Woolf - hosts can be beaten

TONGA coach Kristian Woolf believes England can make the World Cup final a contest, once they have recovered from their bruising semi-final.

England will be the clear underdogs against Australia in Brisbane next Saturday but Woolf, who worked as an assistant to England head coach Wayne Bennett at the Brisbane Broncos, was impressed by their defence during their 20-18 win at Mount Smart Stadium.

“England defended really well tonight,” Woolf said. “That’s obviously what you’re going to have to do against Australia. You know they’re going to be very hard to score points against.

“Australia were outstanding against Fiji, they’re going to be hard to beat, they always are. I’d certainly like to think England could make it a real contest.

“I think England are going to struggle to get over our game to be honest. I think we’ve taken a fair bit of energy out of them. It was certainly very physical and they’re going to wake up sore.”

Although Australia have coasted through to the final, conceding just 16 points in their five matches so far, coach Mal Meninga believes they, too, are feeling the effects of a long tournament.

“It’s been long season, not just this competition, but right through the NRL season and Origin,” Meninga said.

“A little bit of fatigue is starting to set in, so it’s important we recover really well and freshen up going into the final.”