.song. Going into the final, you cannot expect anything but a decent
:14:35. > :14:38.performance. Quite scary that Jarryd Hayne might not even have been
:14:39. > :14:42.playing, it is a frightening thought. Yes, probably the world's
:14:43. > :14:49.best centre and he has been playing full-back and on the wing he has
:14:50. > :14:54.been exceptional. The nucleus of their team is, as he says, do not
:14:55. > :14:57.make mistake. They take the right options, they kicked the ball well,
:14:58. > :15:01.all of their passes are on the money. That is why Australia have
:15:02. > :15:07.been the best international team for a number of years. So, moving on to
:15:08. > :15:12.England against New Zealand. Steve McNamara sprang a surprise by
:15:13. > :15:17.dropping Rangi Chase. What we got was the best England display of this
:15:18. > :15:22.World Cup. Over to your commentary team, Dave Woods, Brian Noble and
:15:23. > :15:27.Jonathan Davies. There have been a lot of smiles over
:15:28. > :15:30.the last few weeks, but today, the World Cup gets serious. England
:15:31. > :15:38.against New Zealand, in the semifinals. They are lining up like
:15:39. > :15:42.this today. New Zealand missing their giant winger Vatuvei because
:15:43. > :15:48.of injury. Likewise, Prichard is a late withdrawal from the pack. Alex
:15:49. > :15:59.Glenn gets a lake hall on the bench. -- a late call. And England, the
:16:00. > :16:05.brand-new halfback pairing, premiered at Wembley, Gareth Widdop
:16:06. > :16:11.and Kevin Sinfield, and it is a combination which has to work right
:16:12. > :16:19.from the off. James Roby back as the starting hooker today. Here comes
:16:20. > :16:23.Jesse Bromwich. New Zealand are in a very good position here, England
:16:24. > :16:31.have to defend carefully. Kevin Locke comes in. Kevin Sinfield drags
:16:32. > :16:38.him down. New Zealand sniffing that line. Back it comes to Johnson, and
:16:39. > :16:53.here is Sonny Bill Williams. Danger... Is a real step, he always
:16:54. > :17:03.seems to be the first man. This now is Kieran Foran. And back on the
:17:04. > :17:08.inside for Waerea-Hargreaves. Great recovery from Tomkins. The referee
:17:09. > :17:15.is not sure, he wants to have a look at this again. I am sure by the
:17:16. > :17:21.reaction that he thinks he has scored.
:17:22. > :17:29.RADIO: Nice and slow, ball is on the ground, ball is up... Oh, no try.
:17:30. > :17:37.But what about the recovery from Sam Tomkins.
:17:38. > :17:51.Tomkins, and on it goes to Charnley! But back they come. There was a man
:17:52. > :17:59.of side there as well, as England played that ball, but here comes
:18:00. > :18:07.Widdup. The support is great here at Wembley, as England have some
:18:08. > :18:09.momentum. The kick to the corner... Wrong decision to kick their
:18:10. > :18:17.accommodation have put the pressure on the Kiwis. -- wrong decision to
:18:18. > :18:27.kick there - they should have put the pressure on the Kiwis. There is
:18:28. > :18:32.danger here. Forward pass, surely. The referee says play on. Suddenly
:18:33. > :18:38.they have got the break on. Ryan Hall, where has he come from? The
:18:39. > :18:42.other side of the pitch! That is James Graham. James Graham's
:18:43. > :18:55.defensive work there was absolutely magnificent. England at sixes and
:18:56. > :19:03.sevens. Now, it is Tomkins with a very good tackle. Here comes
:19:04. > :19:25.Johnson. Sam Tomkins drags him down. You are going nowhere, son. Again,
:19:26. > :19:32.the England defence is good. Johnson across to... What have you made of
:19:33. > :19:38.this, Jon Wilkin? It has been a really intense start to the game. We
:19:39. > :19:42.have seen some fantastic pieces of defensive play, part of the game
:19:43. > :19:51.which does not get celebrated. But that chase back from James Graham
:19:52. > :19:58.was exquisite. Ad comes to Charnley. Sinfield does well to hold onto the
:19:59. > :20:00.ball. As Jon Wilkin just said, defensively, it has been awesome so
:20:01. > :20:22.far. Graham with the short pass, Burgess,
:20:23. > :20:28.and O'Loughlin scores! The boys from the front row, Graham Burgess! They
:20:29. > :20:34.made that one for O'Loughlin, and England get their first try.
