The Kiwis side need to be a lot better if they are to defend title against Australia Roger Tuivasa-Scheck is fronted by Sean O'Loughlin of England. At first it was joy and exhilaration followed by relief but then a growing realisation among the Kiwis they will need to be a lot better if they are to beat Australia in next weekend's World Cup final. New Zealand overcame England 20-18 in their semifinal at Wembley in one of the most dramatic finishes in World Cup history when Shaun Johnson scored a try he converted with 20 seconds remaining. It saved the Kiwis' campaign because an exit at this point in the competition, given the quality of side they have assembled, would have constituted a failure even discounting how well England played. The Kiwis were often poor, and second-best for most of the match as England dominated the forward exchanges, but they hung in there and gave themselves a chance to win. Good sides don't always deserve to win but find ways to triumph. At one stage England had possession for 11 out of 13 sets. The Kiwis also kicked the ball out on the full, lost possession when trying an offload 15m from their own line and got bundled over the sideline on the first tackle when trying a set-piece move. "We made it hard for ourselves," coach Stephen Kearney said. But they are not issues that are hard to fix. It's an attitude that we need to play a bit tougher and get our hands dirty. I'm sure the lads recognise that and know what it will take next week. We are going to the World Cup final so, for the lads, there's an understanding that to get ourselves in that position we had to hang in there and come up with that play. But there's also an understanding that we need to be better. It's as simple as that. We are playing against a side we have played a number of times over the last few years. We know what it takes. There's a sense of joy but also a sense of knowing that we don't just want to go to the final next week. Just who will be in the team won't be known for a couple of days after a bruising encounter. Winger Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, who scored another double to take his tally to eight tries for the tournament, injured his right leg late in the game and was due to go for an x-ray to check for any fracture. It was hoped his fibula was just badly bruised because the Kiwis won't want to do without the impressive youngster. Shaun Johnson celebrates with team mate Issac Luke. Fellow winger Manu Vatuvei is making good progress from the groin strain that kept him out of the semifinal and is expected to be fit to play against Australia but there's more uncertainty over Frank Pritchard and his hamstring injury. Australia were ruthless in their semifinal, coasting to a 64-0 win over Fiji in the late game, and are stacked with big-game players. Fullback Billy Slater is also expected to be fit after missing the semifinal with a knee injury. The Kiwis will draw confidence out of the fact they survived a stern test and it was the first time they came under sustained pressure at the tournament. "We have been ticking along for the last five weeks and all of a sudden we got thrown in the cauldron, which we anticipated, but you can't prepare for that," Kearney said. I think today's match will be a real benefit for us.