England has dodged a bullet in the shape of a brilliant late comeback from Tonga to scrape into the Rugby League World Cup final with a 20‑18 victory in last night's semi‑final in Auckland.
Trailing 20‑0 with eight minutes remaining, Tonga produced an incredible comeback to score three tries in five minutes, and were denied a fourth on the final siren, to fall agonisingly short of booking a historic World Cup Final berth.
Four‑pointers to Tevita Pangai Junior, Siliva Havili and Tuimoala Lolohea sent the 30,003‑strong crowd at Mount Smart Stadium into mayhem and very nearly saw Tonga continue their incredible unbeaten run.
Andrew Fifita lost ball in a last‑gasp charge at the line – before regathering and planting the ball in the England in‑goal – was ruled a lost ball rather than a strip, despite protests from the Tongan players.
For England, it ends a two‑decade absence from the World Cup Final, booking them a place against defending champions Australia in Brisbane.
Spurred on by another brilliant performance from fullback Gareth Widdop, England scored three tries and up until the final 10 minutes had defended their line brilliantly.
The final between the Kangaroos and England will be held at 10pm next Saturday.
