Shaun Wane has sung the praises of Kangaroos star Reece Walsh, labelling him a ‘special’ player: but re-iterated that his England side must find a way to limit his sway on this weekend’s second Ashes Test.
On what was his international debut, full-back Walsh delivered a man-of-the-match showing at Wembley last Saturday as Australia took a 1-0 lead in the series with a 26-6 victory.
The Brisbane Broncos ace enjoyed a starring role with the ball in hand under the arch as his two tries helped Kevin Walters’ side to a comfortable victory.
But his defensive contributions were immense and at least equally, if not more important.
Shaun Wane lauds ‘special’ Reece Walsh as honest admission made ahead of second Ashes Test
A Clive Churchill Medal winner for his man-of-the-match display in the Broncos’ NRL Grand Final triumph this year, he twice stopped what looked like sure-fire England tries in the first half.
Without those moments in the capital, the game could have gone a different way, and though the margins were slender ones in those opportunities, England head coach Wane says his side must find a way to take them.
Speaking to the media on Monday afternoon at England‘s training base in Manchester, the 61-year-old said: “He (Walsh) is a class player, there’s no doubt about that.
“They’ve got lots of class players in their team, but he’s special. The way he stopped our tries, he took a complete risk.
“Our execution has got to be better. You don’t get many chances to score a try in international rugby league, and we missed a few.
“All credit to him, he put himself in a position that stopped us scoring.”
‘I think we need to take as much time away from him as we can’
One of those two big defensive plays from Walsh at Wembley denied Wigan Warriors centre Jake Wardle an assist.
As he broke through, he had Tom Johnstone to his left and Mikey Lewis to his right. It was Lewis he opted to try and pick out for a walk-in under the posts, but Walsh came out on top in the two-on-one situation as his fingertips denied England.
Wardle joined boss Wane in praising Australia‘s full-back, saying: “He’s obviously a very good player.
“It was a big play from him, I’ve got to give him credit.
“It’s one of those, I think we need to take as much time away from him as we can.
“He is very quick and very athletic, and we saw what he can do in open space a couple of times, so we need to take as much time away from him as we can.”
