Australia overcame a series of obstacles to sweep aside England 14 points to 4 in a tough and at times spiteful encounter at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool last night.

Spurred on by a thorough defensive display that harked back to prior eras, Australia’s pack led by Lindsay Smith and Pat Carrigan were never far from the action, with scuffles breaking out frequently in the first half as the home side tried to muscle their way back into the contest.

But the class of Nathan Cleary, backed up by a powerful Cam Munster running game, saw the Kangaroos victory was never in doubt, as Munster and Hudson Young crossed for second half tries that sealed the Lions’ fate.

It had been obvious to some observers after the first Test that Australia barely seemed to be breaking out of second gear and whilst they probably had to notch it up into third this time, they were comfortably the better side in both attack and defence.

England failed to score a try in this test and only pinched one late at the end of the first test when the outcome was already decided.  Their lack of punch in attack was compounded by outstanding Kangaroos rushing defence, particularly from halfback Nathan Cleary whose reading of the opposition play evoked memories of Darren Lockyer.

Reece Walsh had a quiet game by his standards but took an outstanding high ball catch late in the game and was well complemented by Mark Nawanqanitawase on the wing who is the pre-eminent outside back in world rugby league today.

Lost in other coverage was that the Kangaroos overcame the loss of captain Isaah Yeo after just a few minutes of the first test and being ruled as a Category 1 Head Injury Assessment (HIA) meant he missed out on last night’s test.  It’s expected he’ll be back to lead the side at Headingley next week.

This result represents vindication for coach Kevin Walters, who has copped criticism from some pundits who have suggested that his laid back style is more in keeping with a prior era but the way last night’s match unfolded it seemed the perfect match to back his players in the wake of an early English forward pack eager to ensure a more even contest this time around.

Walsh’s late sin-binning for shoulder charging Dom Young in the in-goal area summed up Australia’s commitment to the contest:  willing to turn up for each other and taking no prisoners as a result.

Tactically, the first test was a combined expression of Penrith and Brisbane, with Nathan Cleary’s tight game control opening space for Walsh to run riot on the left hand side of the ruck.  It was Broncos-style ball-running at its absolute finest.

But last night’s contest was very much a statement of the Melbourne and Penrith style, with Munster, Grant and Cleary holding the majority of the ball.  Put simply, Australia could have put 30 on them but settled for 14, and if you aren’t conceding tries, that’s all that matters.