:20:35. > :20:38.JONATHAN DAVIES: That is where their strength is, players like Burgess
:20:39. > :20:47.doing something special. It was the off-load.
:20:48. > :20:58.James Graham steps on the inside of a swinging hand from Kasiano. What a
:20:59. > :21:02.step that was from Burgess. Almost connecting with O'Loughlin, that
:21:03. > :21:09.would have been very special indeed. It is a penalty for England. Holding
:21:10. > :21:26.back. I would like to see this again.
:21:27. > :21:36.Foran with the kick. It is kept alive here. The Kiwis might make
:21:37. > :21:41.something happen. Luke again. He throws it over the top. He has
:21:42. > :21:51.thrown it out of play, has he? Oh, what a ball. That is one of the
:21:52. > :21:54.greatest tries. He was expecting his winger to be on the outside, and
:21:55. > :22:02.suddenly realised he wasn't, and produced the miracle pass on the
:22:03. > :22:11.inside. Let's have a listen. RADIO: Cannot see the feet, have got
:22:12. > :22:15.the feet now... He has possession... The right foot is in the air, he
:22:16. > :22:26.still has possession. He has released the ball. Not at the
:22:27. > :22:38.grounding now. It is a clean catch. That looks fine on this angle...
:22:39. > :22:42.Coming out now. As soon as Tuivasa-Sheck got the ball in his
:22:43. > :22:46.hands, it was always likely to be a try, but the way he got his ball in
:22:47. > :22:57.his hands was nothing short of a rugby miracle. Wow!
:22:58. > :23:03.It really is terrific from England today. But New Zealand have got a
:23:04. > :23:08.counterpunched or two. England have been fantastic, the one thing which
:23:09. > :23:11.worries me a little bit is the individuality of some of the Kiwi
:23:12. > :23:17.players. They can just do something magic. They cannot do anything more
:23:18. > :23:24.magic than what Burgess has done. No.
:23:25. > :23:38.There is a bit of a gap, he tries the off-load. Great off-load, by the
:23:39. > :23:47.way. I think it was Chris Hill who had a nibble at him. Johnson looking
:23:48. > :23:56.to tie the game up. The clock ticks down, so this is potentially the
:23:57. > :23:59.last real action of this first half. Johnson has put it between the
:24:00. > :24:07.uprights. A minute and a half remaining. All square.
:24:08. > :24:24.Here comes Johnson. Isaac Luke picks it up, and here is Johnson again.
:24:25. > :24:35.That is a good overlap... And over he goes. That is Tuivasa-Sheck with
:24:36. > :24:43.his second try of the game. Or is it? That is fine.
:24:44. > :24:51.RADIO: He has caught it on the outside, passes before. I am happy
:24:52. > :25:09.with that, yes. DAVE WOODS: Tuivasa-Sheck has gone
:25:10. > :25:16.level with Ryan Hall in terms of tries in this tournament. Forward
:25:17. > :25:22.comes Jesse Bromwich. Five tackles to have a go, New Zealand. England,
:25:23. > :25:28.that wall of white needed more than ever just at the moment. And it is
:25:29. > :25:37.going to be a hat-trick, is it? No, England's defence... How good a
:25:38. > :25:41.reaction was that from England?! I have no idea where the ball went, to
:25:42. > :25:48.be honest. That looked a certain try. Courage, heart, call it what
:25:49. > :26:00.you want. Ben Westwood being back on the field
:26:01. > :26:10.has helped England, with his physical presence. Issac Luke knew
:26:11. > :26:22.they were one short, he had a go. Tomkins goes up and collect is. What
:26:23. > :26:25.has he done? Holding. I am not sure if there was holding here, there was
:26:26. > :26:32.a definite block, maybe. Let's have a look. He is saying he has impeded
:26:33. > :26:37.the kick from challenging for the ball, at least. I understand the
:26:38. > :26:46.decision, sometimes they are given, sometimes they are not. Johnson is
:26:47. > :26:49.successful, three out of four. Six tackles for England to ask a few
:26:50. > :27:00.questions of this New Zealand defence. Great run by Tomkins.
:27:01. > :27:09.Westwood down the blindside. Tomkins has it. Now, it is Sinfield.
