One of the very best games I've ever seen for intensity, brute force and skill.

Can't praise the players highly enough.

I don't think anyone had a 'bad' game.

Sam B was unbelievable.
Graham was outstanding.

NZ showed individual brilliance that got them over (that 1st NZ try.... wow) but as a team England deserved better and played better.

Nobody mentioned it, but did Ablett even get on?

Tomkins, Widdop, Sinfield, Graham, both Burgesses, Hill, Westwood, O'Loughlin - all had great games. New Zealand just had that little extra. Brilliant game. Final should be a cracker too.

I thought England played very well today. We are just short of a bit of quality in the outside backs and halves but you can't fault the effort and I thought our structure looked good too, it made the most of our strengths so I'm happy with McNamara as coach. Games like that are won and lost on fractions, if Hall's interception had stuck he would have gone the length and game over.

Chris Hill deserves huge credit because he is playing alongside some top class forwards but he doesn't look overshadowed. I was at the game with some RU fans today and had been going on about how great the Burgesses were but they were massively impressed with Hill.

Westwood we have known for a while you can rely on him at whatever level he is playing to step up and deliver.

I look forward to seeing how England can try and improve in the coming years, my main Warrington hope is Ratchford if he can really develop his game he could be the man to bring some quality to our halves (although Widdop was good today it has to be said).

Before the tournament I feared we would go down by 40+ points in the semis but I came away from today thinking tbh we were a better side than NZ, so I am very impressed.

Well said Sally, and very simply summed up. Me to very impressed with commitment, skill level, intensity,desire. Anybody from the dark side watching that must have wondered where RL can unearth prop forwards with the skill package that we displayed today. Of course the answer is simple really on the amateur fields of Wigan, Liversedge and St Helens

I can remember when we signed Hill saying on here and elsewhere that he would play for England in the RLWC, most laughed at me.

If only Westwoood had managed to get across the whitewash towards the end and seal the win, it would have been incredible. Don't think I have ever been so gutted about losing a game, but what an amazing spectacle from start to finish. It is easy to go on about the missed conversion or kick down field, but to criticise individual performances or moments in the game would do the game and sport a huge disservice.

Sat next to me were a few blokes from Watford who had only watched one game prior to yesterday. They were completely blown away by everything about it. Probably the best test match we have seen since Sydney Football Stadium test back in 2006.

A few random, disjointed thoughts;

That was a fantastic advertisement for RL, both on TV (wonder what the audience was ?) and at Wembly.

You don't realise how much talent we are losing to Oz until you see all our players on the pitch. Burgess was outstanding and Graham was excellent. Add to that a very good Widdop and the loss of Tomkins. Is it one of the factors in the declining interest in our 'regular' games as well ?

I didn't realise just how poor Chase was until I saw him 'not play'. I think he would have crabbed around for 15 minutes, got splattered, and then become an anonymous bystander for the rest of the match. Widdop was direct and gave Sinfield much needed time and space.

Problem for me will be returning to SL next year and watching low intensity matches, with loads of mistakes, and wishing I was watching the Eng / NZ match again.

The TV audience peaked with 2.83m/27.3% at 2.50pm. Money couldn't buy an advert for the game like that.

Agreed, Widdop was excellent and I hope this is the end of Chase's England career.

The answer to your problem is to subscribe to Premier Sports... the intensity of the NRL has gripped me much more than Super League does (still religiously follow the Wire though). Roll on 2014!

If only Ben Westwood's arm was 2 inches longer! I was convinced he was going to score....

I feel sorry for Ben that we didn't progress yesterday, England's current pack is immense and he's a vital part of that (Farrell wouldn't offer the same, IMO), but he's the wrong side of 30 now and international caps may be limited in the future. If we do kick on from yesterday and challenge Aus / NZ, Benny is unlikely to be part of that.

I think that might be his last cap. He's not going to be around in four years time, so we might as well promote a younger player into the England setup now.

Agree.
It's time for Sinfield, Burrow, Westwood and O'Loughlin to say goodbye.

Both were magnificent but I think the whole England team were in all fairness, it was just very, very unlucky in the end. The England pack is in my opinion the best in the world, Widdop had a great game and should be better in 4 years and Sinfield had his best game as a half in an England shirt (the charge out at the end was silly though). I can't really fault any of them, sure there are ifs, buts and maybes about some decisions but that's sport and we have to credit New Zealand for their efforts too. What a fantastic advertisement for Rugby League to be put out on the BBC surely that must have won over some new fans.

