TWITTER TALK: Fans react to England beating Tonga

England beat Tonga 20-18 to reach the final of the Rugby League World Cup for the first time in 22 years and fans have had a lot to say.

Wayne Bennett named an unchanged England side to the one that eased past Papua New Guinea in the quarter-finals last weekend, with Sean O’Loughlin captaining the side.

The Three Lions were 12-0 at half-time, with converted tries coming from Jermaine McGillvary and Gareth Widdop in the first half.

Widdop added a penalty goal for England shortly after the restart before John Bateman put them in a 20-0 advantage.

Tonga scored their first try of the game in the 72^nd through Tevita Pangai Jnr. They scored another through Siliva Havili before Tui Lolohea made it a nervy fish with two minutes left to play.

Andrew Fifita went over for Tonga late on but it was ruled out and England clinched a 20-18 win. The Three Lions meet Australia in the final next weekend.

TEAMS

Tonga: 1. Will Hopoate, 2. Daniel Tupou, 3. Michael Jennings, 4. Konrad Hurrell, 5. David Fusitu’a, 6. Tui Lolohea, 7. Ata Hingano, 8. Andrew Fifita, 9. Siliva Havili, 10. Sio Siua Taukeiaho, 11. Manu Ma’u, 12. Sika Manu (C), 13. Jason Taumalolo.

Interchange: 14. Sione Katoa, 15. Peni Terepo, 16. Tevita Pangai Jnr, 17. Ben Murdoch-Masila.

England: 1. Gareth Widdop, 2. Jermaine McGillvary, 3. Kallum Watkins, 4. John Bateman, 5. Ryan Hall, 6. Kevin Brown, 7. Luke Gale, 8. Chris Hill, 9. Josh Hodgson, 10. James Graham, 11. Sam Burgess, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Sean O’Loughlin (C).

Interchange: 14. Alex Walmsley, 15. Tom Burgess, 16. Ben Currie, 17. James Roby.

And here is how you reacted to the result on Twitter:

Ha ha almost a comeback to rival NewZealand in 2013!! Serious nail biter! Next week if they defend like they did for most of this match, they have a chance. Still room for improvement. See you next Saturday for the FINAL!! Go @England_RL

— John Fell (@johnjfell) November 25, 2017

Hats off to Tonga and their great fans ??????

— Bob Wilkinson (@Bobthefishwilki) November 25, 2017

My heart was in my mouth watching that

— Laura May (@lauramay2510) November 25, 2017

So close what a comeback from Tonga. Best RL World Cup match ever !!

— Jon Knighton (@Jon_Knighton) November 25, 2017

Respect to Tonga who never gave up and showed pure passion for this brilliant sport.

— Joanne (@Joannewood50) November 25, 2017

Very lucky due to terrible refereeing at the end. Tonga definitely won!

— Simon Crooke? (@scrooke1) November 25, 2017

We definitely need @George7Williams in the side if we are going to stand a chance against the Aussies

— Adam conlon (@adamconlon2013) November 25, 2017

England cannot possibly ride that amount of luck in the final, for 80% in charge and then appeared to lose control, drive and initiative, some bad ball handling errors

— Kenneth Armitage (@Dinostratus) November 25, 2017

Williams has done more in this tournament off the bench than Gale and Brown combined. Going to get mullered unless we make a change in the halves.

— ☈ (@r0bbo_) November 25, 2017

Yes what a game of rugby league bring on the final

— Callum Brannon (@CallumBrannon) November 25, 2017

What did you make of the England performance? Let us know in the comments below.