:27:10. > :27:20.Straightened up by Hill. And he is still going, Chris Hill. Strong
:27:21. > :27:23.effort. Now, Roby. I to his left. It comes to Tomkins, who slips over on
:27:24. > :27:31.the Wembley turf. A disappointing end to that particular move. They
:27:32. > :27:45.need a repeat set, that is what they want. It is play on, six more. So,
:27:46. > :27:55.another set, they do get the repeat set. Here comes Roby. Listen to the
:27:56. > :28:09.crowd roaring this England side on. Graham, back to Sinfield... Kallum
:28:10. > :28:15.Watkins! England try! Great ball, Kevin Sinfield, and what an angle
:28:16. > :28:20.from this young kid Kallum Watkins. Kevin Sinfield has defined the
:28:21. > :28:24.runner, but it was a great line from Kallum Watkins, otherwise that does
:28:25. > :28:26.not happen. Well played, England. Sinfield to make it all square, but
:28:27. > :28:40.he has just put it wide. Graham, they do not know what he is
:28:41. > :28:45.going to do, that's the thing. O'Loughlin back to Widdup, quick
:28:46. > :28:54.hands... Here comes Ryan Hall! Ryan Hall for the corner! He has slipped
:28:55. > :28:59.over! Normally he makes that left-wing his own personal space,
:29:00. > :29:06.but not this time. Tomkins, maybe it is the other wing. Charnley! What a
:29:07. > :29:17.tackle. Put down within sight of the line.
:29:18. > :29:39.He isn't allowed to play that. The referee says play on. Sinfield,
:29:40. > :29:45.Widdop, Burgess... Insi forward. He dropped it. A clever kick though.
:29:46. > :29:54.Good control under pressure from defence. I'm not sure he dropped it.
:29:55. > :30:04.They are checking. I don't know why he did that so early in the tackle
:30:05. > :30:09.count. He kicks early. The bloke next to him is complaining. Not me,
:30:10. > :30:15.I think he's a great player. I think we are fantastically lucky here to
:30:16. > :30:20.be looking at the best forward pack in this competition. The England
:30:21. > :30:24.pack are outstanding. Outstanding. What they have done against the New
:30:25. > :30:33.Zealand defence today is sensational.
:30:34. > :30:41.And complemented by a fantastic half back partnership. The game
:30:42. > :30:49.management is brilliant. Burgess runs over Kevin Locke. England have
:30:50. > :30:57.a try! England have the lead. A World Cup final is just moving
:30:58. > :31:06.inches closer to their grasp. How good is this kid? How good is Sam
:31:07. > :31:19.Burgess? Kevin Sinfield creates the opening for him. He gives it to SB.
:31:20. > :31:29.He slams ball over the line. Get that into ya!
:31:30. > :31:38.These are the characters you want hanging around. Sinfield to George
:31:39. > :31:47.Burgess. Another mighty drive by him. Three tackles gone. Three to
:31:48. > :31:55.go. Roby. Widdop. New Zealand's defence recovers well. Roby.
:31:56. > :32:08.Sinfield. Westwood. Westwood pushing the ball. Westwood... He's lost it.
:32:09. > :32:20.Did he lose the ball? No-advantage I think New Zealand. He thought it was
:32:21. > :32:27.over. Put the ball down, Ben. Oh, so close. England's defence, that wall
:32:28. > :32:36.of white, buckles together again. If it is not one Burj pes it's the
:32:37. > :32:44.other one. The best players on the planet are out there today.
:32:45. > :32:48.Comfortab comfortable... Oh, Ryan Hall knows. Had he caught that 80
:32:49. > :32:52.yards down the field he would almost certainly have been celebrating an
:32:53. > :33:01.England victory. He did well to get, there to be fair. He was the Kane
:33:02. > :33:06.breaker. This is it, this is the set. England make five more tackles.
:33:07. > :33:15.They are there. And New Zealand know that. That's tackle two. Four more
:33:16. > :33:26.to go. Here comes Goodwin. That's the third. Isaac Luke. It's slow.
:33:27. > :33:32.Taken in by Kasiano. Good tackle by Hall on Ferres.
:33:33. > :33:42.That's tackle four. Two more tackles to come. Penalty New Zealand. So
:33:43. > :33:57.they will get another set here. We've got one minute. Quickly taken.
:33:58. > :34:09.Isaac Luke. 46 seconds to go. This is it. This is it. Four tackles
:34:10. > :34:22.to go. Isaac Luke. It is a moment for heroes. Johnson. What a try!
