Rugby League World Cup 2013: England will bounce back from this heartbreak

“I think this tournament has been an outstanding event, a massive success from

the fans’ point of view. We’ve seen some tremendous games, people have

really bought into it and there’s been a buzz around the country. It just

wasn’t the right way for us to finish.”

Such a shame. England, after a chequered tournament, hit their stride when it

mattered, had even the Kiwi defending champions admitting the better side

lost but, ultimately when it had come down to one final minute of

clear-headed thinking amid desperate fatigue, the home side capitulated and

the visitors dredged up the memory of why they are world champions.

George Burgess flew in high on Sonny Bill Williams, giving away the critical

final penalty, before Shaun Johnson skipped past an onrushing Kevin Sinfield

to slalom in beautifully for the equalising score and then picked himself up

to slot over the winning kick.

“I’d be lying if I said my hands weren’t shaking when I was lining up the

kicking tee,” the Kiwi half-back said. Both the try and the conversion were

remarkable demonstrations of nerve under the most unforgiving pressure,

making the 23-year-old feel somehow as if he was living “the sort of moment

you love to play in your head as a kid in the backyard”.

It seems harsh to suggest after such a pulverising effort from England that

the battered New Zealand heavyweight champion Williams felt he had “just

gone 12 rounds in the ring” but where New Zealand ultimately found what

Sonny Bill called “Shauny’s magic”, McNamara’s men only mislaid their

composure.

No finger-pointing from England, though. Sam Burgess, so rampagingly

magnificent that former captain Jamie Peacock hailed his display as the best

performance by anyone in an England shirt for 20 years, would only note of

brother George’s indiscipline: “It’s one penalty in a game. So be it. George

is a strong kid. He’ll be fine.”

It will take some getting over for all of them, in truth, but when Sam

Burgess, looking every bit a world-beater at 24, thinks about the future, he

can envisage a team, with half a dozen lads of 23 and under currently in the

squad, becoming the best in the world.

“We’ve got some great talent coming through and hopefully it’ll continue to

grow,” he said. “It’s been a great event and a great experience at a

tournament which has generated such a lot of interest in the game. The only

disappointing thing is we didn’t get to the final dance.”

For the third successive World Cup, that final dance will be an Antipodean

waltz but come 2017 and the next tournament in the southern hemisphere,

though, who knows? “I think by then, we’ll be bigger, better, stronger,

faster,” Tomkins said. “And we’ll go and do something special.”

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

Rugby League World Cup 2013: England will bounce back from this heartbreak