The presentations are taking place.
Boyd Cordner wins the man of the match award, which is hard to argue with - though it could equally have been a handful of others.
England now take the stage looking as downbeat as you’d expect. But they gave it everything tonight and shouldn’t have any regrets.
Sam Burgess has a few words, thanking all and sundry. He then turns to his teammates: “We’ve created some great memories. I love you all.”
Now the Aussies take to the podium before Cameron Smith takes to the mic. He thanks England, “Wayne” and many more. “Great effort, fellas, you should be very proud of your effort tonight.”
He then remembers to congratulate the Jillaroos which is a good touch. “A nice little double-up for the Aussies.”
To his teammates he praises them for winning 13 Tests in a row as part of the team’s “vow” to get Australia back on top.
As Australia lift the trophy to the strains of INXS’s New Sensation I shall take my leave.
Thank you all for joining me tonight. Cheerio.
I’ll leave you with our man John Davidson’s match report:
And here’s Aaron Bower’s piece on England:
Updated
Jubilation!#AUSvENG#RLWC2017 pic.twitter.com/xxEcbj3Rcp
— RLWC2017 (@RLWC2017) December 2, 2017
James Graham:
“It’s a tough one to take but both teams played really well. Six-nil doesn’t advertise a great game but what a spectacle.”
Gareth Widdop:
“We’ve sacrificied a lot and worked so hard and we were so close tonight. Disappointed but very proud of the boys and the effort they put in.”
“We created a fair few line breaks but couldn’t finish them. They scrambled well. We’ve come a long way in a few years and we’ll keep improving. We’ll have to move on.”
I reckon they earned some respect with that performance. Couldn’t have really played any better.
— Steve Bugess (@steveburgess23) December 2, 2017
Cameron Smith:
“It’s amazing to finally get a World Cup victory on home soil. A lot of hard work has gone into it. This was one of the toughest games of my career. We wanted to put ourselves back to number one and we’ve gone back to back now and I’m very happy to have the Kangaroos as the best team in the world.”
On defence? “We spoke in the first meeting of our campaign about defence. It wins matches and tournaments as well. We’ve conceded 16 points over 6 games which is remarkable. I don’t know how many tackles England had inside out 20m zone but it was plenty and we kept turning them around.”
Well, they will not want to hear this right now because it always sounds like condescension, but England were incredibly brave and committed in defeat. They came much closer than most thought they would. They hustled and hassled and got into Australia’s grille all game. You’d think you’d be a big chance of the win when you keep the Kangaroos to just six points, and so they were. But England just couldn’t break the line despite a lot of possession down the stretch. Games turn on small moments, and an ankle tap by Josh Dugan on Kallum Watkins deep in the second half was one of those.
As they’ve shown all tournament, Australia match their attacking prowess with defensive steel. I think I’m right in saying they haven’t given up a point in every second half this tournament.
Full-time: Australia 6-0 England
Australia have won the World Cup!
80 min: A great bumping run from Holmes gets Australia over their own 30m. Cronk kicks from his own 40m and Lomax returns.
England spin it right, to Widdop, Watkins, McGillvary. He’s tackled. England come back inside and start tossing it around like a hot potato. Back to the right now, as the crowd count down from 10 seconds remaining. England shift right but Widdop’s pass to McGillvary is ruled forward! That’s it. It’s over!
Updated
79 min: What was that?! On the third tackle Gale tried to grubber in behind for a charging Currie but he put too much on it and Australia, through Chambers, cleaned up.
78 min: A high, high kick drops down Slater’s throat, but he over-ran it slightly and had to take it lying down. Good catch.
What’s this? Chambers knocks on 40m out from Australia’s line! It looked like a high shot from Sam Burgess what caused it, but there’s no whistle.
77 min: McGuire and Cordner get Australia to the halfway line. Cronk tries to find touch but it takes a ricochet. England dive on it 20m out from their own line. Time is running out for England.
75 min: Lomax scurries across his own 20m line after intercepting a Morgan touchfinder and he’s pulverised by Gillett and Frizell.
