England head coach Shaun Wane has hinted he is not afraid to make changes for next weekend’s must-win second Ashes Test at Everton after the hosts were well beaten in the series opener.
Australia were worthy and dominant winners at Wembley Stadium on Saturday afternoon, as Kevin Walters’ side won 26-6 to clinch victory in the opening match of the series.
It leaves Wane’s England needing to win both of the last two Tests to claim a series victory – and Wane cut a disconsolate figure post-match. Here is everything the national team coach said..
Initial reaction..
“Poor. I know what they’re capable of and I don’t think we gave ourselves a chance to win. It wasn’t close really, they were the best team – no question about that. It hurts a lot.
“We were desperate to put pour best show on today and we didn’t do that. The things that we did wrong are easy fixes and we needed to fix them on the run, but we didn’t the best team won no doubt about it.”
Were England nervous?
“That’s what I saw, a bit apprehensive. We’ll have a look at the week and what we’ve done. We looked a bit anxious and a bit nervous and it wasn’t our kind of performance.
“We made line breaks and didn’t score, they made a break and scored. They were clinical and showed why they are the best team in the world. They need to see the best of us next week, that’s the beauty of three Tests. We did things today I didn’t think we were capable of.”
Where did it go wrong?
“The way we ended our sets. The way we turned the ball over and the quality of our last plays. They outplayed us and out-kicked us and that’s an area where we’re normally strong. It’s an easy area to fix but it has a huge effect.”
Will changes be made for Everton?
“I’ve got a strong 24. That’s the whole point of having a 24. I’ll be looking at everything. Every single position will be analysed and with us being obsessed to trying to get a win.
Will AJ Brimson come in?
“If he’s the man, we’ll make that change.”
Disappointment at letting a bumper Wembley crowd down..
“That makes me even sadder hearing that (it was a record Ashes crowd). We wanted to make them proud. We wanted to challenge Australia and so badly and that’s why I’m so upset.
“It’s easy for us now (motivation). The only thing in our mind now is us being the winners at Everton – we have to win. That dictates how you train and speak. We’ll dust ourselves off; this will hurt the boys but we’ll get in the video room and do some work.”
