Reece Walsh carved up England with ball in hand during the first Ashes Test last week. But England coach Shaun Wane has admitted his side needs to adapt to the star Aussie fullback’s newfound defensive prowess.
Walsh scored two tries with two line-breaks and five tackle-busts in the first game, running for an incredible 243 metres. It was the same attacking flare that he’s shown for the last few months while leading the Brisbane Broncos to the NRL premiership.
England have taken notice of Reece Walsh’s defensive change. Image: Channel 9/Getty
But he also prevented two England tries with brilliant defensive reads – just like he did when he saved the grand final against the Melbourne Storm. The Poms made two breaks in the first half that could have led to tries, but on both occasions Walsh read the final pass and knocked it down to save a four-pointer.
He did the exact same in the NRL grand final when Ryan Papenhuyzen looked destined to score the winning try at the death. Walsh hung with Eli Katoa just long enough to make the Storm forward pass, before committing to Papenhuyzen and cutting him down with a brilliant tackle.
England coach calls out Reece Walsh’s defence
It was the same last Saturday when he made Herbie Farnworth and Jake Wardle pass on two-on-one situations, before knocking down the pass to save two tries. Speaking on Friday ahead of the second Test, Wane admitted England were surprised by Walsh’s defensive abilities.
“He is a class player, there’s no doubt about that,” Wane said. “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.”
Wardle added: “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.”
Reece Walsh saved two England tries with brilliant defensive reads. Image: Channel 9
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Nathan Cleary praises Reece Walsh’s defensive change
Walsh hasn’t been known for his defence for the majority of his young career, but has undergone a huge change under new Broncos coach Michael Maguire. The premiership-winning coach has made Walsh realise that he can’t get away with being a poor defender, and Panthers star Nathan Cleary has noticed the change.
Walsh was famously caught out of position when Cleary scored the winning try in the 2023 grand final. But Cleary has certainly taken notice of the fullback’s major change.
“He’s certainly improved defensively, and worked at it. I think he’s realised just how important defence is, particularly in big games,” Cleary said last week.
“That’s why my respect for him has gone through the roof. We all know about his attack, but his defence has improved so much. He’s working on his communication. He was talking to me a fair bit, saying a lot of things and he’s pretty excited to always be in the game, which is his strength.
“But sometimes you’ve just got to calm him down a little bit. But it is his strength, so you’ve got to sort of release him and let him do his thing. He’s definitely not too shy on the big stage – Origin, grand finals, now at Test level. It’s no surprise that he performed the way he did. It’s no surprise what he’s doing.”