Silly from Morgan. He strips Tom Burgess of the ball as England were struggling to get out of their own half. Penalty England.
But from 30m out Ton Burgess coughs it up after Graham bends him in half. That’s England’s 11th error. Tom Burgess has hands like feet.
74 min: England work it out from their own line. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Australia go for a drop-goal soon. One more point could seal the match.
Gagai runs the ball back to his own 20m after a deep England kick.
73 min: Tom Burgess knocks on on the second tackle!
Updated
72 min: England on the attack deep in Australia’s half and Widdop throws a long ball to his right - but Holmes intercepts! Only to drop it before he really had it in his arms! Had he taken that he would surely have raced 70m to score.
But his attempt to win the ball means that England now have the scrum feed 30m out from Australia’s line.
71 min: This time it’s Smith trying to control the pace of the game. He steers a touch-finder to within 5m of the England line. Bateman, I think it was, could have made a play at that but he didn’t want to be the guy who messed up.
70 min: England march 70 metres before Gale’s kick in behind is bravely claimed by Slater.
69 min: Australia get to the England 30m line where Cronk tries to calm things down by finding the touchline. What a frenetic 10m we’ve had! England have come so close to levelling this.
67 min: McGillvary goes close as England apply some real pressure. And from under the Aussie posts Widdop is first off the ruck to attempt a long pass to his right. He hoped to see McGillvary running on to it. What he did see was the ball dropping from the air like a shot duck and dribbling over the sideline.
66 min: Huge moments! Watkins burst into the clear and with 50m out and no-one in front of him he looked set to score. But a diving Dugan just clipped his ankle and brought him down! A few tackles later the referee ruled six to go in England’s favour but Widdop can’t have heard the call as he kicked across field - only for Australia to clean it up.
Updated
64 min: That was an exhausted looking play from Australia. From 20m out Cronk tried to chip ahead for Slater but his kick went straight up in the air and Slater had to retreat to get close to it, which he didn’t.
61 min: Hill sees the line after racing on to a short ball from Burgess but it’s as if two heavy doors shut in his face. Moments later Dugan does ever so well to run a kick out of his own in-goal and into the field of play. This game is being played at a ferocious pace.
Updated
60 min: Australia knock-on 40m out from their own line!
59 min: After Australia take an England kick 80m in five sets, Smith dinks a kick in behind and Cronk comes oh so close to forcing it at full stretch. As it is, the kick goes dead giving England the restart.
From 10m out, Roby scoots from dummy-half but he drops the ball after Woods collars him. But was Woods in an offside position? I think so, but it’s Australia’s ball all the same.
56 min: A piggy back penalty to Australia has them back on the attack. On the last, Cronk passes left to Dugan but he is hit by two tacklers and he can’t get the pass away. Turnover.
55 min: After Watkins tries to slide through a couple of tackles on the right, Gale grubbers inside to Brown, but he’s called off-side moments after Gillett performed a slips catch to clean up.
54 min: Gale and Widdop combine to give Hall a sniff of the line but England are forced back inside where a kick rebounds off an Aussie boot into the arms of Cam Smith standing in an off-side position. England penalty, 10m out.
53 min: Morgan, 10m out, slides inside Hill with Whitehead around his legs. But Morgan is then penalised for passing off the ground. A fair call. England surviving some sustained pressure now.
52 min: Hall takes another Cronk bomb under pressure but he’s barely rewarded for it as he’s driven into his on in-goal. England with their third drop-out of the match.
51 min: A penalty to Australia gets them to the England 40m.
49 min: Whitehead runs into Gillett and it brings to mind a man running full pelt into an oil drum. Ouch.
48 min: No try! As Campbell-Gillard passed to Morgan, Whitehead was prevented from making a tackle on the Aussie forward by Smith standing in his way. I’m not sure Whitehead would have got near Campbell-Gillard, much less prevented the pass, but I’m not the ref.
