The prospect of a Kangaroo tour next autumn had England licking their lips before this year’s series with Samoa had even finished.
IT’S not uncommon, as soon as one campaign is over, for attention to shift straight onto the next challenge.
But the news that Australia want to come north for next year’s Ashes series, broken down under only hours after England won the first of their two games against Samoa in Wigan, meant the hype started early.
Much of the build-up to the second international in Leeds was centred on the Kangaroos.
No offence was intended towards, or taken by, the Samoans, who provided decent enough opposition in 34-18 and 34-16 defeats which attracted over 30,000 fans in total.
But the excitement was immediately palpable at the all-too-rare prospect of an Ashes series against Australia – the first since 2003 – and now on home soil.
The two sides haven’t met on these shores since the 2016 Four Nations, or anywhere since the following year’s World Cup Final, a staggering eight-year gap.
The Kangaroos were set to visit in 2020, but the tour was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic. All being well, nothing will stop it this time.
England coach Shaun Wane said: “The players are up for it. They talk about nothing other than Australia and they’re excited by it. And I’m pleased that I can finally coach against Australia.”
As ever, a key question is how competitive an Ashes series would actually be. The last 13 were all won by the Kangaroos, the last British triumph coming in 1970. While the Lions won one Test in five of the most recent six (and led in the closing stages of all three matches in 2003), it’s a bruising record.
Since then, the Australian game has only gone from strength to strength, and accordingly the Kangaroos have won their last 12 matches against England/Great Britain, stretching back to 2006.
In five years as England coach, Wane is remarkably yet to face either Australia or New Zealand, but he is well aware it’s a step up from Samoa, Tonga and France.
“I’ve talked (to the players) about standards,” he said. “Moving forward, in every Super League game all of them play in, there’s an England standard we need to be at to give ourselves a chance of beating a team like Australia. There’s no point hiding from it, we need to be better.”
After the Samoa series, Wane called for the support of Super League clubs to aid England’s preparation to give him time with them during the season and the best possible action in the mid-season break.
In the last two years that has meant playing – and thrashing – France. The England coach wanted something better next time – a War of the Roses revival.
“I’d love that. I’ve played in a few Lancashire v Yorkshire games and it will be great if I can sit back and watch Lancashire and Yorkshire with a lot at stake and they’re ripping into each other.
“Lee Briers is one coach, Andy Last is another, an international trial would be fantastic and I’m sure it will happen in the next few years.
“Look at State of Origin, they’ve stuck at it and it’s a worldwide success. We need to start somewhere and I think next year would be fantastic.”
Alas, it won’t happen. Shortly afterwards, clubs not only rejected the prospect, but chose to remove the mid-season break from the domestic schedule altogether, meaning England won’t play again until next autumn and Wane won’t have a full camp with his players until then either.
You couldn’t make it up, and it made a mockery of Wane’s assertion that Super League clubs “all support the international calendar”.
He had said: “They know how important this is, an Ashes series at home, and it needs to be well supported. It needs to be three fantastic games which I’m sure it will.”
Debate has now turned to where those matches could be played. The Ashes games in the early 2000s were all played at packed heartland grounds – Huddersfield, Bolton, Wigan and Hull – but the keen anticipation may bring an expanded horizon like the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Elland Road, Old Trafford and Wembley were utilised.
As well as those grounds, modern football venues like those of Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City and (nearing completion) Everton also offer temptation to any ambitious administrator.
“I remember years ago going to Wembley to watch Great Britain play and there’s tens of thousands and the atmosphere is fantastic,” said Wane.
“We want those times back. I want to play Australia with 50 or 60,000 in and baying for blood. I’d love to be able to coach in a game like that.
“I’m sure all three will be really good venues. They’ve not been here for 20 years. Look at the superstars they have – well we have our own superstars, so it’s going to be fantastic.”
Look through the England team and it’s an understandable claim. There is an established spine now in Jack Welsby, captain George Williams and Harry Smith – all world-class players. There are backs like NRL stars Dom Young and Herbie Farnworth – world-class players. And in the pack, see Luke Thompson and Victor Radley – world-class players.
Farnworth, who has featured in the Dally M Team of the Year each of the past two NRL seasons, believes England have the talent to take on the Aussies.
“The (Samoa) series was a success and we are building up for the Ashes next year,” said the centre.
“Tonga have proved by getting over the Kiwis (in the Pacific Championships) that they are a quality side and Samoa are also a top-class team and to get two results like we have against them is a job well done.
“We have a very young team full of talent and, most importantly, they are willing to work hard too, which makes for a pretty good process when you put those two things together.
“It’s always nice to challenge yourselves against the world’s best and Australia are ranked number one for a reason, so it will be a good marker ahead of the World Cup.
“I think we have the talent and can put in the hard work to get the job done next year.”
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 503 (December 2024)
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