:34:23. > :34:30.Sean Johnson with the try. With literally seconds to play and now he
:34:31. > :34:35.keeps them in the game. This is the penalty, didn't need to do it and
:34:36. > :34:39.they rushed out and opened the gate for this player. Sinfield goes
:34:40. > :34:52.early. Bang! Off the left. What a try. It is that fella who has the
:34:53. > :34:58.task of kicking this goal. This is not a difficult kick, OK? But in
:34:59. > :35:03.circumstances like this, it's a little bit tougher.
:35:04. > :35:12.Tries to clear his mind of the cacophony of sound that swirls
:35:13. > :35:19.around Wembley. He's nailed it! He has nailed it.
:35:20. > :35:29.It is New Zealand in the World Cup final. They get to go again to
:35:30. > :35:34.defend their crown. And England simply can't believe the fate that
:35:35. > :35:40.has just befallen them. What a performance? What an outstanding
:35:41. > :35:45.performance by England today. But in the end it was seconds away from
:35:46. > :36:06.being enough. I'm lost for words. It is just so, so close.
:36:07. > :36:13.Many commiserations. What is the feeling after that, it is a
:36:14. > :36:18.heartbreaking way to go out of the World Cup. Definitely. A tough way
:36:19. > :36:23.to go, but high-level sport can be cruel at times to. A World Cup
:36:24. > :36:28.semifinal that's how it should be, two teams hammer and tongs, with not
:36:29. > :36:32.much in it. I'm bitterly disappointed. That was an incredible
:36:33. > :36:37.game of rugby league wasn't it? It certainly was. It was a real test
:36:38. > :36:42.match. I thought England had a great game today. The our lads, we kept
:36:43. > :36:45.fighting and hanging on in there. We came up with an opportunity with a
:36:46. > :36:49.few minutes to go and we were good enough to take it. But I thought
:36:50. > :36:54.England had a great game today. It is hard to put into it words. You
:36:55. > :36:58.put so much effort into it and you end up coming away with nothing.
:36:59. > :37:03.Maybe we put a lot of pride into this third and stuff but that means
:37:04. > :37:07.nothing to us at the minute. The last 20 seconds we got pipped. The
:37:08. > :37:11.guys are very disappointed. We put a lot of hard work into this
:37:12. > :37:16.tournament and feel we haven't got what we deserve. Is there more to
:37:17. > :37:20.come from this New Zealand team? I think so mate. England played really
:37:21. > :37:24.well I thought and we are going to improve again. There are aspects of
:37:25. > :37:28.my game that need a lot of work. But for now I'm going to enjoy that
:37:29. > :37:31.moment. Through to next week. It's been a difficult campaign. Where now
:37:32. > :37:36.for England and for you? It's not been difficult at all. It's been a
:37:37. > :37:39.great campaign. Campaign. We've done thing things the right way. Our
:37:40. > :37:47.group has been very, very strong. I think as you can tell by what's gone
:37:48. > :37:52.out there today. We'll see. John, heartbreaking to end like that. It
:37:53. > :37:56.was devastating really. A player who's been involved in the England
:37:57. > :38:00.set-up for a number of years, to understand the amount of investment
:38:01. > :38:04.in emotional energy and physical energy in getting England to a World
:38:05. > :38:09.Cup time. To see those hopes dashed in the last minute was a
:38:10. > :38:14.excruciating to watch. I really feel for the players. They are obviously
:38:15. > :38:17.devastated and rightly, so because they produced an may have
:38:18. > :38:20.performance. A I thought, if I'm honest, that's probably the best
:38:21. > :38:25.game of international rugby I've seen in a number of years. England
:38:26. > :38:28.will be pleased with how they played but upset matly hugely disappointed
:38:29. > :38:33.with the result. They had their chances. They are going to rue
:38:34. > :38:37.missed chances. Possibly they will think about every mistake and every
:38:38. > :38:44.part of that game that didn't quite go their way, including decisions by
:38:45. > :38:49.the the referee or decisions they made. Those boys will be so
:38:50. > :38:52.disappointed. We've been through thatta structure and been part of
:38:53. > :38:55.that build-up for the World Cup for the last three years. As a player
:38:56. > :38:59.outside of that now you can just see how much it would have meant to
:39:00. > :39:03.them. I was getting cold before the game, thinking about wanting to be
:39:04. > :39:07.out there. It is the first time I've really missed it. I know how they
:39:08. > :39:11.are feeling now. I've been in times before and lost them. I know how
:39:12. > :39:17.good they are going to be. Would point to any particular moment where
:39:18. > :39:27.they lost it? I think every big game is hinged on a few key moments
:39:28. > :39:33.hospital. I I thi Ryan Hall did everything right and couldn't gather
:39:34. > :39:38.it in. The Burgess penalty which led to the tackle at the end. There are
:39:39. > :39:43.moments in the game where it hangs in the balance. Those moments either
:39:44. > :39:48.go your way or they don't. They just didn't go England's way. They did so
:39:49. > :39:52.well to dominate the England team and engineer a position where they
:39:53. > :39:56.had to hold out for the last 50 seconds. You had a sneaking feeling
:39:57. > :40:00.this English mentality, we were sensing that New Zealand were going
:40:01. > :40:04.to score, and they did. What great play from New Zealand though. It is
:40:05. > :40:08.not all heartache though, the New Zealand boys have done fantastically
:40:09. > :40:13.well and should be proud of getting through to the World Cup final. If
:40:14. > :40:17.you had to pick somebody out, Burgess was outstanding. Ridiculous.
