Monday 25 November 2013

Rugby. World Cup 2013: England looking to 'build'

New Zealand's Shaun Johnson
The Rugby Football League will conduct a thorough review as it attempts to build on "solid foundations" evident during England's World Cup campaign.
England were beaten in the semi-finals by New Zealand, who scored a converted try in the dying seconds of Saturday's match for a dramatic 20-18 victory.
"To get to within 20 seconds of reaching the final is an achievement in itself," said RFL chief Nigel Wood.


Defeat leaves England 'bitterly disappointed'
"Our challenge now is to build on the solid foundations we have laid down."
England were on course for Saturday's final at Old Trafford when Shaun Johnson scored, adding the decisive conversion with the last kick of the match.
Sean O'Loughlin, Kallum Watkins and Sam Burgess had scored tries for England, while Roger Tuivasa-Sheck crossed twice for the Kiwis.
An RFL statement said it would "instigate a detailed review of every element of England's operation and performance".
And coach Steve McNamara is yet to decide whether he will continue in his role.
The 42-year-old, who took charge in 2010 after previously serving as assistant, is now out of contract.
McNamara described the job as "prestigious" and added on BBC Radio 5 live's Sportsweek programme: "It would be difficult to relinquish it, but I have to sit back and reflect and see which way my career will go."

New Zealand's Dean Whare
Miracle pass leads to Kiwi comeback
Meanwhile, full-back Sam Tomkins said England need to play the Kiwis and Australia more often if they are to win the World Cup.
"We need more tough tests, we are only going to get better that way," said the 24-year-old, who is joining New Zealand Warriors after a five-year spell at Wigan.
"The Aussies and Kiwis are playing each other mid-season, whereas we have a year off when we are playing Wales and the like and it doesn't help us.
"We're not as consistent as we can be or should be, but in big games we've proved that we can compete.
"We competed with the Aussies for the majority of the game [during the group stage] and then slipped away, and on Saturday it was literally the last seconds. It could have gone either way, it could have been us jumping and screaming at the end."

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