SO those dreams of us winning the Ashes for the first time since 1970 have been well and truly shattered – and the RFL need to get their thinking caps on over where to go from here.
In the short term, we need to do everything possible to salvage something from a troubling series at Headingley on Saturday.
In the longer term, there are lots of questions to be asked over how to improve standards both at international and domestic level, because the two are obviously interlinked.
The next World Cup may come too soon, because on the evidence of the two Tests so far in this country and what has been happening at the same time with internationals Down Under, whoever is in charge and whatever squad goes to next year’s tournament will have it all on to get the better of certainly Australia, but also New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga and the improving Papua New Guinea.
At the moment, getting to a first World Cup final since 2017, never mind winning the competition for the first time since 1972, seems a really long way off.
I thought Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium was sensational, but as a spectacle, the game was disappointing.
Yes the scoreline was closer than at Wembley, but there was still a big gulf between the sides.
England never genuinely looked like they could win it, and while they had some decent spells, Australia always looked like they had more than enough in the tank to get through with ease.
I had the feeling they were toying with England, just waiting for that period to turn the tap on and put the match to bed, which they did with those two tries early in the second half.
A lot has been said and written about Australia’s defence, with just the one try conceded over the two Tests so far.
Yes they looked very solid, but were they genuinely tested? There were the odd occasions when they needed to scramble, but they did that comfortably enough, and to be frank, it was pretty much all so simple and straightforward for them.
In the main, England played a boring style of rugby. While we all wanted to see something a bit different with Australia given something extra to think about, too often we looked a bit clueless.
We had capable centres out there in Herbie Farnworth and Jake Wardle, but they needed far cleaner and quicker service, while the two wingers Dom Young and Tom Johnstone were mainly used as bettering rams, with too few opportunities to show their power and pace.
I thought Jez Litten caught the eye at hooker and Kallum Watkins had a really good game in the second row, but overall Australia’s pack were comfortably in the ascendancy.
But there was hardly anything from the halfbacks, as George Williams was fairly anonymous and Harry Smith struggled as much as Mikey Lewis had done the week before to make much of a mark.
We didn’t seem to have a plan B, never mind C and D, and we didn’t seem to have any real spark or creativity.
That was also mentioned both by the Australians and the England supporters I spoke to.
Cast your eye over the regular specialist halves this season’s Super League.
Hull KR have Lewis, Wigan have Smith, Leigh have Gareth O’Brien, Leeds have Jake Connor, St Helens have Jonny Lomax, Warrington have Williams and Marc Sneyd and Wakefield have Jake Trueman.
But other than that, it’s generally overseas players, and while I have criticised Shaun Wane and his selections, to be fair to him, he doesn’t have a lot of options when it comes to quality operators.
That’s as a result of too many overseas journeymen heading to Super League and inhibiting the development of home-produced players, and with the change to the quota, that situation is unlikely to change any time soon.
As I have said in previous weeks, compare the level and intensity of Super League to that of the NRL. There’s such a big difference in the way the Australian players are having to perform week in, week out, and they also have Origin, while Waney was struggling to get his players even to train together during the season.
Of the Australia side, while Reece Walsh and Nathan Cleary were by their standards quite low key, I enjoyed the performance of Cameron Munster.
Their forwards were efficient and showed they aren’t going to be intimidated, and while avoiding a series whitewash is major motivation for England, I fear that with the series in the bag, Australia will turn on the style and provide an exhibition in Leeds.
I was a bit out with my predicted scoreline for the second Test, but I’m again going 42-10 for the third.
I’m happy to say I will be at Headingley thanks to an invitation from my local club Hunslet, having been wowed by Everton’s new home.
I know there are some issues with getting to and from the stadium and parking, but once in there it’s an amazing place.
I’ve long been a staunch traditionalist, and I think Wembley remains a special venue with a special place in the history of our game.
But if the powers that be ever decided to take the Challenge Cup final to a different venue and have it in the north or move the Grand Final away from Old Trafford, then Hill Dickinson Stadium has to be very firmly in their thinking.
