Inglis: England outdid us

Inglis: Surprised by England

England outdid us in the forwards in the second half and played us off the park but, at the end of the day, we were lucky enough to scrape home with a win.

Greg Inglis
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Australian match-winner Greg Inglis admits England played them off the park in the second half of their Four Nations victory in Wigan.

An Inglis-inspired performance gave the Kangaroos a 26-0 lead at half-time but England fought back after the break to earn a more respectable final score of 26-16.

The victory effectively booked Australia a place in the Elland Road final with only a major upset against France able to stand in their way.

England and New Zealand will battle it out for the other spot in the November 14 decider when they face each other at Huddersfield's Galpharm Stadium on Saturday.

"England surprised us, they had a couple of tricks up their sleeve," said Inglis.

Lucky

"We were caught off guard and didn't react very well. I don't think we took our foot off the gas, we just didn't complete our sets and do what we spoke about at half-time.

"England outdid us in the forwards in the second half and played us off the park but, at the end of the day, we were lucky enough to scrape home with a win."

Australia captain Darren Lockyer believes England's second-half performance at the DW Stadium will give them a vital boost ahead of their clash with the Kiwis.

"They'll get a lot of confidence out of that," he said. "A lot our guys hadn't played England here in the UK. It was a different experience for them.

"If you ask them, they'd say England were much tougher than they were last year."

Close game

New South Wales-born Inglis says the game in Huddersfield on Saturday could go either way and the Australians are not ruling out a rematch with England in the final.

"They've a fair chance, games like that are all 50-50," he said.

Australia's debutant David Shillington is slightly less optimistic about England's chances, though the prop does believe it will be a close contest.

"I think New Zealand will get over them," he said. "They were very skilful and aggressive against us.

"It will be interesting next week. England have a very good chance. I think it will be a close game."