England star Sam Burgess has admitted that it will take time for him and his international teammates to get over the disappointment of their last-kick defeat to New Zealand in the World Cup.
The co-hosts led the defending champions 18-14 when they conceded a penalty with 50 seconds of their semi-final remaining at Wembley.
Shaun Johnson then jinked his way through the England defence to level the game, before adding a conversion under pressure to give his side a place in next weekend's Old Trafford final.
"I'm very disappointed for the team," Burgess, who was named as Man of the Match, told BBC Sport. "Our effort was there today. We fought through some tough moments in the game.
"Thanks for the Man of the Match, but I'd rather have a winners' medal.
"We've been pipped in the final seconds. We've put a lot of effort into this and we probably haven't got what we deserved. It's going to take a while to get over this."
New Zealand will play either Australia or Fiji in the final.
Robert Summerscales
