Rugby League Ashes 2025: England v Australia Kangaroos

[MillionMilesAway]

Clever to kick away from the tall men, lucky bounce, try

 

[MillionMilesAway]

England need more wide threat on the left
Clear penalty but the yellow seems harsh. England need to score twice in this ten

Video ref is having a day.

 

[.db.]

England need more wide threat on the left
Clear penalty but the yellow seems harsh. England need to score twice in this ten

Video ref is having a day.

I think Wardle gets rag-dolled too easily at this level. He has in both Ashes games and did in the Grand Final by Rovers. Wardle is the same height as Farnworth in the centre position on the other flank, but he’s 2 stone 8 lbs lighter than him, he’s taller than both the Kangaroos centres but lighter than both of them. And he doesn’t run/carry heavier than his weight like Mark Percival does.

He also doesn’t have an understanding with Johnstone as an edge pair.

Unfortunately, Matty Ashton is injured otherwise he would have played on the wing. And if Welsby was up to owt at full back, Brimson could play in his natural left centre position.
Ashton+Brimson would be a different prospect on the left.

Without that as a possibility, I’d have preferred a Handley or Newman at centre from Leeds. Maybe even a Handley+Newman centre and wing pair. Both are stronger than Wardle. But especially Handley at centre who I do rate more highly than Wardle.

 

[.db.]

Much better this week, first half we were excellent.

However, second half it took us twenty minutes to get going, and in that time Australia won the game. Bloody frustrating. We needed to come out after half time like a house on fire, but having a sit down in the changing rooms did us no good at all.

The Kiwis showed Australia are beatable when they hammered them 30-0 in the Pacific Championship Final two years ago. But we’ve not really had the belief in the two tests that we could go and beat them. It’d be close to impossible to win the Ashes but Australia do have a defeat in them as the Kiwis showed.

Let’s beat them next week, because it can happen.

 

[MillionMilesAway]

Munster speaks really well, I think.
Fairly comfortable for most of the second half.

 

[Corky]

Game over after the first try. The sin bin gave a bit of hope, but that was the only decent spell in the 2nd half.

10 points better than last week, will be 2-2 next game.....

 

[Tim of the Oak]

Lost the spirit to take the games down to the wire after half time. Lots of dropped ball also increased our fatigue.

A really good showing from the starting forwards.

Embarrassing for our left wing to be shunted into touch twice when he could have kicked the ball down the line to pressure the Aussies.

I was at the game and the atmosphere was good for most of the game. We got a bit dispirited after their tries but lifted it when Walsh was sin binned.

I also like the way Dom Young and Farnworth have got stuck in over the 2 games.

 

[Stephen230]

Bit closer but you never thought for one minute that England might actually win.

One try in two games and even that was in garbage time. The Aussies more or less know that once they get to 10 points the game is all but won.

Depends how focussed they are for next week now. Traditionally the losing team in a dead rubber tend to do quite well. But I wouldn't want my life savings on England winning a game if they played every week from now until Christmas.

 

[Corky]

Bit closer but you never thought for one minute that England might actually win.

One try in two games and even that was in garbage time. The Aussies more or less know that once they get to 10 points the game is all but won.

Depends how focussed they are for next week now. Traditionally the losing team in a dead rubber tend to do quite well. But I wouldn't want my life savings on England winning a game if they played every week from now until Christmas.

Traditionally Australia win the 3rd Test in the last 50+ years, only once they haven't.

 

[Tim of the Oak]

Traditionally Australia win the 3rd Test in the last 50+ years, only once they haven't.

They’ve got tremendous players who haven’t touched the ball yet like Mitch Moses and Bradman Best. The third test will be another tough encounter with the Aussies determined to make it 3 nil.

Anyone going to the game is well me in the New Headingley Club, St Michael’s Road

 

[Stephen230]

Traditionally Australia win the 3rd Test in the last 50+ years, only once they haven't.

I was probably thinking more of cricket. I have ( probably distorted ) memories from my youth of England getting battered all summer and then winning the final test at the Oval, while the tourists were more concerned with packing their bags and going home.

 

[Pancake Arse]

Should have had Jake Connor paired with Mikey Lewis. We needed to play more off the cuff rugby rather than the structured regimental style we get with Williams and Smith
Wane is a dinosaur, the rugby league equivalent of Neil Warnock.

 

[.db.]

For anyone interested, as well as the final Ashes test on Saturday at 2.30pm, it’s also the Pacific Championship Final on Sunday morning.

5.05am
New Zealand v Samoa (Sky Sports Mix)

They faced up in week one of the Group Phase. It was a cracking game, 24-18 win for the Kiwis. Two class teams!



Toa ran them close though. Proper limbs when they made it 18-18. Their fans are going to be wild in the final.


Also Cook Islands v South Africa World Cup Qualifier (winner makes the 2026 WC) is on earlier that same morning on Sky Sports + at 0.35am

 

[chesterbells]

Should have had Jake Connor paired with Mikey Lewis. We needed to play more off the cuff rugby rather than the structured regimental style we get with Williams and Smith
Wane is a dinosaur, the rugby league equivalent of Neil Warnock.

It did strike me on Saturday that we looked like we had a real lack of flair or imagination when it came to finishing things off and getting over the try line. Solid elsewhere but just looked like we had no ideas up that end of the field.

On a broader note, was an interesting first visit to the stadium. As my Everton pal had warned me they seem to have fitted as many women’s toilets as men’s, so plenty of queuing to be had.
The steep rake of the stands makes for a decent atmosphere though and it felt fabulous to be at a big sold out RL event.
Enjoy Saturday @Tim of the Oak mate, and have a pint for me in the New Headingley!

