Revenge was never on the agenda, apparently. Try telling that to New Zealand, who were outplayed, overpowered and overawed by their great rivals on the grand stage. Australia, who relinquished their grasp on the World Cup in such devastating circumstances five years ago, are champions once again.
Tim Sheens’s side were unstoppable. All five survivors from that 2008 heartache played pivotal roles to exorcise the demons of Brisbane and secure their team a place in the league pantheon. This was as one-sided and emphatic a final as you are likely to see.
As the final whistle sounded under the Manchester dusk and drew the curtain on a competition that began five weeks ago in Cardiff, the men in green and gold lifted their arms to the sky. For all the individual brilliance within the squad, victory here was achieved by the collective.
The Kangaroos have not conceded a try in 404 minutes of play, since Josh Charnley crossed for England in the opening game of the tournament. New Zealand, who boast a wealth of attacking riches, never even came close.
“The seniority in the team today really stood up,” said Sheens. “The young guys did their job, but the veterans stood up.”
The Australia coach was right to point to the old heads and he hailed the overall team performance. But there were some superb individual displays. Johnathan Thurston put every kick through the posts and orchestrated the game with astounding flair. Billy Slater, the full-back who was guilty of a horrendous error in 2008, was equally impressive. He and Brett Morris scored twice.
The captain, Cameron Smith, received a message of support before the match from his cricketing counterpart, Michael Clarke. He said: “I probably told a little white lie along the way, that this didn’t mean much against what happened in 2008. But standing out on that field after the match, a little bit of that disappointment was erased.”
It began as a slow burner, but the opening could hardly have gone better for Australia. With Slater starting following a fortnight out injured, his fitness was under dispute. Yet it was the Kiwis’ Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, another doubt for the game, who was forced off in the early stages.
As the winger limped off in the eighth minute, the pain in his eyes was obvious. New Zealand had to re-shuffle, with Stephen Kearney revealing that the youngster had suffered a potential hairline fracture. It was their right flank that received the significant early pressure.
Thurston and Shaun Johnson had put one penalty apiece on the scoreboard before the unrelenting Australian machine rumbled into gear. The Kiwis were struggling to break out of their own half under suffocating pressure. They cracked in the 19th minute when Thurston floated a kick from left to right where Slater outjumped Bryson Goodwin and crossed the line.
Kearney’s side could have been further behind had it not been for some heroic defending from Isaac Luke, who held up Cooper Cronk and won a penalty following a push from Andrew Fifita. However, the green and gold wave was not to be denied.
Cronk did get over 10 minutes before the interval, capitalising on some lackadaisical defending and latching on to a miscued grubber kick from Darius Boyd before racing clear. Thurston added another penalty to secure the Kangaroos a 14-point lead at half-time and Slater stretched the advantage in the 41st minute, dealing a killer blow after a slick passage of play that involved Thurston and Boyd.
New Zealand were bereft of ideas. Kearney said: “Australia’s performance was nothing short of outstanding, we just couldn’t get ourselves in the contest. We were hanging on there. They gave us a real lesson there.”
Australia, tough in defence and dominant in midfield, were rampant and increased their lead through Morris, who started and finished a wonderful move with 25 minutes remaining, fed in following an astonishing piece of improvised handling from Jarryd Hayne.
The Kiwis fought until the bitter end but were undone by Morris, again, who raced clear with eight minutes remaining. It was a fitting way to seal Australia’s return to the world summit. They could stay there for some time.
Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-league/24928518
Australia regain Rugby League World Cup with easy win over New Zealand
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