Sponsored by
England 20 New Zealand 12: World champions suffer Galpharm shock defeat
ENGLAND longed for another shot at Australia and earned the right with a thoroughly accomplished victory over world champions New Zealand.
They secured their place in Saturday's Gillette Four Nations final with a performance rich in character, desire and no little skill, Peter Fox's finely-crafted second try just before half-time showing England's often maligned back division should be written off at their peril.
Kevin Sinfield's conversion put them 18-6 ahead and, although the fitful Kiwis responded inside two minutes of the restart, England defended with such relish and determination there was never any real fear the tourists would claw their way back in.
When Leeds Rhinos' Sinfield capped his second man-of-the-match display of the tournament with a 73rd-minute penalty, England could start thinking of Australia again.
Coach Tony Smith admitted unfinished business was at the heart of their mentality.
England were 26-0 down at the break against Australia a week earlier, a deficit their brilliant second-half rally failed to ultimately overcome.
Needing to defeat New Zealand – who they lost back-to-back against in last year's doomed World Cup – a solid start was imperative at Huddersfield on Saturday evening.
England had also been behind against the French but took a tenth-minute lead through Kyle Eastmond this time around and never looked back.
Smith got all his selections right, Eastmond proving a real threat at scrum-half in place of the dropped Danny McGuire while centre Chris Bridge and Hull KR's Fox both contributed heavily in place of the axed Lee Smith and Tom Briscoe.
But Smith's masterstroke was his surprise tactical switch, naming loose forward Sinfield at hooker.
That allowed him to get the imposing Sam Burgess on from the start, his extra presence at number 13 helping take the game to the physical Kiwis during a bruising opening.
The robust Burgess delivered an outstanding 25-minute stint, tearing in at every opportunity, with Jamie Peacock, Gareth Ellis and James Graham all following his lead.
He missed when trying to produce a trademark big hit on opposite number Adam Blair in the second minute but had set the tone and did not fall short thereafter.
It was Burgess who charged onto Sinfield's well-timed pass to break and put Eastmond over between the posts, Sinfield adding the extras.
Sinfield almost went in himself when New Zealand full-back Lance Hohaia allowed the Leeds captain's towering kick to bounce but he just failed to re-gather.
On the back of two penalties, the visitors responded through Bryson Goodwin's 15th-minute try, Fox getting caught out as he shot in from his wing as they shipped it wide.
Goodwin missed the conversion attempt but levelled with a penalty on the half-hour mark.
However, with brutish Huddersfield prop Eorl Crabtree now on casually tossing Kiwi runners around with ease, and Sinfield dummying through but lacking support, Fox then atoned for his mistake by striking with a quickfire double which effectively settled the contest.
The Rovers man had been left out of the opening two games but grabbed his opportunity at the Galpharm.
Stand-off Sam Tomkins did brilliantly to pick up a poor pass on the last and hoist a hanging crossfield kick while under real pressure from Issac Luke.
The ball sailed over the head of a back-pedaling Goodwin and the alert Fox dived to touch down in the 34th minute.
Just five minutes later he was in again. Hohaia – who had destroyed England in the World Cup semi-final – had a nightmare under the high ball with winger Sam Perrett equally inadequate as the hosts adopted the tactic of peppering them with towering kicks.
Jeff Lima made a hash of Sinfield's next effort and from the resulting scrum Eastmond's perfect long pass gave Bridge just enough room to get on the outside of Junior Sau and put Fox in at the corner with a classic piece of play.
Sinfield, switched back to loose on James Roby's arrival, improved both scores to put them in 18-6 at the hooter although New Zealand – who looked a pale shadow of the side that won the World Cup and drew with Australia two weeks earlier – finally sparked early in the second period.
Luke darted clear up the middle from dummy half, finding a rare chink in the English defence, and Hohaia, Ben Matulino and Sau linked to put Matulino over.
Goodwin converted but Perrett dropped the restart, summing up their night.
Steve Kearney's side rarely found any cohesion offensively with a series of forward passes, handling errors and poor kicks killing them in the second period.
Tomkins read the play well to race out and nail captain Benji Marshall when the talented stand-off did look like finding some space out wide while Ryan Hall also got an important hand to divert Hohaia's threatening pass.
But England muscled up all night down the middle and Sinfield's penalty made sure.
England: Briscoe; Fox, Bridge, Shenton, Hall; Tomkins, Eastmond; Morley, Sinfield, Graham, Peacock, Ellis, Burgess. Substitutes: Crabtree, Wilkin, Westwood, Roby.
New Zealand: Hohaia; Perrett, Foran, Sau, Goodwin; Marshall, Fien; Nuuausaia, Leuluai, Moimoi, Soliola, Pritchard, Blair. Substitutes: Luke, Lima, Matulino, Waerea-Hargreaves.
Referee: T Alibert (France).
Email to a friend
Print this page- Leeds lose Ward to Palace: Is there anyone they can afford now?
- Sheffield Wednesday leaving it late to hijack Leeds United over Ward
- As Snodgrass dithers over Leeds, Warnock throws a lifeline
- Ball is in Leeds United’s court over contract - Snodgrass
- Police turning blind eye to Asian voter fraud, says MP
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: East
