‘Nerves out of the system’ after first Ashes Test as England forward reflects on Wembley loss

At one down with two to play, second-rower John Bateman admits England are “in a corner” ahead of Saturday’s second Ashes Test.

But the Bradford product insists that’s nothing new, and believes the home nation will be better with a game under their belt and says they are relishing the challenge of facing world champions Australia again, at Everton’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Though last weekend’s 26-6 defeat at Wembley heaped the pressure on England, Bateman stressed: “I think we were in a corner anyway, everyone put us in a corner.”

Coach Shaun Wane’s men created several chances before the interval and Bateman insisted: “We’ll recover and review and get back into it.

“They took their opportunities and we didn’t; we just need to ice those moments.

“We weren’t that far away, if we took those opportunities it would be a different story walking in at half-time.”

He added: “They were clinical and we weren’t. It’s as simple as that, they took their opportunities and we didn’t. We were taught a lesson and credit to them.

“We can’t do anything about it now, the score is the score, but the great thing about rugby league is you get another week to put things right and we’ll go again this week.”

“Everyone looked a bit nervous” – England star reflects on Ashes loss

Bateman knows the Australian game better than most, having played with three different clubs in the southern hemisphere NRL.

He made his debut for home city team Bradford Bulls as a 17-year-old in 2011 and had spells at Wigan Warriors either side of two seasons with Canberra Raiders.

He returned Down Under to join Wests Tigers and, after a stint on loan at Warrington Wolves last year, featured for North Queensland Cowboys in 2025.

With Australia on the verge of recording a 14th successive Ashes series win, Bateman reckons it won’t be a challenge to get English chins off the floor.

“Everyone looked a bit nervous, for some reason and it’s probably good to get that out of our system,” he observed.

“There were a couple of young kids in there and lads making their debut and everyone will be excited to get back into it. There’ll be some sore bodies, no doubt about that, but we’re all looking forward to it.”

More than 60,000 fans, a record for an Ashes Test in this country, attended at Wembley and Bateman felt England let them down with their performance. The incentive now is to make amends in front of a full house in Liverpool.

“Playing at a stadium like that, you want to put on a show,” he conceded. “We didn’t, Australia got the chocolates and we have to go again this week.”

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