47 min: Dugan takes the tap from the 20m restart (that ‘fizzer’ kick was caught by Duagn in his own in-goal). On just the second tackle Gillett busts them and he tries to leap over Widdop before being tackled 20m out. From the play the ball Campbell-Gillard veers right, before turning back inside and passing to Morgan who steps inside his man to score! Or does he? We’ve gone upstairs...
45 min: From 40m out Cronk goes straight through and gets to within 10m of the England line! Australia spin it left only for McGillvary to take an intercept and set off upfield! With Morgan close, he weaves this way and that before he’s rounded up on the halfway line. England can’t take advantage however and their kick on the last is a fizzer.
43 min: Widdop makes up for it! England hold Australia out for five tackles before Cronk kicks across field, dropping the ball under the black dot. With Slater bearing down on it Widdop leaps above the pack to catch the ball, landing heavily on his back.
Updated
Peeeeeeeep!
41 min: The second half starts like the first; this time it’s Campbell-Gillard getting smashed as he takes the first hit-up.
This could be a huge moment in this game. From 5m out from his line Widdop drops a long kick cold. No-one near him.
The second-half is about to get underway. This game is anyone’s.
As a summary of the first half, Australia have dominated possession and completed 92% of their sets. Considering that England will be happy with 6-0. That scoreline is mostly down to England’s defence. I’m of a mind, however, that Australia have not been particularly slick in attack. A few half busts here and there but they haven’t opened England up. For their part, England have not looked like scoring.
The ever-reliable Phil Withall has a bad feeling about this one. “I’ve a feeling that this game is going to go the same way as the group match,” he writes. “Heroic defensive efforts from England that will attract rightful praise but a disappointing defeat all the same.”
Half-time: Australia 6-0 England
It’s halftime, folks, and anyone’s game.
40 min: Australia come so close to scoring on the cusp of the break! Smith runs it on the last and throws a nice wide pass to Chambers who has England back-peddling. From 10m out he grubbers for Gagai but the kick bounces off Hall’s legs to Gillett but somehow the ball ends back in Hall’s hands.
But England knock on as they push out from their own line! Oh dear! Australia take it quickly and Cronk lines up for a drop-goal as the siren is about to sound but it is charged down.
38 min: Despite a good run by Slater down the right edge Australia are again forced to bomb on the last. Cronk’s towering kick gives Dugan a real chance and he jumps over the waiting McGillvary but Dugan just can’t take the ball cleanly. Knock on.
Updated
36 min: England blow a good opportunity. From within the Aussie 20m England put together a left-side sweep play but Brown passes behind Bateman and the ball hits the deck and the Aussies gain possession.
34 min: The Aussies work it out from their own line before Smith’s attempt at a 40/20 misses by about two metres.
England are doing well in defence so far. Yes, they’ve conceded a try, but considering Australia have dominated possession they’ll be happy enough with that. Australia have not been particularly expansive, far too often bombing for the corners.
31 min: Frizell with a strong carry, undermining somewhat a good England kick-chase. He’s a fine player, Frizell. Calves like Christmas hams.
An England offload slides straight through Graham’s legs like a greased pig. But England recover and Gale finds the touchline 10m out from the Aussie try-line.
29 min: Gale kicks a wobbly one which Holmes retrieves. On the last it’s another bomb and McGillvary takes this one safely moments before Michael Morgan bends him in half with a solid hit on the England try-line.
28 min: Slater with a half bust to get the Aussies out of their danger zone. On the last Cronk kicks again for Gagai but Hall takes another one under pressure.
26 min: A scrum is being set on the England 20m. They are taking their time, no doubt a consequence of the humidity and the fast pace of the game.
Australia, by the way, have had about 60% possession and they’ve completed 16 of 17 sets. It’s 9 of 12 for England.
24 min: Cronk chips for his wingers and is then drilled by Burgess who continues to drive him backwards into the turf. McGillvary takes the catch as Cronk grabs Burgess’ jumper as if to say, ‘I say, Sport, that was a tad excessive don’t you think?’
Updated
23 min: Watkins puts McGillvary into space on the right and the winger, 20m out, bumps off a couple of tacklers. But in freeing his arms to pass inside to Widdop the ball comes loose.
