Kevin Sinfield not to blame for England"s Rugby League World Cup exit, insists ...

Steve McNamara jumped to the defence of skipper Kevin Sinfield after England’s World Cup dream ended in last-gasp heartbreak.

England looked to be heading for a final date against Australia at Old Trafford when they led 18-14 with 20 seconds remaining in a Wembley thriller.

But then skipper Sinfield missed a tackle on jack-in-the-box Shaun
Johnson who danced over for a match-winning try.

Jubilant Johnson tagged on the conversion to end hopes of the World Cup returning to home soil for the first time since 1972.

It was England‘s third semi-final defeat in a row against the Kiwis who won at Bolton in 2000 and Brisbane in 2008.

Coach McNamara, who insists he wants to stay in charge, said: “Kevin has nothing to blame himself for – he worked his socks off.

“He’s not blessed with outstanding pace, power or speed, but I can’t speak highly enough of him. He’s a great ­professional. He does things people don’t notice. True signs of a champion.”

Sinfield, whose passes created second-half tries for Kallum Watkins and man-of-the-match Sam Burgess, has now lost on all five visits to Wembley – three Challenge Cup Finals and two England defeats.

But if the result was cruel on Sinfield it was tougher on ‘Slamming’ Sam Burgess who set up Sean O’Loughlin’s opener and then blasted over himself to make it 18-14 with 14 minutes left.

Burgess said: “To be pipped with 20 seconds left is heartbreaking and I would willingly have swapped the man-of-the-match award for a win.”

McNamara added: “We put in a ­brilliant performance and the lads are distraught. Sport can be cruel at times, but I never thought the game was won.”

 

McNamara has won 13 of his 22 Tests in charge since taking over from Tony Smith in 2010, but has notched only one victory in seven meetings against big guns Australia or New Zealand – a solitary win over the Kiwis at Hull two years ago.

And the 41-year-old has been criticised for his handling of disciplinary incidents, which led to Gareth Hock and Zak Hardaker leaving the squad, and James Graham’s ­dropping for the opening match against Australia in Cardiff.

McNamara is now out of contract, but when asked about his future said: “I’m not sure at this stage. It’s been a pleasure to put the programme together with a brilliant back-room staff and great players. I wouldn’t want to give it up.”

Kiwi coach Stephen Kearney said: “England turned in a great performance and it was a real Test match. But we kept fighting and took the opportunity.”

New Zealand went into the clash with only one win in the last 10 meetings against England or Great Britain in this country and England took the lead with Graham and Burgess creating the opening try for O’Loughlin, Sinfield converting and adding a penalty.

But the Kiwis hit back when Dean Whare threw an audacious inside pass for Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to touch down and Johnson levelled the scores 8-8 at the break when George Burgess was penalised for obstruction.

Tuivasa-Sheck collected Kevin Locke’s long pass to cut inside Gareth Widdop and fire the Kiwis ahead for the first time three minutes after the restart before Watkins and Burgess crossed.

Then Johnson struck to end the World Cup dream for another four years.

Article source: http://www.espnscrum.com/heineken-cup-2013-14/rugby/story/206925.html

Kevin Sinfield not to blame for England"s Rugby League World Cup exit, insists ...