TWITTER TALK: Fans react to England losing to Australia
England lost 18-4 to Australia in the opening fixture of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup on Friday and fans have had plenty to say on social media.
Huddersfield Giants star Jermaine McGillvary put England into a 4-0 lead early on before Matt Gillett edged Australia into a 6-4 advantage on the half hour mark.
Billy Slater then scored another for the Kangaroos which saw them 10-4 to the good when going into the changing rooms.
The Three Lions looked on top for the majority of the second half but a penalty saw Australia opt for the two in the 75th minute.
Kangaroos captain Cameron Smith added the penalty goal to give his side an eight-point lead before Josh Dugan collected a kick and ran 80 metres to score with a minute left on the clock as Australia ran-out 18-4 winners in the opening match of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup in front of 22,724 spectators.
TEAMS
Australia: 1. Billy Slater, 2. Dane Gagai, 3. Will Chambers, 4. Josh Dugan, 5. Valentine Holmes, 6. Michael Morgan, 7. Cooper Cronk, 8. Aaron Woods, 9. Cameron Smith (C), 10. David Klemmer, 11. Boyd Cordner, 12. Matt Gillett, 13. Jake Trbojevic.
Interchange: 14. Wade Graham, 15. Jordan McLean, 16. Josh McGuire, 17. Tyson Frizell.
England: 1. Jonny Lomax, 2. Jermaine McGillvary, 3. Kallum Watkins, 4. John Bateman, 5. Ryan Hall, 6. Gareth Widdop, 7. Luke Gale, 8. Chris Hill, 9. Josh Hodgson, 10. James Graham, 11. Sam Burgess, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Sean O’Loughlin (C).
Interchange: 15. Chris Heighington, 16. Tom Burgess, 17. James Roby, 18. Ben Currie.
Australia are the favourites to lift the trophy in five weeks times but many are expecting big things from Wayne Bennett’s England outfit in the tournament.
But the score was only 10-4 to Australia for a large part of the game and Bennett admitted that he was pleased with the overall performance of his side.
And here is how you reacted to the result on Twitter:
I dont think the score reflects the game, though to be honest our scrum half didn't play well,but he will improve I'm certain. https://t.co/AmOdakGGGj
— Eric Firth (@ericfirthno1) October 27, 2017
Scoreline flattered AUS, but massively more optimistic about England after that. #RLWC2017
— Alan —- (@israndomasis) October 27, 2017
Too predictable I'm afraid. Relying too much on big guys up the middle.
— jw5876 (@jw5876) October 27, 2017
Just unlucky.
Great performance.
How massive is @Ryan5Hall ?
HUGE! #RLWC2017— Alf (@Alfering) October 27, 2017
England had chances failed to take them simple, Australia don't give second chances..
— mark gleeson (@mark_bluenose50) October 27, 2017
Not the result we wanted but take some positives from this game
— Callum Brannon (@CallumBrannon) October 27, 2017
Very good effort, defence brilliant and second half showing deserved more. Need more creativity tho
— Joe Robinson (@joerob_96) October 27, 2017
The mistakes in the first half and being unable to finish off chances probably cost England. Fantastic second half by England great game. ?
— Phil Brothers (@FelixBrothe) October 27, 2017
I think we're past the point where we can say "played well but…", it's time we started getting the results.
— ROBERT FOSTER (@RWF86) October 27, 2017
Not the result we all wanted but huge positives to take from that performance. We'll done lads!! #WallofWhite ??
— Kev61 (@KevinFenney) October 27, 2017
What do you make of the England performance and end result? Let us know in the comments below.