New Zealand 32–22 England — Semi-final, 2008 Rugby League World Cup
15 Nov 2008 · Lang Park, Brisbane, Australia · Attendance: 26,659
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Semi-final, 2008 Rugby League World Cup: New Zealand 32–22 England, at Lang Park, Brisbane, Australia on 15 Nov 2008.
Scorers
| New Zealand | Tries: Ropati (2); Harrison; Hohaia; Marshall; Perrett Goals: Smith (3/5); Marshall (1/1) |
| England | Tries: McGuire (2); Gleeson; Peacock Goals: Burrow (3/3) |
This result sent New Zealand into the Final against Australia.
Teams
| New Zealand | England | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lance Hohaia | Fullback | Paul Wellens | 1 |
| 2 | Sam Perrett | Wing | Ade Gardner | 2 |
| 3 | Simon Mannering | Centre | Martin Gleeson | 3 |
| 4 | Jerome Ropati | Centre | Keith Senior | 4 |
| 5 | Manu Vatuvei | Wing | Mark Calderwood | 5 |
| 6 | Benji Marshall | Stand off/Five eighth | Danny McGuire | 6 |
| 7 | Nathan Fien | Scrum half/Half back | Rob Burrow | 7 |
| 8 | Nathan Cayless (c) | Prop forward | James Graham | 8 |
| 9 | Thomas Leuluai | Hooker | James Roby | 9 |
| 10 | Adam Blair | Prop forward | Jamie Peacock (c) | 10 |
| 11 | Bronson Harrison | Second row | Ben Westwood | 11 |
| 12 | David Fa'alogo | Second row | Gareth Ellis | 12 |
| 13 | Jeremy Smith | Loose forward/Lock forward | Robert Purdham | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14-17 | Sika Manu, Issac Luke, Greg Eastwood, Sam Rapira — exact number-to-player mapping unconfirmed | Leon Pryce | 14 | |
| Adrian Morley | 15 | |||
| Mick Higham | 16 | |||
| Jon Wilkin | 17 | |||
| Stephen Kearney | Coach | Tony Smith | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Shayne Hayne (Australia) |
| Touch judges | James Child (England), Adam Burns — single-sourced |
| Player of the match | Not confirmed to Tier-1 standard |
Match report
New Zealand blew England away with three tries in the opening 25 minutes at Lang Park to lead 16-10 at half-time, then extended their advantage after the break for a 32-22 win that sent Stephen Kearney's Kiwis into the Final against Australia. Jerome Ropati scored twice for New Zealand, while Danny McGuire's double kept England competitive without ever threatening the result.
Site correction: the referee's name is Shayne Hayne, not "Shane Hayne" as previously listed.
Previous World Cup meetings
- 1975 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): New Zealand 17–17 England
- 1975 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): England 27–12 New Zealand
- 2000 Rugby League World Cup (Semi-final): New Zealand 49–6 England
- 2008 Rugby League World Cup (Group A): England 24–36 New Zealand
- 2013 Rugby League World Cup (Semi-final): New Zealand 20–18 England