The most promising thing for me is that most of the key players on the pitch were all young enough to be in at their peak in 2017, Charnley, 3 Burgesses, Watkins, Tomkins, Hall, Widdop, Hill, Graham and more all played well and will be way better for the experience and hopefully Jack Reed will be fit next time too. The only real exceptions are Benny and O'Loughlin.

I never thought I would be saying this before the tournament but I would back McNamara to have another crack at it next time round and I genuinely think that if we have a good run with injuries and can get our strongest team out we have a great chance of winning it it's a long time to wait though.

Chris Hill & Super Ben did Warrington proud, in fact England were very very good especially Hill, Westwood, Graham & S Burgess!

I hope it's goodbye to Chase and Sinfield.
With Westwood and O'Loughlin I'd keeep them on for a couple of years. Better to introduce younger players whilst experienced heads are still out on the field to help them. Hill was outstanding.
Also I hope it's goodbye to McNamara.
As Smith won't be in for the England job, who do you Wire fans think should be appointed?

I don't understand this whole "if X isn't going to be around in 4 years he should be dropped now". Internationals should be about competing with the best players you have, it's not just about one tournament every four years.

International league is in a bit of a sad state if we have Tri Nations or Ashes series in the meantime but they are just used as trials or friendlies to experiment with players...surely a Test match jersey should mean more than that.

If some young player wants Westwood's England jersey why not let him prove he's better than Westwood in Super League. Westwood's the old man so why doesn't the young pretender own him in SL and prove his case rather than being gifted a spot in the hope that he will get better just by playing games against the Aussies.

If you get better the more you play teh Aussies then how good is Westwood gonna be in 4 years time.

As far as new England coaches go, who would want it, but I'd go for Daryll Powell.

Shaun Wane.

He did the double with a Wigan side that was by no means an all time great team packed with stars.

I would have Wane as England coach without hesitation, or if Smith left us I would have him as Wire coach tbh.

I agree for England but not for Wire. Wane works better when he has passion for his team.

I thought the performance of every member of the pack varied from excellent to superb.
It was a great team performance all round but, as has already been said, we lack quality at half back and centre. Kevin Sinfield is a tactically aware player of the first order but, at this level, there is no substitute for pace and speed off the mark which, sadly, he does not have. Widdop I have not seen enough of to comment but does he have that X factor?
Chaise is a flair player who against lesser opposition looks good but, at this level, he is found out because the opposition know more what he is about than his team mates do.
Watkins has all the attributes but, at the moment he can be defensively naive and lacks aggression. His defensive awareness has improved though and he should develop into
the real thing.
Cudjoe is baffling because he can be outstanding but all too often, in big games, he becomes anonymous. He has even been anonymous on this thread.
All that said I thought we were the better team on the day and were unlucky to lose.
A contributory factor was the atrocious performance of the referee who made even the clowns we have in Super League look good. There is no way that the penalty count reflected the relative indiscipline of the two teams. So many tries are scored on the back of penalties, not to mention the cumulative fatigue of having to cede territory and defend your own line or niggling from the opposition that goes unpunished, that high standards of refereeing are essential and poor and partial standards have a vital effect, both directly and indirectly, on the outcome of the game.
We have become used to inconsistent refereeing performances in Super League but I thought this ref was diabolical. You can stand controversial decisions but not so many inexplicable ones.
The future though looks bright with an outstanding pack and plenty of young forward talent coming through, and packs, usually, win matches.

I thought he gave some dodgy decisions for & against both sides...amazingly he is up for Ref of the Year alongside Mr Silverwood.

Ref of the year? On the evidence of his performance in the WC semi this has got to be a sick joke.
Refereeing standards are the achilles heel of both codes of rugby. It is so frustrating when the best efforts of finely honed, exquisitely skilled athletes can be, and very often are, thwarted by the incompetence of the man with the whistle who, so often, affects the result.

Wireone, have a look on the Warrington Guardian webpage under "Two Wire players up for international awards ". All will be revealed if you read on.

Ninearches.
I never for one minute doubted your word and I apologise if I gave that impression.
However you have to doubt the sanity of these awards and wonder how they come up with the nominations. I think many of them are dreamed up by journalists to sell papers and increase viewing figures.

Exactly, Wireone !