Much has changed in the 22 years since the last Ashes series but some things remain the same. More than two decades England had waited for this chance to test themselves against the world’s best and while there are two more clashes to come in which Shaun Wane’s men will hope to hit back, there can be no disputing that Australia remain exactly that. This was an imperfect performance in many ways from the world champion Kangaroos and yet still a chasm gaped between the two teams – if England are to win a first Ashes since 1973, they must find a level beyond that which they were capable of here.
The long wait for an Ashes return has much to do with Australian ambivalence towards the international game and while this game crackled and fizzed with an intensity befitting a fine occasion, this was not perhaps a colossal contest of the kind more regularly sighted during the State of Origin series nor the upper echelons of the NRL. A crowd of 60,812 lapped up a welcome comeback, but England struggled to make much imprint on their opposition and failed to do so at all on the scoreboard until four minutes from time, dispiriting those harbouring hopes of a home series success.
