Jon Wilkin has doubled down on his prediction of a 3-0 series win for Australia in this autumn’s Rugby League Ashes, insisting the Kangaroos ‘should be embarrassed’ if they don’t whitewash England.
Hull-born Wilkin made 16 appearances for England during his playing career as well as six for Great Britain.
Six of his 22 international games saw him line up against Australia, with the only victory he tasted against the Kangaroos coming in the very first of those: a 23-12 success Down Under during the 2006 edition of the Tri-Nations.
Now a pundit, the Yorkshireman – who will celebrate his 42nd birthday as England square off against Australia in Saturday afternoon’s second Test – forms part of the BBC’s line-up for this autumn’s series.
During last weekend’s coverage of the opening Test at Wembley, which England lost 26-6, Wilkin delivered a pretty solemn verdict on the state of the game here in the UK.
And speaking on Sky Sports in the lead up to this weekend’s second Test at Everton FC’s Hill Dickinson Stadium, his outlook had not got much more positive.
‘If they don’t come here and whack us three times, I think it’s embarrassing on them… it reflects worse on them than it does on us’
If Shaun Wane’s side are beaten on Merseyside, they’ll go 2-0 down in the series and victory for the Kangaroos will be sealed ahead of November 8’s final Test at Headingley.
That meeting in Leeds could be a series decider if England were to win on Saturday, but Wilkin can’t see that happening, as he explained: “Just for some context, 11 times the number of people participate in rugby league in Australia.
“The salary cap is four to five times bigger than the sport in this country, yet we approached the series with hope that England could do something.
“It’s the number one sport in Australia. The commercial side of the game is ten times more successful than it is in this country.
“There are ten times the amount of people who play it.”
Doubling down on his assessment, Wilkin then went on to discuss the possibility – and probability – of a 3-0 series whitewash with brutal honesty.
He said: “I think it’s an embarrassment if Australia don’t beat us 3-0. I think they should be embarrassed.
“If they don’t come here and whack us three times, I think it’s embarrassing on them. I think it reflects worse on them than it does on us.”
“The state of the game in this country is exactly where it’s been.
“It’s bound by history, the inertia of history and geography as well. We’ve been stuck in the north. I think it’s not comparing apples with apples. It’s very likely to be 3-0.”
