BY JOHN DAVIDSON
Andrew Johns believes England will never beat the Kangaroos playing an Australian style of rugby league, and that they need to find their own DNA.
Australia has completed a 3-0 series whitewash, with the Ashes remaining with the green and gold since 1973.
England scored just two tries during the three-game series and struggled to break down the committed Kangaroos defence.
A former Australian captain, Johns is considered one of the greatest players of all time. He earned 27 caps for the Kangaroos, won two World Cups, two Golden Boot awards and one Ashes series during his career. Speaking at a What Makes Them Tick event in Keighley before the third Test, Johns said: “England need to play a different way.
“You won’t ever beat Australia if you’re going to play an Australian style of play.
“The gulf between the Australian game and the English game since probably 20 years ago when I retired has got bigger and bigger and bigger. Rugby league in Australia is absolutely flying.
“Kids are in systems by the time they’re 14. They’re lifting weights and they’re getting coaching, they’re learning nutrition and all this sort of stuff.
“So if you’re going to beat Australia you’re not going to play this style of play that they’ve tossed up in the first two Tests. England needs to find their DNA, they need to play an unpredictable style of play, an ab lib style of play that is foreign to the Australian team.
“And until you do that you’re not going to compete. You might win a game, one in eight or 10 Tests, but you’re never going to beat them in a Test series.
“How do you do that? You invest in your juniors, you put a whole lot of money into kids, identify the best kids at 13, 14, 15 and 16, teach them a style of play that is unique to the north of England, piss off all the imports coming in who are reserve-graders in Australia and coach within.
“English coaches need to coach the English game. They need to find their DNA. Until that, they’ll never beat Australia. As simple as that.”
Johns feels that during the Ashes series Australia “played within themselves”.
“I think the series has been poor,” he said.
“As a whole, I’d rate it a 6 out of 10. Australia’s been a 6 out of 10. I think they’ve played within themselves. As usual, the English forwards have aimed up. They’re always tough. They always bash the Australian forwards.
“I thought the English forwards got on top of the Australians in the second Test but they were badly let down by their halves. Their halves were really poor.
“Similar to Australia, there’s limited world-class halves for a few reasons. If England rugby league is going to go forward they need to sort out their halves problem, identify the best young talent and get them up to speed.
“It’s not going to be quick, it will be a three, four, five-year burn. If English rugby league is going to go forward and compete with Australia they need their halves sorted.”
England coach Shaun Wane is under pressure after his side lost all three games.
The likes of Michael Maguire, Daryl Powell, Matty Peet and others have been linked with the job.
However, Johns doesn’t think an Australian coach should replace Wane at the helm.
“Wane’s cut and paste everything that Michael Maguire does,” he said.
“England should never have an Australian coach coaching them.”