Australia has pipped England 6-0 in the World Cup final in Brisbane, edging their old rivals in a gripping low-scoring contest in Brisbane.
The Kangaroos won their 11th out of 15 World Cup after being pushed hard by England, harder than they have been by any team for more than two years. It was a gutting end for Wayne Bennett’s men who tackled themselves to a standstill and gave it everything they had.
But Australia, as often seems to be the case in rugby league, finished as the winners to claim yet another title. Champions in 2013, Mal Meninga’s team have now successfully defended the trophy they won under Tim Sheens four years ago.
There was only six points scored and the stats tell the tale of a remarkably close encounter that didn’t fail to entertain. Australia had 51% possession, England 49%. The Aussies had only two more sets than their opponents, and completed at 85% to England’s 70%. Both sides made just three linebreaks, with England making one more offload than the Kanagroos. The crucial difference in the breakdown was the green and gold’s seven errors to the visitors 13. That was where the slender difference lined.
Boyd Cordner’s try in the first half, and Cameron Smith’s conversion, was the only thing that eventually split the two teams on the scorebaord. Considering the UK has waited 45 years for another World Cup win, it was an incredibly bitter blow. A crowd of 40,003 was on hand in the Queensland capital to see Australia and England do battle, and they were treated to an absorbing match.
England coach Wayne Bennett was impressed by the quality of the contest.
“I thought it was somewhere around State of Origin standard actually, the intensity of it by both teams,” he said.
“A lot times they were exhausted but they still found something, another effort on effort. It was pretty good stuff. [But] they probably had a little bit better ball control than we did. We had to do a bit more defending. [But] the Kangaroos were wonderful. It’s a pity there has to be a loser on a night like this. Someone’s got to win, someone’s got to lose.”
Bennett refused to blame any refereeing decisions on the loss. “That’s football mate, it’s going to happen every week,” he said.
Bennett would not be drawn on his coaching future with England.
“I’m not in a good state to talk about those things,” he said.
Australia coach Mal Meninga described the final as a “terrific game of footy”.
“You don’t get many 6-0 games in rugby league anymore,” he said.
“I’m just really proud of them. We knew it was going to be hard game. I expected it to be hard. I thought our preparation through the week was really, really good.
We knew what we needed to go. It was a special night for both side and a special night for rugby league. England has made some huge strides.”
Kangaroos skipper Smith hailed England’s effort and was pleased for his players.
“The last time an Australia side won a World Cup soil was 40 years ago. The 2017 Kangaroos made history tonight.”
