New Zealand fended off a spirited comeback from England here on Saturday to win its way into the rugby league World Cup final. The Kiwis prevailed 32-22 after leading 16-0 early on to repeat their previous weekend's victory over the English. New Zealand will face the winner of Sunday's semifinal between tournament favorite Australia and Fiji in next Saturday's final at Brisbane's Lang Park. The Kiwis scored six tries to four, but England, stung by its 36-24 loss last weekend after leading 24-8, had their chances to pull off a stirring victory and salvage their faltering World Cup campaign.It will be New Zealand's third appearance in a World Cup final, having lost twice to Australia in 1988 and 2000 and it was only its fourth win in 12 World Cup encounters against England and Great Britain. Australia beats England, South Africa edges Scots Matt Giteau kicked Australia to a 28-14 victory over England, and Jaque Fourie rescued world champion South Africa in a 14-10 come-from-behind triumph over Scotland in international rugby on Saturday. New Zealand overcame an error-prone first half to defeat Ireland 22-3, France outplayed the Pacific Islanders 42-17 and Argentina ended a four-game losing streak with a 22-14 defeat of Italy. The Wallabies' victory at Twickenham was a satisfying one over Martin Johnson, who captained England to a World Cup final triumph over them in Sydney in 2003 and was hoping for a victory in his second game as the team's manager. When Scotland led the Springboks 10-0 at halftime, a major surprise appeared to be looming at Murrayfield. The Springboks hit back strong in the second half, however, and dominated until the last few minutes. New Zealand maintained its 22-match unbeaten run against Ireland, taking a decisive 10-3 lead in the final move of the first half at Croke Park. Ireland tried to maintain a dogged, stingy defense and succeeded in the first half, as the All Blacks self-destructed with penalties and bobbled passes. France scored five tries and David Skrela kicked 17 points in an easy victory over the Pacific Islanders, who are made up of players from Samoa, Tonga and Fiji. Rafael Carballo scored the Pumas' try and Andrea Masi replied with a late reply for the Italians. On Friday, Wales beat Canada 34
