It was supposed to be a fitting farewell for him as he played in his final tournament but for Ben Fisher, it was not the ending that he was after, as he was injured during the Scottish warm-up – an injury that has effectively ended his World Cup campaign.
With the World Cup his last campaign before retirement, Fisher knows that whilst the ending to his career was not ideal, it is something that happens. Despite his injury, he is pleased that his team-mates managed to get the job done.
“I think that is it for me,” said Fisher.
“It is a pretty tough realisation. It is not ideal but that is life. It is absolutely devastating to finish on that note.
“Words cannot describe how bad I feel, but I am glad the boys have stuck to the plan and got back on top.”
On the game itself, it was the Tomahawks that started out the strongest, as they jumped out to an 8-0 lead at half-time. For the Scots, they were unable to capitalise on good opportunities in the opening forty but in the second half, that all changed.
It was the Bravehearts that did all the scoring in the second half, as they put in 22 unanswered points to take out the game 22-8 – their finals hopes now resting on results from other games.
Despite their loss, the USA have a spot guaranteed and will face Australia in the first week of the finals.
For Scottish coach Steve McCormack, the first half was one to forget for his side but as the game wore on, they were better and he praised the performance of his players in the second half.
We were quite erratic in the first half,” said the Bravehearts’ coach.
“We were trying too hard.
“Second half; we got back to what we’ve practiced and got our just rewards.
“The first-half was probably the worst we’ve played in the World Cup but the second half has given us a chance.”
Regardless of whether they progress – although for Scottish fans, they would love to – McCormack knows that their performances in the World Cup have helped to put the Bravehearts on the map when it comes to rugby league at international level.
“All credit to players, they have been brilliant,” said McCormack.
“You can’t underestimate what these players have achieved for Scottish rugby league – they have put Scotland on the map. We’ve been on the back pages of the newspapers in Scotland for the first time.
“If you’d said that before the tournament that we’d go through the group stage unbeaten no one would have believed it.”