Shaun Wane demands “almighty performance” as England Ashes prep revealed

England rugby league head coach, Shaun Wane, has reiterated to his team the agony of late defeats, and hopes they don’t succumb to another last-minute loss in this year’s Ashes Test series.

London hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for England over the past two decades, with their last win in the capital coming way back in 2006 – a 40-18 victory over Tonga at Twickenham.

They have come close to victory on multiple occasions, including their most recent outing, which came in 2022, as Samoa clinched a late drop goal to seal their place in the World Cup Final.

Going back further than that, England fans will unfortunately remember that late Shaun Johnson try, as the mercurial halfback jinked his way through the defence to put New Zealand in the 2013 World Cup Final.

Coach Wane is hoping to avenge those late defeats, and put a stamp down on the series by clinching a win in the first of three Tests against Australia, which takes place this Saturday at Wembley Stadium.

In those memorable games, albeit for the wrong reasons if you are an England fan, the outcomes came down to singular moments that turned the result in the opposition’s favour, and Wane knows his side can’t allow that to happen against a team with as much quality as the Aussies have.

Speaking in a press conference at Wembley this week, the England boss stated he has had conversations with the squad about those defeats, making sure they understand how important it is to stay in the game for the full 80 minutes.

“I have talked with the players [about late defeats],” he said. “No matter how close we come is irrelevant. I have spoken to the players about scenarios, and the importance of switching on for 80 minutes.

“We will show Australia respect, and make sure we are switched on right to the very end.”

England boss says players “know how good they must be” to defeat Australia

There’s no arguing that England will have to be near-perfect to get over the line in any of the three games, let alone win the series. The Australian team is littered with State of Origin stars and multiple-time NRL Grand Final winners who now how to perform when it matters most.

England, whilst they have proven winners of their own, what they may lack on quality, they will match, if not better the Aussies in grit, effort and determination.

Wane, who has coached his national side to series victories over Samoa and Tonga in the past two years, knows that every player he selected for Saturday afternoon will have to have the best performance of their career, and whilst that seems like a difficult task, he is full of confidence they can show up when it matters.

He said: “We need 17 players to have their best game, that is the level of quality in the Australian team.

“We have players who can do that. They know how good they must be. It will take an almighty performance, but we are doing everything we can.”

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