KEY POINTS:
New Zealand tonight made it through to the rugby league World Cup final, downing England 32-22 in Brisbane in a thriller in which they were never headed but were made to sweat before confirming victory.
The Kiwis raced to a 16-0 lead in the first half, but a
gallant England mounted a comeback that turned the contest in one of seesawing fortunes.
In the final in Brisbane next week, the Kiwis will face the winners of the clash between tournament favourites Australia and Fiji in Sydney tomorrow night.
While the semifinal at Suncorp Stadium was an exciting one, it was also punctuated by plenty of unforced errors from both sides, with most of the 10 tries coming after dropped balls or penalties.
New Zealand got on the board first on nine minutes after England centre Martin Gleeson lost the ball 25m from his own line.
On the Kiwis' ensuing possession, five-eighth Benji Marshall snapped up a loose pass and offloaded to an unmarked Sam Perrett to score.
They went further ahead midway through the opening spell when a penalty gave them good field position.
Hooker Thomas Leuluai then showed good deception with a set play from dummy half to open a hole for fullback Lance Hohaia to go through.
There was worse for the English when backrower Rob Purdham conceded a penalty by putting the kickoff out.
The Kiwis took full toll with Hohaia putting centre Jerome Ropati in for the game's third try.
Lock Jeremy Smith's second conversion made the score 16-0 and New Zealand appeared to be running away with the game.
But England, who had threatened earlier on a couple of occasions, including when winger Ade Gardner dotted down but was called back for putting a foot just in touch, mounted a comeback.
A New Zealand turnover deep in their own territory saw saw England keep possession alive, second rower Gareth Ellis produce an offload in heavy traffic and skipper Jamie Peacock barged over.
Then, with the halftime approaching, New Zealand again lost the ball when centre Simon Mannering failed to hold a poor Marshall pass.
From the scrum, England sent their fans in the 26,659 crowd into raptures with the play of the game.
Purdham detached from the back and kicked ahead on first tackle, and five-eighth Danny McGuire was first to the ball to complete a stunni ng try.
Halfback Rob Burrow's goal closed the score to 16-10.
England looked to be in again early in the second half, when McGuire sent Gardner away, but the Kiwis were saved by a forward pass call.
With momentum going England's way, New Zealand steadied the ship with a try to second rower Bronson Harrison, who hit a hole and then stepped Wellens to dot down by the posts.
However, another mistake, Hohaia dropping a bomb, allowed England to close the gap, with Gleeson showing his strength in barging over.
Burrows' conversion from the sideline again made it a six-point ball game.
But the Kiwis got some breathing space once more when Gardner failed to deal with a Fien cross-kick and Ropati pounced on the loose ball for his second try.
McGuire grabbed his second touchdown with a jinking run to keep English hopes alive, before another Fien kick was again allowed to go loose and Marshall touched down to clinch the result.
Earlier, unlike a week ago when they stood in a huddle, the England players faced up to the haka, but their fans attempted to drown it out with chants of "England".
- NZPA