Australian coach lauds champions

SYDNEY - It took a photo-finish in the final minute of extra time, but a shattered Australian coach conceded his team had been beaten fairly.

"You slug it out for 100 minutes and you get beaten in the 99th minute of the game - so, yeah, I think that would qualify as a photo-finish," Eddie Jones said.

"Obviously, we're shattered. We went very close, but were not quite good enough on the night."

Jones said England could rightly be acclaimed as the best team in the world after dominating the game over the past four years and now securing their first World Cup.

"What they do is they play to their strengths. They've got a very good forward pack, they've got some good hard-running backs," Jones said.

"They should be lauded as the best team in the world."

Jones said it was inevitable Jonny Wilkinson would try a dropped goal in the dying minutes.

"They did it very well, you've got to admire the control that they had.

"If we had got a fast defensive set we could have put a bit of pressure on him, he missed a couple before, but they played those last minutes very well, which again shows they're just a class outfit. Champion sides win close games.

"He's absolutely one out of the box, Jonny Wilkinson. His goalkicking's fantastic, his field kicking's first-class, his defence is good and he can certainly land field goals.

"I think he's been a significant factor in England winning the cup," Jones said.

He said he did not believe an ugly injury suffered by first five-eighths Stephen Larkham midway through the first half had a significant impact on Australia's chances of winning the match.

Larkham suffered a nasty gash beneath his chin after tackling England winger Ben Cohen and went to the blood-bin three times, to be replaced by young utility back Matt Giteau.

"Stevie's been one of our best players during the cup," Jones said.

"It was a little bit disruptive, but it certainly didn't affect the result of the game.

"I think at the end of the day you can always improve and you can always do better. I reckon we've given it everything we can."

Asked whether he wanted to coach Australia at the 2007 World Cup, Jones said: "That's a long time away.

"There's a lot of young guys in the side and certainly I would like to see them continue their development."

- REUTERS

Full World Cup coverage