England's Herbie Farnworth summed it up best: “It hurts. It f****** hurts. Gutted doesn’t come close.”
Just a few weeks into his Test career, it was hoped the Brisbane centre would be part of a new breed of exciting England players who don’t have to suffer these ordeals. But as another chance of World Cup glory came and went in the most agonising of circumstances, Farnworth was left like so many others over the past half-century: broken, devastated, wrecked.
Stephen Crichton’s 84th-minute golden point extra-time drop goal was the dagger blow as spirited Samoa deservedly stunned the hosts in arguably the most dramatic World Cup semi-final ever.
Mistake-ridden England botched up those final few minutes - and too many before - to gift-wrap things for a side they’d thrashed 60-6 four weeks previously. Farnworth’s second try in the 78th minute had brought the desperate hosts back level for the second time, raising hopes everything was back on. How wrong they would be.
Farnworth, one of the few England players to emerge in credit, admitted: “We’ve got no one to blame but ourselves. It’s a bit fresh at the moment. I can’t really speak too much…When I scored, I definitely thought we'd go on to win. But errors again killed us. It just really, really hurts.
“Even now, I still can’t really believe we lost that game. It’s probably the first time (this tournament) we’ve not played really well. I don’t know what happened, it just wasn’t us. It would have been great to push on to the final and win it. That was the goal. But it’s gone now.”
Coach Shaun Wane had generated genuine belief this side could emulate the victorious 1972 Great Britain squad and finally lift that trophy. But he was left in tears in the press conference at the enormity of what had just occurred. Instead, Samoa are the first tier-two side to ever reach a World Cup final and they richly deserve their shot against Australia at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Embarrassed England, who also scored Elliott Whitehead and John Bateman tries with Tommy Makinson kicking ten points, are just left facing eternal ‘what ifs’ and familiar pangs of regret. Scrum-half George Williams did his utmost to pep them up during a chaotic contest, providing two try assists. But he was right when conceding England got what they deserved. They bombed. Spectacularly.
Williams said: “Watching that kick go over felt like a nightmare. Those ten seconds went so slow, it felt like it was going over forever. We got to golden point and panicked. We were our own worst enemy. They really played well but we didn’t deliver when it mattered.”
Asked how long it’d take for him to get over it, Williams replied: “Until the next World Cup, probably. That will sit with us, especially me, for three years. That is the heart-breaking thing. Some people will never play a World Cup again. We will never have this certain group together. That’s why it hurts so much."
Ruthless Crichton scored two tries, including a 60m intercept, and three goals while Salford centre Tim Lafai also added a brace as Samoa exacted sweet revenge for their group game horror show in Newcastle. That seems an eternity ago now for sorry England. The wait goes on.
