Australia deliver brutal reminder to England as Walsh seals Ashes sweep
Australia saw off another defiant effort from England to complete an Ashes series whitewash and leave the hosts with major questions over their future before next year’s World Cup.This series had been billed as the most important moment for English rugby league in years, with the Ashes returning after a 22-year hiatus.In the first two Tests, the theme had largely been of England undoubtedly competing but lacking attacking quality when it mattered most.The story in Leeds was the same.England trailed by four at half-time at Headingley and looked well placed to at least push to make it 2-1.
But they wasted chance after chance to go ahead and after the Kangaroos quelled that pressure, they finished the stronger to run out comfortable victors.Shaun Wane remains under contract for the World Cup but his side have scored only two tries in three games.This was far from a vintage Kangaroos side but England were still a distant second.The pressure on Wane will intensify, though the 61-year-old has emphatically insisted he has to remain in charge.When asked post-match if he believed he was the right man to lead England into that World Cup, Wane said: “I don’t believe.
I know I am,” That was echoed by his captain, George Williams, though it is impossible to avoid the reality that this series has felt like a missed opportunity,“We’ve not played well enough for long enough periods against a really good team,” Wane lamented,“This is a different challenge against a team that’s going to ask you questions,We couldn’t do it for long enough periods.
”England Brimson; Burgess, Newman, Farnworth, Johnstone; Williams, Smith; Lees, Litten, McMeeken, Watkins, Pearce-Paul, Knowles.Interchange Lewis, Oledzki, Smithies, WalmsleyTry Williams Goals Smith 2Australia Walsh; Nawaqanitawase, Staggs, Shibasaki, Addo-Carr; Munster, Cleary; Carrigan, Grant, Fa’asuamaleaui, Crichton, Young, Yeo.Interchange Dearden, Cotter, Collins, KoloamatangiTries Addo-Carr, Young, Grant, Walsh 2 Goals Cleary 5He will have to turn to a younger core of players for 2026, you suspect, with no mid-season or warm-up games scheduled as it stands.The question is whether anyone could turn water into wine with the embarrassing level of preparation the national team are routinely afforded.The writing appeared to be on the wall for the hosts early on, when Australia broke the deadlock with worryingly minimal fuss.
A slick handling move to the left had England’s defence sliding in too far, allowing Josh Addo-Carr a walk-in at the corner for his first try of the series,As in the first two Tests, England responded well in terms of their spirit and possession deep in Australian territory but they did little to threaten the Kangaroos’ line when it mattered most,Sign up to The RecapThe best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend’s actionafter newsletter promotionTheir cause wasn’t helped when AJ Brimson went off with a shoulder injury and the Hull KR half-back Mikey Lewis had to slot in at full-back,Lewis’s inexperience in that position was then exploited as Nathan Cleary’s pinpoint kick caught him off guard and Hudson Young capitalised to make it 12-0,At that stage, you feared things would get ugly quickly for the hosts but to their credit they rallied superbly.
England needed a spark in attack and seven minutes from half-time Jez Litten – arguably the hosts’ player of the series – stepped through the Australia midfield before kicking ahead for George Williams.Harry Smith converted before adding a penalty on the stroke of the interval and suddenly it was 12-8 and very much game on.All the momentum remained with England after the restart too.For a prolonged period they were camped on the Australia line but, just as at Everton a week earlier, they did nothing of any note when it mattered most, letting the Kangaroos off the hook time and time again.Sure enough, the Test was emphatically put to bed in a five-minute period in which the hosts switched off.
On 62 minutes, the decisive try came as Australia went two scores in front as Harry Grant scampered over from dummy-half before a sloppy passage of play from England led to Reece Walsh scoring his third try of the series.Just like that, with Cleary converting both, it was 24-8 and a brutal reminder of what had happened at Wembley and Everton.Walsh’s second with a minute remaining was further salt in the wounds.Now with the World Cup a year away, the inquest begins as to whether Wane carries on beyond this series.
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