Former NRL star Aaron Woods has dashed England’s chances of an Ashes series victory, claiming Shaun Wane’s side will struggle to handle the intensity of Australia’s defence.
His comments come in response to the now viral clip of England head coach Shaun Wane talking to his players in a training camp, in which he spoke about the feeling of winning a series for the first time since Great Britain’s victory in 1970.
The Ashes have not been contested since 2003, but Australia have won the last 13 series since that win 55 years ago.
‘They’re going to really struggle against Australia’
England have been backed to impress later this year by corners of the Aussie media, with ex-NRL and Super League duo Josh Reynolds and Justin Horo touting Wane’s side to be ‘red-hot’, but Woods feels Australia’s Pacific rivals Tonga, Samoa and New Zealand all stand a better chance of beating the Kangaroos than England heading into the three-Test series later this month.
Speaking on Triple M NRL, Woods said: “They wonder why they haven’t won an Ashes in that long, getting blokes like AJ Brimson who can’t make a Queensland squad or an Australia team to go over and play for them.
“I think Tonga, Samoa or New Zealand have a better chance of beating Australia than England have.
“Defensively, they’re going to really struggle against Australia. You see, with England, they like the contact and want to put a massive shot on, but a lot of the time you can bounce, spin and find your front, which generates a quick play-the-ball and starts your set off easy.
“These blokes, the (Isaah) Yeo’s, what they’ve done so well is they hit together. Then instead of letting you find your front, they tackle you, lift you up and drive you back five or ten metres and it just ruins your set straight away.
“I don’t know how they’re going to handle the defensive intensity of Australia.”
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