Australian captain Cameron Smith believes ‘fundamental mistakes’ cost England a place in the Four Nations final

CAMERON Smith believes ‘fundamental errors’ have cost England a place in the Four Nations final.

And he admits he was breathing a sigh of relief when they made them.

While coach Wayne Bennett and the Rugby Football League conduct an inquest into what went wrong, the Australia skipper is preparing for Sunday’s Anfield showpiece against New Zealand.

Smith, who has won the lot as a player, can pinpoint two moments that cost England in Sunday’s 36-18 defeat, not finding touch with penalties.

“One is hard, two certainly took the pressure off us,” he said.

“I remember there was a sigh of relief from myself as if they got the ball back at those moments, we would have been defending our own line.

“And to have that extra two or three sets to defend, which we didn’t end up doing, meant something at the end of the game.

"That’s why Wayne would have been talking about those fundamental things.

“It’s about concentration levels. The two guys who took those kicks – Gareth Widdop and Josh Hodgson – are quality players but those were fundamental mistakes that you can’t afford to make in big games.

“You have a free kick to touch – you just have to make those.”

While England, once again, miss out on an international final, Smith believes they will be a force in next year’s World Cup.

The Melbourne Storm star, 33, added: “They’ll be better. You learn every time you get to play together.

“England were two points from beating New Zealand and they are now in the final – they weren’t that far off the mark.

"But they’ll be better at the World Cup, without a doubt.”

Australia will be without second-rower Sam Thaiday for Sunday's final after he had surgery to repair a fractured eye socket and broken cheekbone.

The Brisbane Broncos veteran suffered the injury in a clash of heads with England prop James Graham on Sunday.

But coach Mal Meninga is looking forward to leading his side out for battle at a stadium where he went as a fan during his time playing for St Helens.

He said: "I was a Liverpool fan when I was young and when I was at Saints, I used to come and watch Liverpool play.

"Craig Johnston was my hero here - he's a good Australian!"