Lam - Devastating decision

PNG coach Adrian Lam bemoaned some refereeing decisions which he believed may have cost his side an historic win.

Coach proud of his team, disappointed in officials

Papua New Guinea coach Adrian Lam bemoaned some refereeing decisions which he believed may have cost his side an historic win over England in their World Cup opener. The former Wigan stand-off watched his side perform heroically before going down 32-22 in Townsville. But the Kumuls had a try controversially chalked off for a forward pass when they were 16-12 up early in the second half, a decision which may well have changed the outcome of the match. Lam said: "That was devastating, it would have put us 10 points ahead if we had got the conversion as well. "That was a real hurt but we hung in there. A couple more decisions going our way and it's game on. I thought their defence was a lot better in the second half. "I thought we could have got a few more penalties for offside." But as regards his side's display, Lam added: ""I'm really proud of them, we've come from a long way to where we are tonight. "We wanted a win and had a couple of bounces, or referee's decisions gone our way, it could have been that."