A rusty Australia overcame a poor start and a spirited England performance to open their Rugby League World Cup campaign with a hard-fought 28-20 win in Cardiff on Saturday.
The tournament favourites had to claw back from 10-0 down midway through the first half as England cast aside a troubled build-up.
Playmaker Johnathan Thurston was instrumental as the Kangaroos ultimately had too much class in the tournament-opener match played under the roof at Millennium Stadium.
Player ratings below ...
AUSTRALIA
1. Billy Slater Scored a terrific solo try and frequently looked dangerous in attack, although he did produce three errors including the mistake that led to England's final try. 7.5
2. Brett Morris Did his job well on the right wing, showing good strength for his try and making 153 metres from 13 runs. 7.5
3. Brent Tate As solid as ever, making 15 tackles and producing two offloads in an error-free performance. 7
4. Greg Inglis Brilliantly brought down a bomb and got away a pass to set up Johnathan Thurston's try and was otherwise solid if unspectacular. 7.5
5. Darius Boyd Grabbed a try and was otherwise safe in a typical rep performance from Boyd. 7
6. Johnathan Thurston Scored one try, set up another, made four one-on-one tackles when isolated by England's forwards and landed all three of his first-half conversions to help set up the win. Named Man of the Match. 8.5
7. Cooper Cronk Took on the bulk of the general kicking duties to help free up Thurston and produced a try assist of his own. 8
8. Matthew Scott Did his job with 10 hit-ups, 16 tackles and no errors. 7
9. Cameron Smith Led the Kangaroos tackle count, kicked a key (if controversial) 40/20, and was his usual creative self from dummy half before switching to lock late in the game. 8
10. James Tamou Put in the hard yards with 16 carries and 19 tackles. 7
11. Greg Bird Crashed over for a first-half try and was busy in attack with 14 hit-ups. 7
12. Sam Thaiday Had limited impact in attack before being left dazed by a Sam Burges high shot in the second half. 6
13. Paul Gallen A typical Paul Gallen performance. Led the go-forward for Australia with 156 metres from 21 hit-ups, to go with four tackle breaks, two offloads and 30 tackles. 8
14. Robbie Farah Added some good spark off the bench with a couple of well-chosen dummy-half runs and was rock solid in defence. 7
15. Andrew Fifita A strong Test debut from the hulking Shark, matching it with the Burgess brothers in the middle and producing an error-free display. 7
16. Luke Lewis Like Fifita, Lewis did all was asked and didn't miss a tackle or make an error. 7
17. Corey Parker The busy Bronco came off the bench to make 23 tackles, two offloads and a tackle break. 7.5
ENGLAND
1. Sam Tomkins Repeatedly nullified Australian attacks at the back and set up England's first try with a great cut-out pass. 8
2. Josh Charnley Picked up a late try and was otherwise solid. 6.5
3. Kallum Watkins Made three tackle breaks and was kept busy in defence as Australia pressed its advantage in the second half. 7
4. Leroy Cudjoe Chased down a Kevin Sinfield kick to score and was frequently involved with 10 carries and 23 tackles. 7
5. Ryan Hall Looked strong in attack with nine runs for 83 metres plus four tackle breaks, a line break and a try. 7
6. Rangi Chase The least-involved half on the field, Chase couldn't find the spark in attack to breach Australia's defensive line. 6
7. Kevin Sinfield The England skipper kicked well, led his team's tackle count and set up a try in a quality performance in a losing side. 8
8. Chris Hill Helped make up for James Graham's absence with 14 hit-ups, 20 tackles, three tackle breaks and three offloads. 7.5
9. James Roby Produced a try assist and defended well all match. 7
10. George Burgess England's most dangerous forward, Burgess crashed over for one try, came close to scoring another and made 14 carries, 25 tackles and five tackle busts. 8
11. Brett Ferres Didn't grab any headlines but did all that was asked with 12 hit-ups and 28 tackles. 7.5
12. Ben Westwood Conceded three penalties and was the least effective of England's starting forwards in attack. 6
13. Sam Burgess Had plenty of involvement in both attack and defence but could have been sent off for his high shot on Sam Thaiday and was let down by poor discipline with three penalties and three errors. 6
14. Gareth Widdop Underused off the bench and had a limited impact. 5
15. Carl Ablett Made a couple of tackle busts off the bench and defended well. 6
16. Thomas Burgess Combined well with the other England big men in the forward rotation. 6.5
17. Lee Mossop Did a ton of work in defence but conceded a couple of penalties. 6.5
The tournament favourites had to claw back from 10-0 down midway through the first half as England cast aside a troubled build-up.
