Australia 40

New Zealand 12

Can anyone remember when the Aussies weren't the dominant force in World rugby league.

Twenty-five years is the answer and there was little sign of that sequence coming to an end in the foreseeable future at Old Trafford on Saturday.

The Kiwis had certainly captured the imagination of the British public on their way to the final and, following England's sad demise last week, there was no doubting which side the vast majority of the 44,000 crowd were on.

But despite a brave effort for an hour when they fought bravely to stem the Aussies tide they were simply swept aside in the final quarter.

Their big pack had destroyed England in the semi-final but they rarely made any sort of headway against the superbly drilled Aussie defence.

Chris Anderson's charges aren't just well drilled though. They have now developed their handling skills far beyond the ability of the average Super League player and when the time came to display them the results were simply breathtaking.

Kiwi coach Frank Endacott wasted no time in joining in the praise despite his obvious disappointment.

He said: "They're going to end up the best Australian team ever. They have plenty of youth and they are going to get stronger.

"Around 80 per cent of our team will be around for the next World Cup also so it's going to be a good final in four years time, hopefully with a different result."

Endacott is presuming Great Britain/England still won't be strong enough by then to compete with the Southern Hemisphere giants and on the evidence of the past five weeks he would seem to have a point!

Australian second rower Gorden Tallis, who typifies the aggressive nature of rugby Down Under, has no doubt what England need to do to start their climb back to international respectability.

"The difference between the two games is defence because that's what our whole game is based on," said Tallis.

"We go out in training and spend two hours on defence alone and New Zealand do the same. I think the English need to produce that.

"I've watched a lot of Super League matches and they are great to watch. There are some great tries scored but, if you miss tackles, that is what happens."

Simple then, but it's OK for him - his opponents don't come dressed in green and gold!

The Kiwis are great tacklers too as they showed by somehow going in at the break trailing only to Matthew Gidley's try from Wendell Sailor's kick ahead.

But Endacott conceded: "For the first 30 minutes all we did was tackle, tackle, tackle and it took its toll in the second half. They're a ruthless side and they made us pay."

Leeds-bound centre Tonie Carroll and giant winger Lesley Vainikolo did find time to break free from their defensive duties to twice reduce the deficit to just six points in the second half but, in truth, the Aussies always looked to have the job well in hand.

Four tries in nine minutes merely confirmed that theory with Sailor going over twice to pip Vainikolo as the tournament's top try scorer and Fittler and substitute Trent Barrett - who would walk into any other international side - also going over.

It was a bitter disappointment for the Bulls' Kiwi contingent - the Paul brothers and new signing Joe Vagana - but a well deserved break now beckons and there's plenty for them to look forward to with a new look under coach Brian Noble and a new home at Valley Parade.

All three were a little quiet on the day but Vagana's late 'hit' on Andrew Johns certainly whetted the appetite for Bulls fans.

Australia: Lockyer, Rogers, MacDougall, Gidley, Sailor, Fittler, Kimmorley, Webcke, Johns, Kearns, Tallis, Fletcher, Hill. Replacements: Barrett, Hindmarsh, Britt, Stevens.

New Zealand: Barnett, N Vagana, Carroll, Talau, Vainikolo, H Paul, Jones, Smith, Swain, Pongia, Rua, Kearney, Wiki. Replacements: R Paul, J Vagana, Cayless, Swann. Referee: Stuart Cummings (Widnes)

Attendance: 44,329

Man of the match: Wendell Sailor (Australia)