JOSH Hodgson believes England have a rare opportunity to silence the naysayers when they face Australia in the opening game of this year’s rugby league Ashes at Wembley.
As it did in the 1990 and 1994 Kangaroo tours, the national stadium hosts the first match of the three-Test series with over 54,500 tickets already sold for Saturday’s encounter.
Great Britain were victorious in both of those matches and former England hooker Hodgson called on the current generation to quieten those predicting a 3-0 series sweep by the Australians.
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“The big thing for England, I think, is that first game is going to be huge,” Hodgson told The Bye Round podcast.
“If we can get them off the jump, I think we’re in with a really good chance.
“There’s a really good chance for us to go out and put a stamp on as an international team and shut a few people up.
“That’s what I’d be thinking – shut everyone up who thinks we’re going to get whitewashed.”
Despite winning both the 1990 and 1994 Wembley Tests, Great Britain were unable to go on and bring the Ashes back to these shores for the first time since 1970.
Australia return to the UK having not lost a Test to the hosts here since the 24-12 defeat to Great Britain at Wigan in the 2003 Tri-Nations.
You have to go back a further eight years for an England team’s last win over the Kangaroos, a 20-16 triumph at Wembley in the opening match of the 1995 Rugby League World Cup.
Hodgson was a spectator as England were edged out 6-0 in their most recent encounter with the Australians in the 2017 World Cup final, having suffered a knee injury as they held on to defeat Tonga in the semis.
The 35-year-old, who starred for both Canberra Raiders and Parramatta Eels in the NRL, recalled his pride at how an injury-hit England side ran a team containing the likes of all-time greats Billy Slater and Cameron Smith so close despite suffering more hurt against their old rivals.
This time around, Hodgson sees no reason for England’s players to fear any of their Australian counterparts and urged them to keep the pressure on in games, particularly if they find themselves in a winning position.
“I think when you’re in front – and a lot of teams do it – you go into that self-preservation mode where you go away from the gameplan,” Hodgson said.
“If we get ahead, we don’t want to start going one-out, kick to corners…and just try to earn a way for our outside backs. If it’s working, stick to it because I think that’s where a lot of teams sometimes go wrong.
“If it’s working, stick to it because I think that’s where a lot of teams sometimes go wrong. You get a couple of scores up, 10 minutes to go, you start going one out and that’s easy to defend.
“You need to keep asking questions, especially around those scrum lines. We’ve got good back-rowers and if you can get good back-rowers sneaking 10 or 15 yards, all of a sudden they’ve got to get 25, and if you can keep working those smaller blokes over and stick to the gameplan, that’s where I reckon we can get them.”
England vs Australia rugby league Ashes fixtures (all 2.30pm UK time)
October 25 – First Test, Wembley Stadium (London)
November 1 – Second Test, Hill Dickinson Stadium (Liverpool)
November 8 – Third Test, AMT Headingley (Leeds)