22 min: Penalty to England just inside their own half after Gillett is pinged for lying over the tackles player like a throw rug.
20 min: England go left but they run themselves into the corner. Hall is tackled just inside the corner flag and he loops a pass back inside just as he’s about to be pushed into touch. Bateman catches it but then is driven over the sideline.
18 min: Gales kicks to within 10m of the Aussie line but Gagai, just inside the touchline, takes the catch under pressure from Hall.
A break for England! Holmes is stripped as he takes a hit-out and the Aussies knock on as they try to recover the ball. England with a full set from 30m out.
Woods lies all over Chris Hill in front of the posts, deliberately giving away a penalty.
TRY! Australia 6-0 England (Cordner 15 min)
And the pressure tells, Cordner crashing over down the left channel after a fine short ball from Morgan. Widdop did his best to stop him but from that close he had little chance.
Smith converts from 12m wide of the left upright.
Cordner scores the first try of the final!#AUSvENG#RLWC2017 pic.twitter.com/7BqO3gQYzu
— RLWC2017 (@RLWC2017) December 2, 2017
Updated
13 min: On the last Ryan Hall shows Watkins how to catch a ball, taking a towering cross field bomb with Gagai all over him. He took it in his own in-goal but because he jumped from the field of play it will be another drop-out. Australia applying the pressure now.
11 min: Cronk almost slips through from a few metres out. Then McGuire almost carries two defenders over the stripe. On the last Cronk chips to his left wing where Watkins makes a meal, with dessert, out of the catch. It more or less falls through his hands and onto his head. It then bounces into the England in-goal where McGillvary swings a boot at it. And misses! Finally, Widdop forces the ball dead. England drop out.
10 min: The Kangaroos take the penalty tap from 20m out.
8 min: Australia throw it about stretching the ball from right to left and back again. But the white walls holds. On the last Cronk attempts a parabolic grubber kick that Widdop cleans up nicely in front of his own posts.
Making up for his error moments ago Gale reefs the ball from his own 30m and the ball sits up in the Aussie in-goal where Chambers fields it. Great kick.
Nevertheless, the Aussies take the ball straight back to the England 30m line and, on the last, Smith is caught by Gale, a high shot that causes both teams to come together in a knot of testosterone.
6 min: Smith, on the fourth, attempts a 40/20 but Widdop catches it just inside the sideline. On the last, England are harried into a mistake, Gale spilling the ball before he could get a kick away.
5 min: Another Cronk bomb, which Chambers chases. Widdop bravely waits under it with Chambers bearing down on him like a lorry with a brick under the brake pedal. Widdop cops a big knock for his troubles but holds on to the pill.
Not a lot of imagination shown by the Aussies at this point.
4 min: Widdop fields a long Cronk kick and feeds Ryan Hall for his first touch of the night. Roby kicks on the fourth and Slater is wrapped up on his own 20m line.
2 min: On the last of their first set, Australia, through Cronk, bomb from the 30m line but there are no Aussie chasers and the kick is defused easily.
Graham’s back in the action, taking a hit up. Tough man.
Peeeeeeep!
1 min: Australia kick off, and Graham takes the first hit up. And he’s crunched by Klemmer and looking very ginger for it. There’s blood running down his left cheek from the edge of his left eye.
We’re moments away, folks.
Sung loud and proud!#AUSvENG#RLWC2017 pic.twitter.com/zDFH4WOakI
— RLWC2017 (@RLWC2017) December 2, 2017
What a nice touch having Johnathan Thurston & Kevin Sinfield bring out the cup. I love rugby league. #RLWC2017 #AUSvENG
— Andy Pan (@Rewster7) December 2, 2017
Here come the two teams! And now, with arms linked, they stand for their respective national anthems.
The weather in Brisbane tonight is a typically warm 25%, with humidity at 72%. Here in Melbourne, rain is positively pounding down and it’s making such a racket on the tin roof above my head I can barely hear myself think.
If this live blog feed drops out at some stage it’s because I’ve had to grab hold of some driftwood to save myself.
