England are the best team in the world “by a minute” according to beaten Australian coach Eddie Jones.
Although disappointed, Jones put on a brave face after the match which saw England sneak to glory with a Jonny Wilkinson's drop-goal in the dying minutes of extra time.
"They were outstanding. They are the best team in the world - by one minute," he said with an ironic smile.
Photo finish
"You slug it out for 100 minutes and you get beaten in the 99th - I think that would qualify as a photo finish.
"We gave ourselves the best opportunity to win the World Cup. We came up just short but we put ourselves in the best position."
Jones praised England for playing to their strengths.
“They have got a very good forward pack, some good, hard running backs and should be lauded as the best team in the world."
The Wallaby coach also complimented England's backroom staff but praised his own men for pushing their northern hemisphere opponents to the limit.
"They are extremely well coached, extremely well prepared and have got a huge amount of talent within their squad," he said.
"They had to play well. We certainly put them under the pump and in the end we just weren't quite up to it. We are shattered."
Home town support
Having confounded the critics by reaching the World Cup final, Jones' Australia have been riding an unprecedented wave of support all week.
But in the end, England managed to edge them in the race to victory.
Jones was full of praise for inside centre Elton Flatley who landed two high-pressure kicks - one to force extra-time and the other to level the scores after 97 minutes.
"Flats was terrific," said Jones. "He has had a very good World Cup. He kicked big goals, kicked consistently well. He is a very good young player.
"His best footie is ahead of him and, if he sticks at it he will be a very, very good player in the next couple of years."