Rugby League: England 18 - New Zealand 20: Sam Burgess"s song of despair

New Zealand continued to probe. They were awarded a penalty in the last minute after George Burgess’s high tackle on Sonny Bill Williams. From there, the Kiwis took control and, with just 20 seconds remaining, Shaun Johnson collected possession and danced past Kevin Sinfield to score before converting the match-winning kick.

Sam Burgess, who largely overshadowed Williams with his stunning performance, said: “It’s hard to find words to describe the feeling within the group. We had a lot of strength and belief there but sometimes you don’t get what you feel you deserve. It hurts.”

The 24-year-old South Sydney forward was simply unplayable at times: breaking tackles, creating and scoring tries, cajoling his team-mates. He was simply inspirational.Former skipper Jamie Peacock said that Burgess’s display was the best he had seen from an England player in more than 20 years. “I draw a lot of inspiration from JP,” added Burgess. “I made my debut against him and really I appreciate his comments. But I would much rather swap any personal accolades for a victory.”

Burgess was as impressive off the field afterwards as he had been on it, taking questions in his stride and revealing he had comforted his younger brother for conceding that late penalty.

“George is all right,” said Sam. “There will be people who want to point fingers but it’s a team effort. A game is not won and lost in the last 20 seconds.”

Article source: http://web.orange.co.uk/p/rugbyleague/match?game_id=118177&competition_id=1

Rugby League: England 18 - New Zealand 20: Sam Burgess"s song of despair