'Battles with myself': Leeds Rhinos' Mikolaj Oledzki reveals 'tough conversations' led to England Ashes recall
Leeds Rhinos forward Mikolaj Oledzki has revealed the struggles he went through to force his way back into the England team.
The 26-year-old prop earned his third England cap as a substitute during last Saturday’s 14-4 defeat by Australia in the second ABK Beer Ashes Test at Everton FC’s Hill Dickinson Stadium. It was the first time he had pulled on an England jersey in anger since a World Cup win against France three years ago.
Rhinos’ player of the year in 2021 and 2022, he admits his form dropped off after the second of those honours, so - despite the result - his return to England duty was “very special”. The Polish-born pack man said: “Last time I was in was 2022 in the World Cup and it wasn’t the best experience for me.
“I couldn’t deliver the best version of myself and I ended up only playing one game, which was very disappointing for me. I wanted to show Shaun [Wane, England’s coach] what I am capable of, but I wasn’t 100 per cent fit and I couldn’t show him that.
“The last few years, I’ve had some blips and struggled a bit for form and probably kind of felt a bit sorry for myself, but to get to this point, I have grown and matured and learned as well. I have learned a lot about myself and my game. To be in this position, to pull the England jersey on again and represent England and my family, it is very special.
“After the last two years - the disappointments, the battles I’ve had with myself and the tough conversations I’ve had to have with people, with coaches - to get to this point feels like a big achievement for me personally. It means the world to me to be here, representing England and my family.”
After a 26-6 defeat in the opening Test, the series has been lost, but Oledzki is desperate for another chance in Saturday’s final match on his own turf. “Headingley has a special place in my heart,” he stated. “I have played there all my career. You won’t get 50,000 in there, but you will get a very loud 20,000 or so. It is a fantastic stadium with a very rich history and fingers crossed I get to run out in an England jersey to a proud and very loud Headingley stadium.”
England pushed Australia all the way in last weekend’s game, going in all-square at the break before being undone by two tries in five second half minutes. Oledzki reflected: “We’re disappointed with how it ended. We thought we could have got more out of the game, but sometimes that’s the way the sport goes.
“The disappointing part of it is, for 70 minutes we were pretty much in the game and on top of them. The physicality was there, but two quick tries let the game get away from us. We can use it as fuel and we know if we can get an 80-minute performance, like we did for 70 minutes, we are not far from getting the result.”
Oledzki insisted Saturday’s game, in front of a capacity crowd, isn’t a dead rubber. He stressed: “All that matters to me is us, as a team, getting the win. I can’t even think of a scenario where they beat us 3-0. It is a must-win for us and there’s no better place than Headingley to do it.
“It’s going to be a great atmosphere and it’ll be a proper northern welcome. I am sure the fans will have plenty to give out to them and we know, as a group, it is unacceptable to not get a win during this series. There will be full motivation and concentration on getting a win over them and making sure they don’t get on the plane with three wins which we could have prevented.
"It will be a hard, intense week. We will go into it the same as we did [last Saturday], but the aim is to execute for 80 minutes and avoid the little blips. In these kinds of games, when you are playing against the best, it’s little margins that cost you the game and the bounce of the ball sometimes.”