Shaun Wane stunned by defensive quality as England seal series whitewash

04 November 2023 , 20:24

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England's Matty Ashton scores his side's second try against Tonga (Image: PA)

Shaun Wane hailed his England side’s defensive prowess after whitewashing Tonga admitting even he was surprised how strong they’ve been.

Warrington duo Ben Currie and Matty Ashton plus Canberra second-row Elliott Whitehead - in his last game before international retirement - all scored tries. Leeds centre Harry Newman also crossed as the hosts demolished their rivals for a third week running. Wigan scrum-half Harry Smith, who feared losing his place after captain George Williams returned from a two-game ban, ran the show with a brilliant kicking display.

But Wane was most impressed his side conceded just five tries across three Tests against opponents rated one of the best in the world.

He conceded: “I could never have thought we could manage that: look at the talent in that 22. It was a tough ask. They’ve big athletes, really good players, so to do that, the credit our players deserve is untrue.

“I’ve just shown a clip in the changing room of that last-gasp effort right at the end. We’ve won the game and two players (Jack Welsby and John Bateman) nearly injured themselves stopping that try. That’s England.

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"I wanted so badly to win this game, no matter what. Two nil didn’t matter to me. To win in the style we did, especially for Elliott, I was delighted. We played a bit more today. That was the plan. I’m unbelievably proud of what we’ve done.”

Wane, so angered by “disrespectful” Tonga comments after the first Test victory, demanded his side finished the job. They did just that in emphatic style. And there was plenty of expected niggle, too, with England prop Matty Lees yellow carded for pulling Haumole Olakau’atu’s hair and Keon Koloamatangi sin-binned for charging in in the ensuing melee. Tonga centre Konrad Hurrell also lost the plot in the second half, getting ten minutes for wildly swinging punches at Mike McMeeken in the tackle.

England's Elliott Whitehead scores against Tonga on his final international appearance (PA)

But his misfiring side didn’t even score until Elisea Kato got over in the 68th minute when England were already 26-0 up. Wane had to choose between ditching Smith or Hull KR’s impressive half-back Mikey Lewis to facilitate Williams’ return. He went with Smith, 23, who delivered in style including one audacious crossfield effort on the run for Newman’s 65th-minute try while also slotting all five of his goals.

Second-row Bateman pipped him to the player of the match with another all-action display including some quality offloading which left disappointing Tonga ragged. But Smith, who steered Wigan to Grand Final glory last month and has shown his credentials for the 2026 World Cup, did take the Nan Halafihi Medal for player of the series. Warrington second-row Currie also impressed on his first appearance of the autumn as a makeshift centre and Whitehead, 34, was as good as ever as he signed off an excellent international career in style.

But Tonga have badly under-performed in this series. Coach Kristian Woolf, who is now considering his position, said: “England did exceptionally well. [But] We didn't deserve that scoreline. We showed up with a great attitude but England deserve enormous credit.”

David Craven