Reece Walsh is facing the prospect of being banned from the third Ashes Test after he was sin-binned in the Kangaroos’ 14-4 victory in the second game on Saturday night. Australia wrapped up the Ashes series for the 14th-straight time in a dour contest that was marred by sin-bins to Walsh, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and Dom Young.
Tempers frayed in just the second minute when Fa’asuamaleaui and Young were given their marching orders following a scuffle. But the big talking point came in the 65th minute when Walsh was marched for 10 minutes for collecting Young in the head with his shoulder.
Reece Walsh was sin-binned in the second Ashes Test between Australia and England. Image: Getty/Sky Sports
Young was contesting a bomb in the in-goal when Walsh came in very late and hit the winger shoulder-first in the head. Walsh jumped well after Young had already missed the ball, and didn’t make any attempt to wrap his arms. Walsh’s shoulder hit Young in the head, and the ugly act sparked another melee as England players remonstrated.
Reece Walsh hit Dom Young in the head with his shoulder. Image: Sky Sports
After it was reviewed by the video referee, Australian on-field ref Grant Atkins showed Walsh a yellow card. The fullback argued his case, but it was clearly the right call.
If the international match review committee comes down hard, there’s every possibility Walsh could be looking at a suspension that would rub him out of the third game next Saturday. If it occurred in the NRL and was deemed a grade-two offence, it would trigger a suspension.
Whether or not Walsh plays in the third game remains to be seen – even if he’s not suspended. Kevin Walters has the option of using some of his wider squad players in the dead rubber to give them a taste of Test footy.
Dylan Edwards would likely come in for Walsh at the back, while Mitchell Moses and Ethan Strange could see some time in the halves. Fellow squad players Bradman Best, Jacob Preston and Blayke Brailey are all options as well if Walters wants to give every member of his squad a run.
Kangaroos poor in second Test but England even worse
The second Test was a fiery and bruising encounter, with England showing much more steel than in their 26-6 loss in the first. But once again they didn’t have any strike in attack, and didn’t even score when Walsh was off the field.
The Kangaroos got tries from Cameron Munster and Hudson Young, but struggled with the shorter field (only 94 metres), which meant the referee struggled to police the 10m properly. There were also no line markings on every 10m point like we’re used to seeing in the NRL.
The Aussies made a whopping 15 errors and only completed at 69 per cent. They also conceded nine penalties in a sub-par performance that was only saved by an England team that wasn’t much better.
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Walsh was particularly poor, struggling in his first bad performance in months. The fullback only had eight runs for 71 metres with four errors. “England came out and bashed us,” Munster told the BBC after the game.
“We gave it to them on a silver plate in the first half, but the scramble in defence was really good tonight. When you don’t complete and you defend a fair bit, there is a lot of fatigue.”
England coach Shaun Wane said: “It’s really disappointing. I thought we had a hold of the game at times, but it wasn’t enough against a really good team.
“We didn’t have that killer instinct at their end, but we created a lot. We did a lot go good things. We asked a lot of questions of them. We started the second half poorly and they punished us. A lesson learnt, but it is a tough lesson.”
Cameron Munster and Reuben Cotter celebrate the Kangaroos’ win in the second Ashes Test. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)