A last-minute decision from Kevin Sinfield has gifted New Zealand a semi-final win over a heart-broken Wembley crowd.
Up until the final minutes, Sinfield had carried out a near-perfect game.
He had marshalled his side well, created two tries for his team and tackled himself into the ground.
Usually a dead-eyed kicker, a missed conversion on 58 minutes was the only other blot on a great display.
But the brain explosion at the end to fly off the line at Shaun Johnson, one of the best steppers in the rugby league world, was a horrific one.
Why oh why.
Structured defences are a must in league. You need to trust and rely on your teammates. Work as a unit and communicate. Come up as a committed line. And then Sinfield does that. Madness.
Yes he was trying to do a good deed, pressure Johnson and wrap him up.
But it was the wrong call at such a crucial time.
Presenting a broken line to a player like Johnson is like giving a loaded gun to your worst enemy.
Give Johnson space and he will kill you, and that’s what the cheeky halfback did.
A player bred on touch footy, on utilising space and the ability to weave and dance at will, Johnson was given a situation he has faced a thousand times before.
He didn’t pass it up, and then he stepped up to put the nail in the coffin with the conversion.
You don’t want to blame one player for a loss, and if Sinfield hadn’t set up two Engand tries earlier in the game, they wouldn’t have been in front with a minute to go.
Games as close as these are made up of lots of little important moments.
A high tackle by George Burgess. A slip by Ryan Hall. A loss of the ball as Ben Westwood was about to score. But this was Sinfield’s in the final seconds and he unfortunately murdered it.
Sinfield has just about won it all in his career – Super League grand finals, Challenge Cups, Test matches, the Golden Boot award (somewhat controversially) – but this is one game he will really want to forget. To put out of his memory.
The chance to lead his country at a World Cup final in England is gone. It doesn’t come round very often and it won’t be back again.
Such a bitter pill to swallow for a proud rugby league man.
Follow John Davidson on Twitter @johnnyddavidson
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