Playmaker Johnathan Thurston was instrumental as the Kangaroos ultimately had too much class in the tournament-opener match played under the roof at Millennium Stadium.
Player ratings below ...
AUSTRALIA
1. Billy Slater Scored a terrific solo try and frequently looked dangerous in attack, although he did produce three errors including the mistake that led to England's final try. 7.5
2. Brett Morris Did his job well on the right wing, showing good strength for his try and making 153 metres from 13 runs. 7.5
3. Brent Tate As solid as ever, making 15 tackles and producing two offloads in an error-free performance. 7
4. Greg Inglis Brilliantly brought down a bomb and got away a pass to set up Johnathan Thurston's try and was otherwise solid if unspectacular. 7.5
5. Darius Boyd Grabbed a try and was otherwise safe in a typical rep performance from Boyd. 7
6. Johnathan Thurston Scored one try, set up another, made four one-on-one tackles when isolated by England's forwards and landed all three of his first-half conversions to help set up the win. Named Man of the Match. 8.5
7. Cooper Cronk Took on the bulk of the general kicking duties to help free up Thurston and produced a try assist of his own. 8
8. Matthew Scott Did his job with 10 hit-ups, 16 tackles and no errors. 7
9. Cameron Smith Led the Kangaroos tackle count, kicked a key (if controversial) 40/20, and was his usual creative self from dummy half before switching to lock late in the game. 8
10. James Tamou Put in the hard yards with 16 carries and 19 tackles. 7
11. Greg Bird Crashed over for a first-half try and was busy in attack with 14 hit-ups. 7
12. Sam Thaiday Had limited impact in attack before being left dazed by a Sam Burges high shot in the second half. 6
13. Paul Gallen A typical Paul Gallen performance. Led the go-forward for Australia with 156 metres from 21 hit-ups, to go with four tackle breaks, two offloads and 30 tackles. 8
14. Robbie Farah Added some good spark off the bench with a couple of well-chosen dummy-half runs and was rock solid in defence. 7
15. Andrew Fifita A strong Test debut from the hulking Shark, matching it with the Burgess brothers in the middle and producing an error-free display. 7
16. Luke Lewis Like Fifita, Lewis did all was asked and didn't miss a tackle or make an error. 7
17. Corey Parker The busy Bronco came off the bench to make 23 tackles, two offloads and a tackle break. 7.5
ENGLAND
1. Sam Tomkins Repeatedly nullified Australian attacks at the back and set up England's first try with a great cut-out pass. 8
2. Josh Charnley Picked up a late try and was otherwise solid. 6.5
3. Kallum Watkins Made three tackle breaks and was kept busy in defence as Australia pressed its advantage in the second half. 7
4. Leroy Cudjoe Chased down a Kevin Sinfield kick to score and was frequently involved with 10 carries and 23 tackles. 7
5. Ryan Hall Looked strong in attack with nine runs for 83 metres plus four tackle breaks, a line break and a try. 7
6. Rangi Chase The least-involved half on the field, Chase couldn't find the spark in attack to breach Australia's defensive line. 6
7. Kevin Sinfield The England skipper kicked well, led his team's tackle count and set up a try in a quality performance in a losing side. 8
8. Chris Hill Helped make up for James Graham's absence with 14 hit-ups, 20 tackles, three tackle breaks and three offloads. 7.5
9. James Roby Produced a try assist and defended well all match. 7
10. George Burgess England's most dangerous forward, Burgess crashed over for one try, came close to scoring another and made 14 carries, 25 tackles and five tackle busts. 8
11. Brett Ferres Didn't grab any headlines but did all that was asked with 12 hit-ups and 28 tackles. 7.5
12. Ben Westwood Conceded three penalties and was the least effective of England's starting forwards in attack. 6
13. Sam Burgess Had plenty of involvement in both attack and defence but could have been sent off for his high shot on Sam Thaiday and was let down by poor discipline with three penalties and three errors. 6
14. Gareth Widdop Underused off the bench and had a limited impact. 5
15. Carl Ablett Made a couple of tackle busts off the bench and defended well. 6
16. Thomas Burgess Combined well with the other England big men in the forward rotation. 6.5
17. Lee Mossop Did a ton of work in defence but conceded a couple of penalties. 6.5