The players are pacing around their respective dressing rooms like famished jungle cats before feeding time. As they begin to make their way onto Lang Park, how about a quick check of the other big Australia v England clash taking place tonight. Australia 2/138 at dinner:
As for the last time England/GB won the World Cup, that was 1972:
WHAT A DAY 🙌🏆
— England Rugby League (@England_RL) December 1, 2017
1972 was the last time Great Britain lifted the World Cup!
Tomorrow our boys can write their names in the history books 🤞 #BringItHome pic.twitter.com/1x9rjGfAf3
Jonny Wilkinson, a man who knows a thing or two about beating Aussies, throws his hat into the ring:
Hugely excited for @England_RL in tomorrow's World Cup final. Individually & as a team you've been immense. Finish in style!
— Jonny Wilkinson (@JonnyWilkinson) December 1, 2017
But the mountain is high. England have not beaten the Kangaroos in a Test since the group stages of the 1995 World Cup.
They’ve played 12 times since (including in the 1995 WC final, which Australia won 16-8).
Now a word from England’s try-scoring whizz, Jermaine McGillvary who has scored 12 tries in his past 10 Test appearances: “In 2016 my team finished bottom of the table and I didn’t have the greatest season but [Wayne Bennett] called me and said he believed in me. He’s the best coach I’ve had by far. His man management, the belief he’s instilled in me, I’ve played some of the best football of my life under him. I’ll do anything for Wayne.”
Australia’s Channel 7 just showed a graphic that highlighted the incredible feats of Smith, Cronk and Slater. All three, who played together as teenagers at Queensland side Norths Devils, have since forged an incredible career in combination.
They’ve played 233 NRL games together, 20 Tests, 15 Origins, 2 Premierships and 2 World Cup finals.
And here’s Cronk on a pre-recorded interview talking about putting his body on the line tonight: “It’s fair game. That’s part of my job. I’ll never shirk my responsibility. If it takes me to run into Sam Burgess 20 times and get whacked 20 times, as long as it creates a one-on-one for someone else ... I’ll do it every day of the week and twice on Sunday if I have to. It hurts and I don’t like it but that’s what my teammates expect. Our front rowers run through a brick wall every time I pass them the ball after kick off so the least I can do is put my body on the line for them.”
The ref tonight is Gerard Sutton. An Aussie. No doubt he was selected as he was deemed the best man for the job. That said, he’s an Aussie. And Australia are playing tonight. It just invites controversy doesn’t it? Surely someone from NZ could have done the job.
Tonight’s teams:
Your #RLWC2017 Final Team List! pic.twitter.com/wkZb1WWsct
— RLWC2017 (@RLWC2017) December 2, 2017
As you can see, Australia go in unchanged from the team that dominated Fiji in the semis. I don’t for a moment think this is up there with the best Australian sides we’ve seen, not least because Johnathan Thurston and Greg Inglis are watching from the sidelines. But Australian rugby league has the depth of a drunk philosopher and certainly from a long-suffering England supporter’s point of view it must seem that Australia has a endless conveyer belt of top talent to call upon.
Captaining the side, as usual, is Cameron Smith who this week was named Golden Boot, the international rugby league player of the year. If Australia win tonight Smith will cap a decent year that has already seen him captain the Melbourne Storm to the NRL title and Queensland to the State of Origin title.
England have been forced into a couple of changes from the team that started their semi against Tonga last week. James Roby comes in as starting hooker in place of Josh Hodgson, who was injured during the Tonga game. A few days ago, in a big blow for the tourists, captain Sean O’Loughlin was ruled out with a quad strain. As such, the England pack has reshuffled. Sam Burgess, now captain, moves to lock, with Ben Currie taking his place in the second-row. Chris Heighnington and Jonny Lomax come onto the bench.
First win of the night goes to England, Sam Burgess winning the toss.
Sam wins the toss for @England_RL.#AUSvENG#RLWC2017 pic.twitter.com/hxSL40yVQc
— RLWC2017 (@RLWC2017) December 2, 2017
If you’re just catching up on the news, you may have missed the result of the Women’s World Cup final which ended about an hour ago.
