ENGLAND back Jack Welsby has full belief in the Three Lions this Autumn – but said he will be ‘nervous’ ahead of the series.
The Rugby League Ashes returns for the first time in 22 years, and is set to kick-off at Wembley Stadium on October 25.
Jack Welsby will be aiming to guide England to a 3-0 victory in the Rugby League AshesSWpix
Welsby (right) has said he will feel ‘nervous’ ahead of the huge clash against AustraliaSWpix
Jack Welsby’s St Helens side upset Australian Penrith in 2023Getty
St Helens back Jack Welsby has scored four tries for England, and said: “I’ll go 3-0 [England]. Whitewash,” when asked for a Rugby League Ashes prediction.
Welsby knows all about upsetting the Kangaroos, with his St Helens side picking up an improbable victory over Penrith in the 2023, Welsby scoring the opening try that day.
The Three Lions have not beaten Australia since 2016, and are looking to avenge the loss of the 2017 World Cup final.
Australia test will be ‘another level’
The 24-year-old star, who can play full back, half back, centre and wing, told SunSport: “I’ll be nervous I reckon.
“I don’t get nervous at all for Super League games anymore, but you still get tingling feelings when you play against Wigan and Warrington.
“I imagine it’s going to step up another level when Australia are in town at Wembley.
“I know they’ll be just as nervous coming over here playing, and they’re the favourites, they’ve got to come up and face us.
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“They’ll be expecting to win, but so are we.”
Despite the nerves, Welsby can’t wait to get started.
The Rugby League Ashes is set to take get going on October 25SWpix
He added said: “I think we’ve been saying it for a while now, excited, it feels like we’ve been waiting a long time for this to come around.
“We’ve sort of been building as a team and as a country for this moment.
“We want to grab it with both hands, so [we are] excited and ready.”
Welsby’s club side St Helens also know about the spoils of victory over Aussies, as they upset Penrith in 2023.
And the 24-year-old is ready a raring to do it again.
He added: “As a Super League competition, we’ve had some good success against the Australian champions in the last two attempts.
“Hopefully we can channel that and put it into practice again come October 25 at Wembley.”
Playing for England is the ‘pinnacle of the sport’
Welsby has played a handful of times for the Three Lions since his debut in 2022, and has called it “the pinncale of the sport.”
In terms of where a series win could rank amongst his career achievements, Welsby said: “playing against the best team in the world in Australia, if we can get a result over them, it would be very memorable.”
Although Welsby called them the ‘best team in the world,’ he has belief in England’s chances, saying: “I think since the Samoa semi-final in the World Cup, we’ve gradually got better and better.
“We’ve added new people to the squad, who add a lot to us, so there is going to be new faces again who have to step up, and become even better.
“I believe we can do that and upset the odds.”
He also told the new faces to relish the opportunity to play for England, saying: “I just think back to when I came up, and about how nervous I was for that first test against Samoa.
“As soon as I got out on the field, I just let loose and enjoyed it.
England captain George Williams and Jack Welsby toured London 100 days out from the first testSWpix
“When I speak to the players now, I can see a bit of nerves in the changing rooms, I just remind them what they’ve been doing all year in a tough competition
“The reason they’ve got to be here is because of the way that they’ve been playing
“Waney [Shaun Wane] doesn’t pick people who aren’t in form or who doesn’t deserve to be there, so they’ve got to be confident when they step up.”
When asked for a prediction, Welsby said: “I’ll go 3-0. Whitewash.”
The three test series between England and Australia is set to take place in October this year, with the first test coming LIVE from Wembley.
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