Wigan Warriors star Jake Wardle reflects on Wembley honour despite England defeat - 'The pinnacle of my career'
Wigan Warriors star Jake Wardle described representing England at Wembley against back-to-back World Cup winners Australia as the pinnacle of his career so far.
The 26-year-old won his second England cap last weekend as he lined up alongside NRL ace Herbie Farnworth in the centres, with Shaun Wane’s outfit going down to a 26-6 defeat to Australia under the famous Wembley arch.
Wardle has been a standout performer for Wigan over the last couple of seasons, helping Matt Peet’s side clinch an unprecedented quadruple in 2024, but he says representing his country against the Kangaroos at Wembley is the pinnacle of his stellar career to date.
"For me personally, I think it’s the top,” Wardle said of the honour. “It’s the pinnacle of your career to play for your country, and to do it against the best in Australia at Wembley – a big occasion and everything like that – I think I’ve got to rank it at the top.
"The result wasn’t what we wanted, but I think the whole occasion and experience of that, I’d put it at the top.”
Wardle has been one of the premier centres in Super League for several years now, but last weekend marked just his second international cap, having been forced to withdraw from international duty over the last couple of years through injury.
"Obviously, it’s been a bit frustrating over the last couple of years, having to get surgery at the end of the year,” Wardle continued.
"But when Waney rang me saying there was an opportunity for me to play, it was one I knew I couldn’t miss, the opportunity to play against Australia and test yourself against the best…
"Thankfully, I was in a position where my body was holding up and I didn’t need anything done in the off-season, so as soon as Waney gave me the phone call, I was over the moon and just wanted to put my best foot forward.”
The Kangaroos were 8-0 to the good at half-time at Wembley, before Kevin Walters’ side posted a further 18 points in the second half, with Daryl Clark scoring a consolation for England late on.
"Pretty frustrating, I think,” said Wardle upon reflection of the Ashes opener. “I don’t think we managed to give the best of ourselves.
"We weren’t good enough, and there were a few chances that we didn’t quite nail and against Australia, they are going to capitalise on their chances, aren’t they? A lot of lessons to learn from it, so hopefully we can work on that this week and go again on Saturday.
"They managed to nail their big moments, and we didn’t, unfortunately. There is plenty for us to work on, so there are a lot of positives to take out of that.
"It would be worrying if there wasn’t much to work on as the scoreline was what it was, so the fact we’ve got so much to work on this week, we don’t need to overcomplicate things either, but just make sure we nail those moments.”
Whilst it was a disappointing result for England at Wembley, Wane’s men have a chance to put things right when the two nations lock horns at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium this Saturday, with the hosts needing to win to have any hope of claiming a series victory in the third and final Test at AMT Headingley on November 8.
"The motivation is that Australia are ranked number one and you want to test yourself against the best,” Wardle said.
"I think the group of lads we’ve got here, we all want to test ourselves against the best players, and I think that’s the motivation there. We all strive to be the best versions of ourselves, and I think that’s the big thing.
"It’s do or die this week, really, isn’t it? Obviously, if we lose, we’ve lost the Test series, so you’ve kind of got to put it to the back of your mind and focus on the next job and for us, that’s starting in training and fine-tuning a lot of things, so hopefully we can put it into practice on Saturday and hopefully get the win."
Speaking after the defeat in the capital, coach Shaun Wane admitted some of his players looked nervous in the game, but Wardle hopes that with the first Test now out of the way, the English hosts can look to show the world what they are capable of with a star-studded 24-man squad selected by Wane.
"I think that’s just natural, isn’t it?” Wardle said of the nerves. “For me personally, playing against Australia is the pinnacle of my career, so the nerves are obviously going to be higher in the first Test, so hopefully we have put that behind us and be a bit more care-free as such in the second Test.”
Wardle cuts an incredibly proud figure when talking about representing England on the international stage, and rather than thinking about selection in next year’s Rugby League World Cup Down Under, he is solely focused on helping England defy the odds and secure an Ashes series win this autumn.
"Every opportunity to represent your country is a massive occasion,” said Wardle.
"For me personally, I’m not really thinking about the World Cup right now. My job here is to try to help my country get a series win against Australia in the Ashes.
"Obviously, if everything goes to plan, I play well and things like that, whether that helps me to get selected for the World Cup or not, it’s not in my hands, but for me right now, it is just being about as good as I can this week.”
Tickets have already sold out for the second and third Ashes Tests in Liverpool and Leeds respectively, but they will again be broadcast live on BBC One, both 2:30pm kick-offs.