:40:18. > :40:21.It was one of the best performances I've seen by Sam binge and as a
:40:22. > :40:30.player in general on the field. He was magnificent. But other players,
:40:31. > :40:40.James Graham, Sean Lock lock and others. And Sean O'Loughlin. Ben
:40:41. > :40:46.Bestwood, if he could have scored that try, it making have been a
:40:47. > :40:50.different story. But to put it into perspective, 50 seconds away we
:40:51. > :40:56.were. We've never been like that years ago. We are going in the right
:40:57. > :41:02.direction. Widdop was a good addition wasn't he? Fantastic. He
:41:03. > :41:06.seamlessly slotted in. He will have been aggrieved he didn't play a
:41:07. > :41:09.bigger part in this World Cup, but these opportunities come and I'm
:41:10. > :41:12.sure Gareth will be a consistent starting player in the international
:41:13. > :41:16.team. To produce the performance he did with very little preparation and
:41:17. > :41:23.very little time with his team-mates was exceptional. Recomplemented the
:41:24. > :41:27.other players very well. New Zealand have been fantastic throughout this
:41:28. > :41:31.tournament haven't they? And they were very good, and patient. Yes,
:41:32. > :41:35.that's an unusual sign in the New Zealand team and I think it is the
:41:36. > :41:43.best New Zealand team we've seen for a long time. Sunny had a massive
:41:44. > :41:47.game himself, and mixing him up with Sam Burgess, a great contest. New
:41:48. > :41:51.Zealand do look like a different sides. They still have mistakes and
:41:52. > :41:55.they still do have those little errors and lapses in concentration,
:41:56. > :42:00.but they got away with it today. Today. The they were the best side
:42:01. > :42:04.on the day. New Zealand and Australia toe to toe, it should be
:42:05. > :42:09.some final. They were two fantastic teams littered with some of the best
:42:10. > :42:14.rugby league players in the world. New Zealand in the semifinal today,
:42:15. > :42:21.they really absorbed a lot of pressure. One thing I was impressed
:42:22. > :42:26.with was how impressive they were. There was a real desperation. I
:42:27. > :42:30.think real encouraging display from New Zealand that puts them in a
:42:31. > :42:37.great confident mood going into the final. The Australia look silky and
:42:38. > :42:41.Cronk and Thurston, these guys, Greg Inglis, with those players in your
:42:42. > :42:45.team you are always a fantastic chance of winning and it should be a
:42:46. > :42:49.great finals. One that we are going to be privileged to be part of. So
:42:50. > :42:54.it will be Australia against New Zealand in the 2013 World Cup final.
:42:55. > :43:00.We are live from Old Trafford next Saturday. We good on air on BBC One
:43:01. > :43:05.and BBC One HD at 1. 45pm. I hope you can join us. It was a classic
:43:06. > :43:08.between New Zealand and Australia in 2008. Australia will undoubtedly
:43:09. > :43:12.want revenge. New Zealand are desperate to hold on to their title.
:43:13. > :43:17.From all of us here at Wembley. Goodbye.
:43:18. > :43:40.And away we are. He's in at the corner.
:43:41. > :43:50.One of this great tries. Burgess great tries. Burgess and lefty
:43:51. > :43:54.-- and Locke. It is a moment for heroes.
:43:55. > :43:57.To take his side into a World Cup final. He's nailed it.