During the Rugby League World Cup, George Williams wrote a weekly column for the British Broadcasting Corporation. The campaign came to an end with the disappointment of a golden point semi- final loss to Samoa.
It was more than just the result of the loss. It's the end of what we've been working for.
It hurts to know that a group of people will never play together again.
We had something special. We didn't do as well as we could have on the day.
You can wear your disappointment, but if you don't play well and lose, it's worse.
We thumped them up in the first game, but they were a lot better in game two.
There was a problem on Saturday. The first goal gave them some confidence.
If we'd scored first, I think it would have made us doubt ourselves a bit.
We made too many mistakes on the defensive side.
I don't think we were disciplined enough, we gave them a few easy outs, and they have too many good players for that. We were stung by them.
We kept coming back at the same time. We were 26-20 down in normal time and found a way to get back in it, but in the end it was too little, too late.
We made two mistakes in our own part. We made a mistake after charging the first drop goal. We were out when Stephen Crichton dropped the goal.
We received what we deserved. They finished their sets in golden point. They were the superior team on the day.
Anyone could not get near him. I was trying to get it to miss. It felt like 10 seconds from my angle when the kick was made. It was terrible.
I immediately felt sick when he put his hand up and jumped up to celebrate.
Your entire life, not just this six week period. You want to win a World Cup.
The Samoa players were nice to me and some of the other boys after the game.
I told them I wanted them to win the thing.
They were really good and it was hard to process it quickly.
When they saw us on the floor, they consoled us and wished us good fortune.
My family was in the crowd after the game. They looked sad for me when I hugged them.
It's normal to feel like you let them down. They're proud and don't think that's true.
Everyone in this country felt that. Like we didn't succeed.
It would have been hard for anyone who followed this sport to feel bad after the game.
This was the last chance saloon for some of the guys who may never play for England again. It was a chance for other people.
There were some men in the changing room. Everyone knows how hard rugby league players are, so to see them cry is very emotional.
It's still sad and raw but you have to deal with it.
The speaker was Waney Wane. He is a tough man but he is also in tears. He was upset because he's so passionate. Everyone had dreams and ambitions, but they were shattered.
Sam Tomkins thanked the staff and said that they had everything they needed.
We were treated like superstars according to him. The reason we haven't won the World Cup is because of us, not you, according to him. They'd given us everything from treatment to food.
Everyone got around each other and hugged each other.
We traveled back to Manchester on the bus. We went out on Saturday night as it would be the last time this group would enjoy each other's company and then had a few more beers.
It was good to get a beer and not talk about rugby because a lot of what we do in a camp is serious.
I almost did a full year of rugby league when I started preseason last year. I took a week off before we went to England camp.
I'm going to chill with my family at the end of the year.
The game broke my heart but I came back to a healthy missus and daughter which gave me a different perspective.
Three years from now, the next World Cup will be perfect for the likes of Kai, Dom, and Jack. For this experience, they will be even better. We will see what happens when some senior men retire.
I have good memories of this tournament.
I will be watching the game, but I will be wishing I was playing.
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