Leeds Rhinos' Kallum Watkins stresses attention to detail as England aim to avoid Australia Ashes whitewash
England’s hopes of avoiding an Ashes whitewash hinge on whether they can take their chances at AMT Headingley today, according to Leeds Rhinos veteran Kallum Watkins.
The 34-year-old is set to feature for England on his home ground for the first time, having played 80 minutes in last week’s 14-4 defeat to Australia at Everton FC’s Hill Dickinson Stadium. Watkins described his return to the international stage, after three years, as “an honour and a privilege”, but admitted the game itself was one that got away.
It was all square at the break and the only second half scoring came in a five-minute period when the Kangaroos ran in two tries. Watkins reckons “small details” made the difference and will be crucial again in Saturday’s third and final showdown.
“We had a few chances, but there were a couple of moments in the second half where we let ourselves down, not completing our sets and we got punished for it,” he said of the loss in Liverpool, which followed a 26-6 reverse in the Wembley opener. “It’s just the small details and moments Australia took advantage of, which they will do because they are a fantastic team.
“It’s disappointing we didn’t execute well enough against a quality side like that. They scrambled really well, but you don’t get many chances so you’ve got to take them. The Aussies did that in the second half last week, but we’ve just got to keep going.
“A lot of it is about belief and the connection you have as a team. We want to win and want to beat the best; they pride themselves on doing the tough stuff really well, but for us it is all about small details. You have to execute and take chances when you can.”
Watkins could be one of three Leeds men playing in front of a sold-out home crowd, alongside prop Mikolaj Oledzki and centre Harry Newman who is included in England’s 19 for the first time in the series. Newman replaces Jake Wardle and Hull KR winger Joe Burgess comes in for broken foot victim Dom Young.
Despite having retained the Ashes, Australia coach Kevin Walters will field his strongest-available side, the only change being captain Isaah Yeo’s return from concussion at loose-forward, with Lindsay Smith dropping out of the 17.
“The Aussies will want to make it 3-0, no doubt about it,” Watkins warned. “They will be determined to do that, but we’ll take some positives [from last week’] and try to get the result, because we’ve not beaten Australia for a very long time.”
With John Bateman again unavailable because of an ankle injury, Watkins is expected to retain his place in England’s starting second-row. He said: “I hadn’t played in four weeks and I felt all right. To be honest, it helped in the first half because it was quite stop-start.
“There were a couple of moments when it was quite tough, especially in the second half, but I got through it pretty well. Last week was special, playing at that fantastic new stadium, but I’ve never played an international game at Headingley so it will be special, if I get the opportunity.”