Australia legend Willie Mason has delivered a brutal assessment of England during this autumn’s Ashes: saying the hosts ‘don’t have danger’ in their game and they lack physicality.
England are 2-0 down with one match left to play, as the series heads for AMT Headingley this weekend with the hosts looking to avoid a whitewash 3-0 defeat.
It remains to be seen whether both teams will make changes to their sides with the series done, and Mason – speaking on the Levels podcast – has admitted he’s been disappointed with aspects of what England have produced.
Speaking about their spine at Everton on Saturday, Mason admitted he felt Harry Smith managed the game well but there wasn’t enough spark from England’s creative players.
He said: “I thought the Harry Smith guy.. he’s a game manager. Kicks good and will get you into space but he doesn’t engage the line. When they were in attack mode, our As and markers pressured him massively and made him pass the ball. Pressure the half-back and make him play early.
“They just don’t have that danger. They all had a crack.. it was a tough game.”
Mason did not stop there, also admitting he was surprised with the lack of physicality from England’s forwards across the opening two Test matches.
He said: “They (England) can always handle our pack, but it just wasn’t physical enough. There’s no massive hitter in our pack apart from Tino, but they’re all great defenders. You don’t have to be a massive hitter anymore. You just have to be a really good defender and they’re all gun defenders from 1 to 17. England couldn’t find any space at all.”
England are likely to bring in the likes of Harry Newman and Joe Burgess this weekend for the final game, while the Kangaroos could introduce players including Mitchell Moses, Dylan Edwards and Ethan Strange with the series already settled.
