The Kangaroos started their Ashes tour of England with a resounding 26-6 victory at Wembley Stadium, but it was hardly an advertisement for fast-flowing rugby league. In fact, had the play-the-ball area been as strictly policed as it is in the NRL, the game could have been much more entertaining for the 60,812 packed into the famous venue.
The speed of the ruck was painfully slow, as the referee showed a reluctance to blow his whistle for blatant infringements. The "six again" rule does apply in international rugby league, and although its overuse can spoil a game, it does have its place when ruck infringements become ridiculous. If not multiple set restarts, then an early and liberal distribution of penalties would have done the trick.
England knew the best way to dull the attacking edge of Harry Grant, Nathan Cleary and Reece Walsh was to slow the play down, prevent them from getting on a roll. A slow play-the-ball allows the defensive line to set and begin to move forward, rather than being caught back-pedalling. Both teams engaged in the ruck interference, it's a ploy as old as the game itself, but recent crackdowns and rule changes had begun to turn the tide, certainly in the NRL.
"The rucks, yeah they were definitely slower than back home, but that was to be expected," said Nathan Cleary.
"Everyone gets away with a little bit more, it's definitely a different style to back home."
The NRL's statisticians now measure the average play-the-ball speed. England's play-the-ball took on average 3.46 seconds, while the Kangaroos were held to a pedestrian average of 4.1 seconds. Compare that to the recent NRL Grand Final which many have lauded as the most exciting decider in recent memory. The Storm averaged 3.39 seconds per play-the-ball, while the Broncos were still relatively snappy, taking on average 3.62 seconds.
When the Kangaroos did get on a roll against England, it was easy to see how difficult Walsh and the outside backs were to contain. With the centres slicing through, Angus Crichton was able to support and cash in for a couple of tries of his own, matching Walsh's double.
The good news for Australia and rugby league fans alike is that Grant Atkins, who refereed the NRL Grand Final, will be puckering up to the whistle for the second Test. England will be left with two alternatives, get up and out of the ruck a lot quicker and allow the Kangaroos to build lethal momentum or continue to take their chances and face a mountain of possession. Either way they will be in for a tough time, with the Kangaroos determined to play better football, with less mistakes next time. It was a common theme in the post-game self-analysis.
"Too many errors," Cleary said.
"Obviously got a lot of skill, our team, and trying to put on plays all the time. But I thought in terms of how we connected as a group and defended well, that was the most important thing - so we want to build on that."
With England needing to win the final two Tests to take the Ashes, the second Test promises to be an intense battle. England's line-up and tactics at Wembley weren't good enough to beat the Kangaroos, who feel they have a lot of room for improvement. With a new referee set to speed up play, victory to Australia seems inevitable, unless England can come up with something completely unexpected.