Rugby league-England up against it to end 55-year 'Ashes' drought

By Mitch Phillips

LONDON (Reuters) -England host Australia at Wembley on Saturday in the first of a three-test rugby league series when the list of "first since" references could fill the match-day programme as the hosts seek to overturn decades of Kangaroo dominance.

It is the first "Ashes" series between the sport's original big two for 22 years, when Australia swept to a 3-0 whitewash over the side then competing as Great Britain.

That extended a run of Australian dominance that dates back to 1970 - the last time Great Britain won a series - and was their 13th successive triumph in a contest that began 117 years ago.

Either side of the 2003 series the teams have met in one-off matches, with England/Britain wins coming in the 1995 World Cup and 2006 Tri-Nations, but Australia having the last word on both occasions by winning the finals.

Nobody seems sure why it has taken 22 years to get a full three-match series back on the calendar but it is certainly proving popular, with a 60,000 Wembley crowd expected and the next two tests in the sport's northern heartland - at Everton's new football ground and Headingley, Leeds - already sold out.

To ensure it is not another two-decade wait for the next one, England will need to be competitive against a nation that could probably field four teams in a World Cup and fill all the semi-final places.

Despite failing to claim a series since 1970, and not winning a home one since 1959, British teams have almost always won a test and even in the 3-0 sweep in 2003 they led all three tests and lost by a single score in each.

AUSTRALIA'S WALSH STARS IN NRL GRAND FINAL

Australia coach Kevin Walters has named a squad containing three international debutants - Reece Walsh, Gehamat Shibasaki and Mark Nawaqanitawase - with another, Keaon Koloamatangi, on the bench after switching allegiance from Tonga.

Fullback Walsh was man-of-the-match when Brisbane Broncos beat Melbourne Storm in the NRL Grand Final three weeks ago.

Sydney Roosters winger Nawaqanitawase was the NRL's leading try-scorer last season having switched from union after playing in the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

"Every member of our squad, whether they take the field or not, is about to experience something incredibly special this Saturday at Wembley," Walters said.

"As I've said from day one of our preparations here in England, we're on this Ashes journey together because it's going to take a collective effort from everyone involved."

Australia are huge favourites to make it 14 series wins in a row but England captain George Williams believes his side will be no pushovers.

"They think they’re superior to us and, to be honest, Australia have beaten England regularly across a long period of time, so there’s a reason they have that confidence/arrogance," Williams told the Guardian.

"They think they’re the best in the world, but this is the best England team we’ve had in a long, long time. So we’re coming for them."

(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Ed Osmond)