In 2013 New Zealand headed into the World Cup as defending champions for the first time. The Kiwis advanced out of their group with ease despite suffering a scare against Samoa in their opening game. Kearney's men then advanced to the semi-finals, courtesy of a win over Scotland, where they then met hosts England at Wembley. It was a see-saw affair which saw the Kiwis trailing 18–14 with one minute on the clock remaining until star play-maker Shaun Johnson produced a magical moment to level the scores and then convert his try after the siren to win the match and make the Kiwis advance to a third consecutive World Cup Final. The win also made the Kiwis equal their best winning streak record of five games. In the final, watched by a record international attendance of 74,468, they were outclassed at 'The Theatre of Dreams' as Australia earned revenge for their 2008 final defeat. After the World Cup Kearney was put under pressure after it was found out players were mixing sleeping pills and energy drinks during the tournament which affected performances. He had to reapply for his job and was only given a two-year contract, unlike the usual one that would end after the next World Cup, which the NZRL said was because he needed to "re-establish the culture at the Kiwis which was damaged so badly at the World Cup". Kearney immediately took action, naming six debutantes for the first test-match of 2014.