Reece Walsh has avoided suspension and escaped further sanction altogether after he was sin-binned in the Kangaroos’ 14-4 victory in the second Ashes Test last 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
Reece Walsh avoids suspension
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.
Walsh was facing a nervous wait to learn whether he faced further sanction from the international match review panel. If it occurred in the NRL and was deemed a grade-two offence, it would likely trigger a suspension.
But it was announced on Monday night that Walsh won’t face any further punishment after the panel deemed the on-field sanction to be sufficient. A statement from the International Rugby League said: “The international match review panel (Paul Cullen RFL, Luke Patten NRL) have reviewed Saturday’s match and accepted all on-field decisions. Therefore no incidents have been deemed sufficient to warrant further action under the international rules in operation for this series.”
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Reece Walsh might sit out third Ashes Test anyway
Whether or not Walsh plays in the third game is still unclear – even though he’s avoided suspension. 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.
If that transpires, 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.
“It would be nice to reward some guys,” Walters said on Saturday night. “It’s been a great connection amongst the whole group – particularly with our training and preparation. Part of that is the [squad] guys we’ve been training against have been very, very good.”
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.
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.”
Cameron Munster and Reuben Cotter celebrate the Kangaroos’ win in the second Ashes Test. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)