England vs Australia – Ashes series preview
The wait is finally over. After 22 long years, the Ashes is back as England take on Australia in a three-test series.
The last Ashes series in 2003 saw the Aussies win 3-0 over what was then Great Britain. It’ll be solely England taking to the field over the next three weekends though, for the first time in Ashes history. Let’s take a closer look at what to expect…
The venues
The iconic Wembley Stadium will host the first test on Saturday 25th October. A crowd of over 60,000 is expected for the match, which would be a new record on these shores for an England or Great Britain test against the Kangaroos.
Everton FC’s brand-new Hill Dickinson Stadium is the venue for the second test on Saturday November 1st. The stadium holds just over 52,000 and tickets sold out within weeks of going on sale.
The third and final test takes place at the home of Leeds Rhinos – Headingley. The stadium holds just under 20,000, and this test also sold out within a matter of weeks.
The last meeting
Incredibly these two sides haven’t met each other for eight years, since the Kangaroos triumphed 6-0 in the 2017 World Cup Final in Brisbane. England have three players from that match in their squad for the 2025 series – John Bateman, Alex Walmsley and Kallum Watkins.
The coaches
This series will be the first time Shaun Wane and Kevin Walters have coached against each other.
Shaun Wane
Shaun Wane will lead England out for the 17th time in the first test. He has an 87.5% win record in his 16 games so far, with 14 wins and just two losses. He was appointed head coach in February 2020.
Prior to coaching England, he was in charge of Wigan Warriors between 2012 and 2018, where he picked up three Super League titles, one League Leaders’ Shield, one Challenge Cup and one World Club Challenge.
Kevin Walters
The first test will be Kevin Walters’ first game in charge of the Kangaroos, but he has a wealth of coachin g experience.
In his first head coach role, he was in charge of Super League side Catalans Dragons between 2009 and 2010. He then won two and lost two State of Origin series’ as Queensland coach between 2016 and 2019 before coaching the Brisbane Broncos between 2021 and 2024. He led the Broncos to a Grand Final in 2023 where they were beaten by the Penrith Panthers.
Head-to-head
In the history of the Ashes, it’s very close between Great Britain and Australia, with 19 wins for Great Britain and 20 for Australia. However, there hasn’t been a Great Britain series win since 1970, with the Aussies winning the last 13 series.
Of course, this isn’t Great Britain though, and that makes for even worse reading for the home side. In 25 meetings, its 16 wins for Australia, seven wins for England and two draws.
Australia have won the last 13 meetings, with England’s last win coming at the 1995 World Cup.
The squads
England
The hosts have six NRL players and two potential debutants in their 24-man-squad, including Gold Coast Titans’ AJ Brimson. The Australian has recently changed his international eligibility to be named for the England side.
Owen Trout is the other possible debutant after a stellar year with the Leigh Leopards in Super League.
Kallum Watkins, John Bateman and Alex Walmsley are all survivors from the last England team to face Australia in 2017.
Of the players to miss out, Super League Man of Steel Jake Connor can count himself particularly unlikely, while Wigan’s Junior Nsemba and Luke Thompson were also surprise omissions.
Australia
Australia’s star-studded squad contains eight potential debutants – Blayke Brailey, Bradman Best, Keaon Koloamatagi, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Jacob Preston, Gehamat Shibasaki, Ethan Strange and Reece Walsh.
Since the squad was initially announced, two players have pulled out of the Kangaroos squad – Xavier Coates and Zac Lomax. Their replacements are Best and Josh Addo-Carr.
Unsurprisingly, all of the Kangaroos squad play in the NRL.
England players to watch
If England are to cause an upset in this series, then captain George Williams will need to bounce back from an underwhelming year in Super League. The Warrington Wolves man wasn’t the only Wire player to struggle in 2025, but there’ll be big pressure on his shoulders, especially if as expected, he’s picked at the expense of Hull KR’s treble winner Mikey Lewis.
Herbie Farnworth is no stranger to the Aussies having played his entire first-grade career in the NRL. In fact, the Dolphins man was named in the Dally M Team of the Year in 2023 and 2024, and has established himself as one of the world’s best centres.
Australia players to watch
Reece Walsh put in one of the best individual performances you’ll ever see in this year’s NRL Grand Final, and if he plays like that again in this series, England will be in huge trouble. The Brisbane Broncos fullback is one of the best attacking players in the world, but he does have a tendency to get over confident and take unnecessary risks at times, and England will need to take full advantage.
Mark Nawaqanitawase will become the first player to swap the Wallabies for the Kangaroos in more than 30 years, and his call-up is fully deserved after an outstanding first full season in rugby league. The Sydney Roosters winger scored 24 tries in 23 games in 2025, and a word of warning to the England defence – unless he’s pinned down and the referee has called held, then he’s still very much a threat.
My prediction
England 0-3 Australia
Unfortunately I can’t see anything but a whitewash for the Aussies in this series. England’s best chance arguably comes at Wembley in the first test, where a huge crowd will need to make plenty of noise to help push them over the line. Lose that one, and I can’t see them making a comeback though against a Kangaroos side that’ll likely improve as the series progresses.
