England captain George Williams has revealed that his side “really did believe” that they could emerge victorious in this Ashes series, despite the clear difference in quality between the two sides.
Following a 26-6 defeat at Wembley, a 14-4 loss at Everton and a 30-8 defeat at Headingley, England finish the series with just two tries scored in the three Tests, one of which came from the skipper.
Their physicality and intensity increased in the final two matches, but their inability to pose any real attacking threat is what harmed them most against a far superior Australia side.
The worrying thing for England is that the Kangaroos played nowhere near the level expected of them, yet they still couldn’t post points or capitalise.
Williams, who gave a post-match interview to the BBC following the Headingley Test’s conclusion, spoke on his disappointment at coming away without a win in any of the games.
He said: “We’ve probably said similar things in all three tests, that we’re in the game for 60 minutes, 50 minutes, whatever it may be. We had some good ball down there but didn’t execute, and they’ve come down here and scored three tries, and that’s the game.
“At this level, it’s disappointing, but it shows we’ve got a lot to work on.”
As mentioned, Australia were by no means at their best, but Williams believes they should be applauded for how well they defended, particularly on their own goal line.
Asked what the hardest thing about playing the Kangaroos was, he revealed: “Posting points. You’ve got to give some credit, their goal-line defence was really good. We needed a bounce of the ball, a little bit of luck to get over us. They seemed to break us a little bit easier than we could.”
George Williams believes there is hope for England ahead of World Cup
The question for England now is where do they go from here? With a squad full of aging players and a head coach that the fans want out, the next 12 months will be crucial for the future of English rugby league.
Williams, who is one of a few players in the squad that were picked on ‘credit in the bank’ rather than form, spoke on how frustrating it is to finish the series with no reward.
“There’s lots to work on and really disappointing to go 3-0 because we really believed we could do something in this series and we’ve not done it.
The Warrington Wolves man believes there is hope heading into next year’s World Cup, with the squad coming closer together across this series.
“There are some disappointed lads but it probably shows where we’re at heading into a World Cup next year.
“We’ve built a bond over the last three or four years, trying to build it together, what we’ve built, and that’s probably a big disappointing thing of it. We really did believe we could come here and win the series, so a lot of reflecting to do.
“Even though we’re not a million miles away, the scoreboard looks like that, so yeah, I’ll do some reflecting, we’ll all do it individually and collectively and then we’ll come back together.”
Serious About Rugby League has launched a brand new podcast which can be watched in full on our YouTube channel here.
1872 Warrior
November 9, 2025 at 4:00 pm
Inconsistant and out of form Williams should never even been selected in the squad
William friar
November 9, 2025 at 6:11 pm
Well beaten in two out of the three defeats, thought Aussies took it easy in third test as series already won. much fitter and more committed to winning the game. Our so called superstars Welsby, Lewis, Williams, didn,t make any effective part of the games, in fact were the 3 worst players.