Australian superstar Reece Walsh is keen to see the Ashes return to the rugby league calendar on a regular basis moving forward.
The Kangaroos secured an Ashes series win on Saturday as they beat England 14-4 at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium in Merseyside. That win followed the comfortable result at Wembley Stadium the week previous and with just one more Test match to play this autumn, the Aussies have the opportunity to secure a 3-0 whitewash.
That was the score the last time the two sides met in an Ashes series back in 2003, when the two nations met regularly in Ashes series. Australia have now won the last 14 series, with their last defeat coming in 1970, but after a 22 year wait, there has been a huge appetite for the Ashes this time around.
Wembley Stadium saw a record Northern Hemisphere Ashes attendance set, with 60,812 watching the October clash, while a sell out crowd of 52,106 piled into Hill Dickinson on Saturday.
The two sides will be greeted by a capacit crowd at Headingley on Saturday, too, and Walsh is hopeful that it won’t be another 22 years before the Kangaroos tour England.
“Hearing all the things that the game isn’t as strong over here, just to be able to come out here and bring eyes to the sport, that’s what we want to do: grow the game,” Walsh said in an interview posted on social media.
“We’ve got to have more things like this. I think 22 years is way too long.
“We have to keep growing the game, bringing people in from near and far and it’s awesome to be able to take our game all over the world.”
Walsh was the star of the first Test between the two sides, terrorising the English and getting over for a couple of tries. He struggled for traction in the second Test, though, and was shown a yellow card for taking Dom Young out in the air.
In the aftermath of that clash there have been reports down under about the abuse that was directed at Walsh during the game, with some journalists labelling it ‘vile’.
“Some of the things they were saying were pretty crazy,” Walsh added. “I’m one of those ones that if you’re going to give it, you’ve got to receive it.”
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