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Sam Burgess took out the official Man of the Match award in England's heartbreaking World Cup semi-final loss to New Zealand.

Every player rated from New Zealand's thrilling last-minute 20-18 win over England in a classic World Cup semi-final.

ENGLAND

1. Sam Tomkins: Had his quietest game of the World Cup to date, but was nevertheless impeccable under the high ball and saved his side a try in the early stages. 7.5

2. Josh Charnley: Threatened in attack in his second game of the tournament. 7

3. Kallum Watkins: Scored a try with good angling run but otherwise had had little involvement. 6.5

4. Leroy Cudjoe: Little impact in attack, his three errors and two penalties putting his side under pressure. 5.5

5. Ryan Hall: Threatened to run away in space so many times only to be denied by a forward pass or knock on in the lead up. Did little wrong but repeatedly denied opportunities, to his immense frustration. 6

6. Gareth Widdop: A good running five-eighth's game; it's hard to argue England coach Steve McNamara erred by including him ahead of incumbent Rangi Chase. 6.5

7. Kevin Sinfield: An eventful game saw him go from villain to hero to villain. Started with some poor options before two brilliant try assists put his side in command. But a missed – and gettable – conversion chance proved critical and if we're being harsh he had a chance to stop the final try to Johnson. Can still be proud of his efforts. 8

8. James Graham: Repeated huge defensive plays in a frantic first half and was instrumental in England holding out several attacking raids from NZ. Finished as the match's top tackler and second-top metre getter. 9

9. James Roby: Forming half of a dynamic dummy-half pairing with Rob Burrow, he forced one drop out with a quality kick and had some good touches outside. 7.5

10. Sam Burgess: Countless quality touches and runs, plenty of offloads, and a massive game-high 206 metres. Managed to shade arch rival SBW in their head-to-head battle, a deserving Man of the Match despite the result. 9.5

11. Brett Ferres: Served up some tricky runs, his fend proving a handful. 6.5

12. Ben Westwood: It wouldn't be an English Test match without a banged up Westwood having blood on his shirt and a bandage round his head. The tough second rower was in everything and a key cog in a strong English effort. 8

13. Sean O'Loughlin: Supported well to score his side's first try, but a knock on with a try in the offing was costly. 6.5

14. Rob Burrow: Made a couple of good runs when he came on after 35 minutes but was underutilised. 6

15. George Burgess: His slap to the head of SBW gave away the last penalty that led to Shaun Johnson's match-winning try. He was otherwise underused but still produced some trademark bumping runs. 7

16. Chris Hill: Another solid game from England's Mr Consistent. 6.5

17. Carl Ablett. Barely sighted off the bench. 5

 

NEW ZEALAND

1. Kevin Locke: Produced some brilliant tackles when his side desperately needed them. Also set up a try early in the second half in a good all-round game. 7.5

2. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck: A stack of metres and two tries continued his golden run at this tournament. 8

3. Dean Whare: Will be remembered for his miracle flick infield for one of Tuivasa-Sheck's tries but it will overshadow what was otherwise a great all-round game, with some quality touches and plenty of good defensive moments. 8

4. Bryson Goodwin: The other half of a quality centre pairing, the Rabbitoh has really lifted this tournament. 7.5

5. Jason Nightingale: Provided some great moments in his uniquely awkward way. He may lack Vatuvei's power but rarely put a foot wrong. 6.5

6. Kieran Foran: Surprisingly ineffective. Picked a poor occasion to have his worst game of the tournament but Kiwi fans will be hoping he's got it out of his system now. 5

7. Shaun Johnson: Put his stamp on the match in the final minute with the match-winning try and clutch conversion but was hit-and-miss up to that point. 6.5

8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves: Brought plenty of fire during the ferocious opening salvos but little impact thereafter. 6.5

9. Issac Luke: Far more rocks than diamonds on this occasion from Luke; he nearly opened the try scoring with a cheeky grubber but also put a kick-off out on the full. A brilliant line break followed by a lost ball summed up his night. 5.5

10. Jesse Bromwich: 126 metres, two offloads, 16 tackles, with no errors or penalties conceded. Job done by the big man. 7.5

13. Simon Mannering: The skipper got through a stack of tackling but did little otherwise. 6

12. Sonny Bill Williams: Only just shaded by Sam Burgess in the man-of-the-match stakes, SBW was – perhaps surprisingly – New Zealand's top tackler by a wide margin with 38, adding a massive 136 metres and six offloads. Heavily involved from start to finish; without him New Zealand do not win. 9

17. Elijah Taylor: A stack of tackling in a frenetic opening stanza but hardly sighted otherwise. 6

14. Frank-Paul Nuuausala: A few trademark hard-hitting runs when he got on but wasn't heavily used. 6

15. Sam Kasiano: Provided the English defence with some headaches but a couple of errors and a penalty let the pressure off. 5.5

16. Ben Matulino: Plenty of strong running off the bench, he may be used to starting but it made little difference. 7

19. Alex Glenn: Provided some good angle running in his limited time on the field. 6

Acknowledgement of Country

National Rugby League respects and honours the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the lands we meet, gather and play on.

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