GOD only knows who Jon Bon Jovi thought the Australians were when he met them during their captain’s run at Wembley on Friday.
Frankly, it might have been the most confused anyone from the world of American entertainment had been meeting sportspeople since Ian St John and Jimmy Greaves gatecrashed future US president Donald Trump’s office to conduct the Rumbelows Cup quarter-final draw.
Had JBJ stuck around for the showdown with England the following day, though, the rock star would have quickly got to know what the Kangaroos were all about. Namely, inflicting 55 years and counting of hurt on their old rivals.
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1-0 🦘 pic.twitter.com/FBRtt1iIcT
— Kia Kangaroos (@Kangaroos) October 25, 2025
Different bands since England and Australia last met in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup final, but the song very much remains the same.
“They were firing,” Angus Crichton, scorer of two tries for the tourists, said. “We knew they were going to come hard early, but we had to weather it and we did a good job on them.
“We love the pressure, we love the expectation and we hold ourselves to a high standard.
“It was a good first blow as a team, a solid hit-out, and we know they’re going to be coming for our heads next time.”
Watch all the highlights from our Game 1 win over England in The Ashes! 🦘 pic.twitter.com/wYsZTtIkep
— Kia Kangaroos (@Kangaroos) October 25, 2025
Of course, by Saturday the music choice as the 60,812-crowd, a record for an Ashes Test in England, filed into the national stadium ahead of kick-off had a decidedly more British flavour.
Hits from the Gallagher brothers’ back catalogue, the stylings of rugby league hotbed Wigan’s own Richard Ashcroft – you get the idea.
A shirt presentation from England cricket captain Ben Stokes, set to embark on his own Ashes mission down under next month, to Shaun Wane’s men the day before underlined just how much significance the hosts were placing on contesting the rugby league equivalent for the first time in 22 years as well.
Yet for all head coach Wane’s tub-thumping about pride and passion, it was the rugby league basics which won out on the day. That, and player of the match Reece Walsh.
The fullback carried on where he left off in the NRL grand final where he helped Brisbane Broncos triumph with a stunning comeback against Melbourne Storm, running in two tries and making try-saving interventions at the other end to help Australia take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.
The 23-year-old racked up some impressive stats as well: 236 run metres and 106 kick return metres, two line breaks and two line-break assists, and a joint-team second-highest five tackle busts as he left England chasing shadows.
“Oh mate, you blink and you miss him, I think,” second row Crichton said of Walsh.
“He’s that dangerous, he’s that fast and he’s still so young as well.
“It was wonderful for him to get his opportunity, and he did a great job.”
Australia have now not lost a Test match to the hosts on these shores since the 24-12 defeat to Great Britain at Wigan in the 2006 Tri Nations, while their unbeaten streak against England stretches back 13 games to the 1995 World Cup opener at the old Wembley Stadium.
For the hosts, it was much the same story as all of those previous encounters – a knock-on here, a misplaced pass there, and failing to seize on any mistakes from the Kangaroos, who made 14 errors to England’s 12, in the way their opponents did when they slipped up.
By the time they were able to do so, with Daryl Clark forcing his way over from close range on the back of a penalty and a set restart three minutes from time, the contest was all over bar the shouting and eyes were already on next Saturday’s pivotal second Test at Liverpool’s Hill Dickinson Stadium.
“I thought we started pretty well, but we bombed two or three chances,” England hooker Clark said.
“We spoke about how big games like this, you’re not going to get many opportunities and you have to ice them – and we had two or three in that first 30 minutes.
“It’s better than getting nilled, I suppose. We finished all right, but I think you always find that in games like that when you’re chasing.”
England vs Australia rugby league Ashes results and fixtures (all 2.30pm UK time)
October 25 – England 6 Australia 26 (Wembley Stadium, London)
November 1 – Second Test, Hill Dickinson Stadium (Liverpool)
November 8 – Third Test, AMT Headingley (Leeds)