WORLD CHAMPS!#GoTheRoos 🇦🇺
— Jillaroos (@AusJillaroos) December 2, 2017
#WRLWC2017 #Jillaroos pic.twitter.com/hS1g3geboX
Player of the match was Australia’s five-eighth, Ali Brigginshaw. Incidentally, Brigginshaw is also a national boxing champion, having taken up the noble art when recuperating from a broken leg. She’s since had six fights for six wins and is the reigning Australian Golden Gloves Novice A category 69kg champion.
Here’s a match report:
And a slice of the action – Australia’s opening try:
What a Try to open the game! #Jillaroos 6-0 after 9 minutes. #GoTheRoos 🇦🇺 #WRLWC2017 pic.twitter.com/Zk2aacxCKu
— Jillaroos (@AusJillaroos) December 2, 2017
Tonight/This morning, England fans – most of whom have just finished their morning calisthenics and settled down to bite their nails furiously – should dare to dream. Upsets happen all the time, bigger ones than this would be.
Didn’t a bunch of US college kids beat the USSR to 1980 Winter Olympic ice hockey gold? Didn’t a doughy tomato-can called Buster Douglas knock out Mike Tyson? Wasn’t it just two seasons ago that Leicester City won the Premier League?
And even a million to one chance is still a chance, right?
England CAN win in Brisbane tonight. But to do so they will need to get in Australia’s face, to rattle them, to be brave in defence and braver still with the ball in hand. And they cannot let up for a single minute.
We all saw what happened last week against Tonga. England spent 72 minutes showing the rugby league world that they were as ready as they could be to push Australia all the way in the final. They then spent the final 8 minutes showing us why they weren’t.
Australia on the other hand will be supremely confident. They’ve been there and done that, they’ve a steel forged in the furnace of the NRL and Origin, and they have Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater, three of the best league players of this, or any, generation. This will surely be their last international game together (last game together, period), so they won’t be leaving anything on the table.
Playing in front of their home fans it Australia will take some beating.
Now, as always, feel free to drop me a line. Got a tip for tonight? How do you combat the nerves? Favourite World Cup memories?
Caaaallll me: paul.connolly@theguardian.com (or paul.connolly.casual@guardian.co.uk). You can also tweet me on @PFConnolly.
Pre-ramble
Forty-five years.
Not that many of you will need reminding but that’s how long it’s been since England (well, Great Britain to be precise, but let’s keep that Pandora’s Box sealed) last held the Paul Barrière Trophy as Rugby League World Cup winners.
Forty-five years! That’s a long time. Long enough to be dragged screaming into the light, to endure your entire schooling years, to fall in love as if down a flight of stairs, to suffer through heartbreak and a Smiths period, to travel the world on a shoestring and collect a vast catalogue of scatological stories with which to enthrall your friends, to fall in love with someone who loves you back, to move in together, to have your world turned inside out by kids, to nail yourself to a mortgage, to thicken around the middle, to concede your chances of getting picked for your country, in anything, have probably passed you by, to get a stent put in, to hate your job but worry about getting another one, at your age, to come to the conclusion that going to bed is the highlight of your day, and to look in the mirror at night and see not just your dad (or mum), but your mortality, staring, unblinkingly, back at you.
Forty-five years! Many looking on will never have seen England as World Cup winners.
No wonder then that the England Rugby League is beating its shield with “Bring It Home”, a rallying cry to get the men in red and white over the line tonight in Brisbane, where they will face the goliaths of international league, reigning World Cup holders, Australia.
Run at them harder, tackle them harder...Don't leave anything out there! 💪#BringItHome #RLWC2017 pic.twitter.com/xCVIQp9cuM
— England Rugby League (@England_RL) November 30, 2017
Who’s excited?
As the late Big Kev used to say:
KICK-OFF: 7pm LOCAL (8pm AEDT, 9am GMT)
Paul will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s an interesting piece on England coach Wayne Bennett’s secretive but hugely influential right-hand man, Scott Barker:
Updated
