New Zealand fended off a spirited comeback from England yesterday to advance to the rugby league World Cup final.
The Kiwis prevailed 32-22 after leading 16-0 early on to repeat their previous weekend’s victory over the English.
New Zealand will face the winner of today’s semi-final between tournament favorites Australia and Fiji in next Saturday’s final at Brisbane’s Lang Park.
PHOTO: AP
The Kiwis scored six tries to four, but England, stung by their 36-24 loss last weekend after leading 24-8, had their chances to pull off a stirring victory and salvage their faltering World Cup campaign.
It will be New Zealand’s third appearance in a World Cup final, having lost twice to Australia in 1988 and 2000 and it was only their fourth win in 12 World Cup encounters against England and Great Britain.
But England got a bad call from Australian referee Shayne Hayne midway through the second half that cost them a try when scrum-half Rob Burrow was called back after New Zealand full-back Lance Hohaia had spilled a high kick.
England immediately hit back when impressive Warrington center Martin Gleeson crashed over to trail the Kiwis by six points.
New Zealand cranked up the pressure with successive drop outs, before Jerome Ropati scored his second try in the 69th minute.
St Helens winger Ade Gardner had a nightmare match with his defective handling and it was his error that presented Ropati with his try.
England trailed 28-16 heading into the last 10 minutes and pulled back a converted try to Leeds Rhinos standoff Danny McGuire to give the Lions a sniff of forcing golden point extra-time with seven minutes left.
But New Zealand sealed their final spot when Benji Marshall scored with two minutes left.
It ended an under-achieving cup campaign for England.
They managed just one win, an unconvincing 10-point victory over Papua New Guinea, and three losses, including a Cup record 52-4 drubbing by Australia.
England stood up to New Zealand’s pre-match hakka after snubbing the Kiwis before last week’s match, when they opted to form a huddle and ignore the traditional war-dance.
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