BY JOHN DAVIDSON
Wigan Warriors coach Matty Peet has admitted England being whitewashed 3-0 in the Ashes by Australia was “a bit of a reality check” for the game, but remains optimistic about England’s 2026 World Cup chances.
The Kangaroos romped to three victories in a row, in London, Liverpool and Leeds, to retain the green and gold’s grip on the Ashes they have held since 1972.
Peet was on holiday in the southern hemisphere during the series but was a keen observer. He says he felt for the players and coaches involved for England.
“I want England to do well, like everyone else does,” Peet told rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads.
“But we all understand the international program is the tip of the pyramid. What you see on the international program is often a reflection of everything going on in the game and I felt for the players and coaches involved, because I know how much they wanted to get the results.
And you could see how hard they were trying. “But ultimately Australia were a bit too good, but there’s more reasons for that then just the performance of the players for those three weeks.”
England scored just two tries in the three Tests against Australia.
Despite the poor performance, the Ashes was a hit in terms of attendances, media profile a and commercial revenue.
“There’s a lot of things off the field to be optimistic about – the crowds it brought,” Peet said.
“I think the international game across the world is the best its been in a long, long time. And I think we should understand that a World Cup will give England a much better chance to prepare, to come together as a group, to build into it.
“To play Australia three times on the bounce, after a week’s preparation after a grand final – it’s always going to be difficult.
“But I feel like we can expect much more from them when we have games against different teams, which obviously are going to bring different challenges, but there’s more opportunities for England to build together. To learn and grow and then when they get to the back-end of the tournament I think we’re capable of challenging anyone in one-off games.
“But there’s no doubt three games, one after the other, against Australia was a big challenge and probably served as a bit of a reality check for everyone.”