Two a penny

.Mission accomplished was about the best Australian coach Tim Sheens could take from his side’s 42-4 win over France in Paris on Sunday morning (AEDT).
The ugly victory sent the Kangaroos through to a Four Nations final against England next weekend.
Not even a hat-trick to debutant centre Michael Jennings could temper Sheens’ frustrations, though the veteran coach admitted the reality check could end up working in his side’s favour after they lost last year’s World Cup final to New Zealand after waltzing through the preliminary rounds.
A makeshift Australian side made hard work of overcoming a gallant French team, five second half tries including doubles to Morris twins Josh and Brett blowing out the score after the home side and an over-zealous New Zealand referee had done his best to kill the first half action.
“I’m not that happy with where we are but we’re in the final – that’s the first thing.
“We never looked like we were going to get beat, but I wouldn’t say we were in our rhythm or that it was a great game,” he said.
“Running up a hundred up against a French side wouldn’t have done us any good either.
“We had to scrape a bit and maybe that’s good for us.
“I’d rather be trying to improve than playing at the top of our game and being a little worried about not being able to go to that next level. The boys had to work hard and it was a good 80 minutes for some of them. They played so well to get there and then they had a few hiccups and it really caught them off guard.
“I think there was a bit of that last year in the World Cup.”
An Australian side missing the likes of Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Greg Inglis was never going to be at its best against the French.
“We haven’t played our best, but we’ve seen elements of it here and there.
“I’m getting used to this one,” French coach Bobby Goulding said. .
“You can’t give sides like Australia opportunities.
“It’s been three games and it’s the same old story.”
While man of the match Jennings probably did not do enough to unseat either Inglis or Justin Hodges for a start in the final, the Penrith flyer said he was happy just to make an impact in his first game.
“We showed commitment, effort, guts and we showed French rugby league is back on track.
“Three tries just makes it so much better.
“It’s a great way to remember it – I just wanted to get the win,” he said.”
– AAP