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Australia saw off another defiant effort from England to complete an Ashes series whitewash, in a Test match that had all the hallmarks of the first two but which leaves the hosts with major question marks over their future before next year’s World Cup.
This series had been billed as the most important moment for English rugby league in years, with the Ashes returning after a 22-year hiatus. In the first two Tests, the theme had largely been the same: England undoubtedly competed but lacked attacking quality when it mattered most.
The story in Leeds was the same. England trailed by just four at half-time at Headingley and looked well set to at least push to make it 2-1. But they wasted chance after chance to go ahead and after the Kangaroos quelled that pressure, they finished the stronger to run out comfortable victors.
Shaun Wane remains under contract for next year’s World Cup but his side has scored just two tries in three games. This was far from a vintage Kangaroos side but England were still a distant second.
The writing appeared to be on the wall for the hosts early on, when Australia broke the deadlock with worryingly minimal fuss. A slick handling move to the left had England’s defence sliding in too far, allowing Josh Addo-Carr a walk-in at the corner for his first try of the series.
As in the first two Tests, England responded well in terms of their spirit and possession deep in Australian territory but they did little to threaten the Kangaroos’ line when it mattered most.
Their cause wasn’t helped with AJ Brimson going off with a shoulder injury and the Hull KR half-back Mikey Lewis having to slot in at full-back. Lewis’s inexperience in that position was then exploited as Nathan Cleary’s pinpoint kick caught him off-guard and Hudson Young capitalised to make it 12-0. At that stage, you feared things would get ugly quickly for the hosts but to their credit, they rallied superbly to trail by just four at the break.
England needed a spark in attack and seven minutes from half-time Jez Litten – arguably the hosts’ player of the series – stepped through the Australia midfield before kicking ahead for George Williams. Harry Smith converted before adding a penalty on the stroke of the interval and suddenly, it was 12-8 and very much game on.
Frustratingly, all the momentum remained with England after the restart too. For a prolonged period they were camped on the Australia line but, just as at Everton a week earlier, they did nothing of any note when it mattered most, letting the Kangaroos off the hook time and time again.
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Sure enough, the Test was emphatically put to bed in a five-minute period in which the hosts switched off. On 62 minutes, the decisive try came as Australia went two scores ahead as Harry Grant scampered over from dummy-half before a sloppy passage of play from the hosts led to Reece Walsh scoring his third try of the series.
Just like that, with Cleary converting both, it was 24-8 and a brutal reminder of what had happened at Wembley and Everton. Walsh’s second with a minute remaining was further salt in the wounds.
Now, with the World Cup a year away, the inquest begins as to whether Wane carries on beyond a series that has felt like a huge missed opportunity for English rugby league.
