Veteran Kallum Watkins believes England can beat Australia if they get the “small details” right.
England’s hopes of avoiding an Ashes series whitewash hinge on Saturday’s third Test at a sold-out Headingley Stadium.
Watkins is in contention to feature in an international on his home ground for the first time, having played the full 80 minutes in last week’s 14-4 defeat to Australia at Everton FC’s Hill Dickinson Stadium.
He admitted his England return, after three years, was “an honour and a privilege”, but reckons the result was one that got away.
“We had a few chances, but there were a couple of moments in the second half where we let ourselves down, not completing our sets and we got punished for it,” the 34-year-old second-rower said of the loss in Liverpool.
“It’s just the small details and moments Australia took advantage of, which they will do because they are a fantastic team. It’s disappointing we didn’t execute well enough against a quality side like that.”
Watkins added: “They scrambled really well, but it’s small details and small margins. You don’t get many chances so you’ve got to take them.
“The Aussies did that in the second half last week, but we’ve just got to keep going. A lot of it is about belief and the connection you have as a team.
“We want to win and want to beat the best. They pride themselves on doing the tough stuff really well, but for us it is all about small details – you have to execute and take chances when you can.”
Despite having retained the Ashes, Australia coach Kevin Walters will field his strongest-available side, the only change being captain Isaah Yeo’s return from concussion at loose-forward, with Lindsay Smith dropping out of the 17.
“The Aussies will want to make it 3-0, no doubt about it,” Watkins warned. “They will be determined to do that, but we’ll take some positives [from last week’] and try to get the result, because we’ve not beaten Australia for a very long time.”
With John Bateman again unavailable because of an ankle injury, Watkins is expected to retain his place in England’s starting second-row.
Completing the full game a week ago was an impressive achievement and he said: “I hadn’t played in four weeks and I felt all right.
“To be honest, it helped in the first half because it was quite stop-start. There were a couple of moments when it was quite tough, especially in the second half, but I got through it pretty well.
“Last week was special, playing at that fantastic new stadium, but I’ve never played an international game at Headingley so it will be special, if I get the opportunity.”
Serious About Rugby League has launched a brand new podcast which can be watched in full on our YouTube channel here.
