Rugby League World Cup Final: Australia deny England in tense final

Match Stats: Australia 6-0 England

Australia tries: Cordner (15)
Conversions: Smith (16)

Match report

England fell agonisingly short in their attempt to end a generation's wait for glory as Australia ground out a tense 6-0 victory in the World Cup final.

The Kangaroos were forced to defend for their lives in an epic battle of Brisbane before securing their 11th title out of a possible 15, winning the World Cup on home soil for the first time since 1977 in front of a crowd of 40,033 at the Suncorp Stadium.

It rounded off a second year unbeaten under coach Mal Meninga but it might have been very different but for an ankle tap on Kallum Watkins when he looked all set to score an equalising try 16 minutes from the end.

Without skipper Sean O'Loughlin and first-choice hooker Josh Hodgson, it was a brave effort from England in a tough, uncompromising final but In the end they went the way of Denis Betts' team of 1995 to leave the national team still looking for their first World Cup triumph since 1972.

The England players dropped in a heap at the final whistle, knowing they had left nothing on the pitch, their inspirational effort led by acting captain Sam Burgess and James Graham, England's most-capped player who was influential as ever on his 39th appearance.

Graham overcame a clash of heads with Matt Gillett after just five minutes and, along with fellow front rower Chris Hill set the lead in a brutal opening while England enjoyed big impact off the bench from Tom Burgess and Alex Walmsley.

The only try was the result of Australia's ability to mount pressure through back-to-back penalties and a goal-line drop-out, with Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Michael Morgan combining sweetly to get second rower Boyd Cordner charging through a gap in the England defence on 14 minutes.

Captain Smith added the conversion to make it 6-0 but England twice spurned chances to kick points and might have been at least level had they managed to find some composure once they reached the Australian 20-metre area.

Smith had a drop-goal attempt charged down on the stroke of half-time which suggested he knew the contest would remain in the balance.

Winger Jermaine McGillvary, who had scored in each of his country's previous 10 matches, showed glimpses of his danger in the first half and came up with a crucial relieving run five minutes into the second half after intercepting Josh Dugan's pass and juggling with the ball before sprinting 50 metres up field.

The contest might have been over a minute later when Australia stand-off Morgan took Jordan McLean's pass to sidestep his way past Gareth Widdop but referee Ben Thaler disallowed the try, ruling an obstruction by Smith in the build-up.

That kept England in the game and they went close to at least snatching a draw when Watkins, once more showing his international class, took Elliott Whitehead's pass to race clear only to lose his footing thanks to Dugan's ankle tap.

With Widdop probing intelligently, England were pressing right to the end but the green and gold held them out to hold onto a famous victory.

Match reaction

England's Gareth Widdop said: "We have sacrificed so much and worked so hard and we are certainly very disappointed but proud of the boys and the effort they put in.

"We created a fair few breaks but we just couldn't finish and it was our execution and in the end they were too good.

"We have certainly come a long way in the last couple of years with Wayne (Bennett) at the helm, from this year to last year we have certainly improved a lot and we are certainly going to keep improving.

"So I am so proud of the boys for the effort they have put in over the last seven weeks. It is very disappointing but we will have to move in from this."

England coach Wayne Bennett on his side's display: "I'm really proud of them.

"I thought the game was somewhere around State of Origin standard. They were exhausted but still found another effort.

"They were wonderful and it's a pity there has to be a loser. Nobody really loses, the scoreboard says they do but the effort and intensity from both teams was outstanding.

"That's what makes sport great, someone has got to win, someone has got to lose."

Australia's Cameron Smith: "It is amazing to finally get a World Cup victory on home soil, it has been quite a long time and a lot of hard work has gone into it.

"It was one of the toughest football games I have played in my entire career so it is a really pleasing victory for the boys.

"It has been a fairly hard road over the last two years, we wanted to put ourselves back to number one, we have got back-to-back World Cup victories now and I am very happy to have the Kangaroos as the best team in the world.

"We spoke in the very first meeting of this campaign about defence and that it wins matches and tournaments as well. We conceded 16 points over six games, that is a pretty remarkable effort, but especially tonight. I am really happy for all the boys."

Australia scrum-half Cooper Cronk after announcing his retirement from representative rugby league: "It just felt right. It's just a fitting end.

"When I announced I was leaving Melbourne, I thought this would be it anyway.

"I've had a fair ride - this is the best case scenario for me and the team moving forward."

England player ratings

GARETH WIDDOP: Another very impressive display, rock solid in defence apart from one handling error and provided a constant attacking threat. 8/10

JERMAINE McGILLVARY: Unable to add to his seven tries but was once more a handful with his relieving runs out of defence. 7

KALLUM WATKINS: Demonstrated his international class and went so close to scoring an equalising try. 8

JOHN BATEMAN: Defensively sound but again sadly found wanting on attack. 5

RYAN HALL: Few chances to run with the ball but rescued his side with a couple of exceptional high-ball takes. 7

KEVIN BROWN: Fell below his previous high standards before making way for the introduction of Jonny Lomax. 6

LUKE GALE: Another defeat on the big stage following his loss in Super League's Grand Final. A mixed bag of a performance, came up with some superb long-range grubber kicks but his distribution lacked accuracy at times. 6

CHRIS HILL: Tore into the Australians from the start to set a superb lead. 7

JAMES ROBY: A typically wholehearted effort as he made the most of the opportunity created by the injury to Josh Hodgson. 7

JAMES GRAHAM: Showed true warrior status on his 39th appearance. 8

BEN CURRIE: The big beneficiary of Sean O'Loughlin's absence, showed some nice touches. 7

ELLIOTT WHITEHEAD: Produced an enormous workload in defence to keep his side right in the game. 8

SAM BURGESS: As acting captain, led from the front although he was clearly a marked man on attack. 7

INTERCHANGE

ALEX WALMSLEY: Made a superb impact from the bench, tearing into the Kangaroos defence with gusto. 8

TOM BURGESS: Made some handling errors on his 20th cap but never stopped trying. 6

CHRIS HEIGHINGTON: Ever-reliable, the veteran forward made a handy contribution off the bench. 6

JONNY LOMAX: A late inclusion, he went on for the last 22 minutes and played at full-back to allow Widdop a greater chance to create. 7