Dejected Brett Ferres has revealed seeing his five-year-old daughter in the Wembley stands at the end of England’s heartbreaking World Cup semi-final defeat to holders New Zealand helped put everything into perspective.

The 27-year-old admitted he felt demoralised when the Kiwis snatched a last-play 20-18 triumph to deny his country an appearance in Saturday’s World Cup final at Old Trafford.

But as soon as he saw young Ava-Isabella in the Wembley crowd just as he was about to walk down the tunnel, his mood felt a whole lot better.

“Gutted doesn’t even start to describe how we felt at the end of the game,” said Ferres.

“We honestly felt we were the better team for 79-and-a-half minutes.

“But unfortunately against a side like New Zealand that’s not good enough. You have to stay switched on for the full 80 or else you can get beaten, which is exactly what happened with us.

“To lose to a try with just a few seconds on the clock is as bad as it gets, and it was really tough having to walk around the stadium and thank the fans for their fantastic support after a defeat like that.

“Luckily, I was able to see my daughter and the rest of my family in the stands, and it’s hard to describe how much better it immediately felt to see her smiling face. That just put everything into perspective.”

But Ferres admits it’ll still take him a bit of time to get over the nature of the defeat completely.

“I suppose the events of Saturday have taken a bit of gloss off this whole England World Cup experience for me,” he added.

“But I still wouldn’t have swapped any of this for the world. Six weeks ago, I didn’t even know if I’d be part of this England squad, but ended up starting all three group games and the semi-final and was a sub against France in the quarters.

“And to play at Wembley for the first time was an experience I’ll never forget. I always said I wouldn’t come to Wembley until I played, and I have to say it was as good as I’d hoped – apart from the final result, of course.

“Although it’s difficult to fully appreciate my Wembley experience at the moment, because this defeat will take some getting over, I know that I will be able to look back at some point and appreciate how lucky I’ve been.”