 

[Manc in London]

It did strike me on Saturday that we looked like we had a real lack of flair or imagination when it came to finishing things off and getting over the try line. Solid elsewhere but just looked like we had no ideas up that end of the field.

On a broader note, was an interesting first visit to the stadium. As my Everton pal had warned me they seem to have fitted as many women’s toilets as men’s, so plenty of queuing to be had.
The steep rake of the stands makes for a decent atmosphere though and it felt fabulous to be at a big sold out RL event.
Enjoy Saturday @Tim of the Oak mate, and have a pint for me in the New Headingley!

That has been the case since the 80s.

The British/English always match the Aussies for effort, toughness and physical resilience but they have always had technically superior players who are far more intelligent. Re the latter, what do you expect when we rely on players born in the likes of St Helens, Hull, Wakefield, Huddersfield and Wigan. ;)

The lack of quality halves produced by this country in the last 40 years has been shameful. I could name over 30 Australian scrum halves and standoffs in the last 25 years who never played for their national team but are better than any who have played for England or GB over the same time period. The centre position has generally been grim too.

The only reason we stayed in games down the years was because we had some top quality forwards like Farrell, Sculthorpe, Peacock, S Burgess, Platt, Skerrett, Moz et al

 

[chesterbells]

That has been the case since the 80s.

The British/English always match the Aussies for effort, toughness and physical resilience but they have always had technically superior players who are far more intelligent. Re the latter, what do you expect when we rely on players born in the likes of St Helens, Hull, Wakefield, Huddersfield and Wigan. ;)

The lack of quality halves produced by this country in the last 40 years has been shameful. I could name over 30 Australian scrum halves and standoffs in the last 25 years who never played for their national team but are better than any who have played for England or GB over the same time period. The centre position has generally been grim too.

The only reason we stayed in games down the years was because we had some top quality forwards like Farrell, Sculthorpe, Peacock, S Burgess, Platt, Skerrett, Moz et al

I suspect you and many others on this thread have seen a lot more of the sport that I have, but it also struck me on the weekend - and in plenty of other games that I have seen - just how much more comfortable Aussie players are with off-loads. Hardly saw our players doing it successfully from the beginnings of a tackle, but for them it makes the moves so much more dangerous, sustained and harder to defend against. Ties in with what you are saying I guess.

 

[Pancake Arse]

I suspect you and many others on this thread have seen a lot more of the sport that I have, but it also struck me on the weekend - and in plenty of other games that I have seen - just how much more comfortable Aussie players are with off-loads. Hardly saw our players doing it successfully from the beginnings of a tackle, but for them it makes the moves so much more dangerous, sustained and harder to defend against. Ties in with what you are saying I guess.

Our forwards can match them, that's never really been the issue.
Our creativity and game management is absolutely terrible.
I've said it time and time again, the Aussie players watch our game and think all their christmasses have come at once. We are so stick in the mud, so set in our ways that we have no current halfback that can play anything but wane's thugby and tactics.

 

[.db.]

That has been the case since the 80s.

The British/English always match the Aussies for effort, toughness and physical resilience but they have always had technically superior players who are far more intelligent. Re the latter, what do you expect when we rely on players born in the likes of St Helens, Hull, Wakefield, Huddersfield and Wigan. ;)

The lack of quality halves produced by this country in the last 40 years has been shameful. I could name over 30 Australian scrum halves and standoffs in the last 25 years who never played for their national team but are better than any who have played for England or GB over the same time period. The centre position has generally been grim too.

The only reason we stayed in games down the years was because we had some top quality forwards like Farrell, Sculthorpe, Peacock, S Burgess, Platt, Skerrett, Moz et al

Paul Sulthorpe and Garry Schofield were up there with any Aussie half-backs.

Danny McGuire was never picked for England and Great Britain anywhere near enough. He wasn’t even picked for the 2013 World Cup squad and was barely picked for 2008 World Cup games. But he was a big game player, winning the Harry Sunderland twice (both after he stopped getting picked for England), and scorer of 276 tries in his career including 39 one seasons, as a half-back… he only played 19 games for England and GB in a 21 year career.

But outside that, there aren’t many. Like you say, the Aussies have numerous names like that. Even Andrew Johns only played for Australia 26 times in a 21 year career. Some never even picked.

As for the pack, McMeeken was class in Saturday, the back row of Knowles, Pearce-Paul and Watkins all played well n’all. But it’s a far cry from the quality of depth we had in the 00s: Morley, Newton, Peacock, Fielden, A.Farrell, McDermott, Anderson… then the 10s: S.Burgess, Roby, Graham, Westwood, Ellis, O’Loughlin, G.Burgess, Hill…

 

[MillionMilesAway]

I suspect you and many others on this thread have seen a lot more of the sport that I have, but it also struck me on the weekend - and in plenty of other games that I have seen - just how much more comfortable Aussie players are with off-loads. Hardly saw our players doing it successfully from the beginnings of a tackle, but for them it makes the moves so much more dangerous, sustained and harder to defend against. Ties in with what you are saying I guess.

That's about right, I don't recall many of the supporting runs on the shoulder, instead the carrier went to ground or got surrounded.

Fullbacks can't affect play much without having a moving line to run into and be an overload. In the first test, it was so passive for much of it, there was no line to add an extra man to.
In the second test, there was more progress in the middle, but not a lot going wide down an attacking line. Kicking high for wingers seems to be the popular move nowadays.
Compare with Walsh sweeping behind a line and then darting forward - a threat wherever he is. Also much faster than the England fullbacks (either one).

I concur with the comment about Wane - his tactics seem very basic, and don't worry the best.

 

[.db.]

Chasing History episode 3: