England v Australia: rugby league Ashes second Test – live

4.00pm GMT 57 min: Cleary tries another 40-20 kick, without success this time. England are suddenly at walking pace getting back in line, while Australia look adrenalised. 3.59pm GMT 55 min: It’s completely hushed the home crowd who sense the series going bye-bye. Australia probe again with a high ball and Brimson is fortunate to emerge with it under pressure. The Kangaroos are bouncing. Knowles swaps in for McMeekan. 3.56pm GMT TRY! England 4-14 Australia (Young) 53 min: … and Cleary sends it high towards the right, it bounces off an England hand and runs kindly for Hudson Young to power over despite the attentions of Harry Smith. From nowhere, England are suddenly 10 points behind after Cleary converts handily this time. Updated at 3.57pm GMT 3.54pm GMT 52 min: Australia are in England’s half again. They probe the left … 3.53pm GMT 50 min: Changes. Oledzki comes on for England veteran Walmsley, while for Australia North Queensland standoff Tom Dearden enters the fray for Patrick Carrigan. Updated at 3.54pm GMT 3.52pm GMT TRY! England 4-8 Australia (Munster) 49 min: It’s a fabulous effort from Melbourne stand-off Cameron Munster, who charges through towards England’s left wing, using the presence of two colleagues outside him to split attention and find a way through. He bounced over under the tackle but no question of multiple movements, as the slippery deck helps send him over the line. Cleary’s conversion effort just fails, however, bouncing on the crossbar but staying out. Updated at 3.58pm GMT 3.50pm GMT 49 min: Munster might be in after momentum looks like taking him tumbling over the line to ground despite the despairing grasp of Williams. Video ref is scrutinising … 3.48pm GMT 47 min: More slippery ball moments as Johnstone puts the ball in touch. It’s back with Australia … 3.47pm GMT 46 min: Australia tap away at England centre. Cotter almost bursts through before Crichton spills under pressure. No real sights of the line yet this half. 3.45pm GMT 44 min: End to end already. Australia tidy up near their own line, England mop up on their 40, then Munster infuriates Walmsley by swiping the ball from his grasp. Advantage Australia. 3.44pm GMT 42 min: Australia kick long on the fifth tackle … and England defenders completely misread it. Tom Johnstone tidies up superbly, then makes valuable ground to defuse the danger as onrushing Kangaroos smell blood. 3.42pm GMT 42 min: England probe the right this time. On the last tackle, a high kick from Williams tests Walsh, who catches superbly under pressure but lands awkwardly on his back. He’s attempting to run the blow off. 3.40pm GMT Second half starts 41 min: We’re off. 3.40pm GMT Australia emerged first post-break in Liverpool. England are a bit less rushed, but KO is imminent. 3.39pm GMT There’s also our 3pm GMT (2am AEDT) football clockwatch. And plenty of goals across Premier League, Football League … and the FA Cup first round. Related: Burnley v Arsenal, Nottingham Forest v Manchester United, and more: football – live 3.37pm GMT Elsewhere on this here site … England v Australia! In other rugby, Steve Borthwick’s side are midway through the first half against the Wallabies at Twickenham. Sarah Rendell is at the tiller for that one … Related: England v Australia: Autumn Nations Series rugby union – live You are currently existing in a strange, unprecedented spell – before approx 24 mins ago, England and Australia had never faced one another in two different codes of rugby at the same time. 3.33pm GMT Much, much better from England. Honours are even, with Wane’s side having taken the lion’s share (55%) of first-half possession. It’s not been vintage Australia so far, reflected by nine errors to the home side’s three, but England are currently making the pre-match odds, heavily weighted in favour of victory for Kevin Walters’s team, look extremely harsh. But there remains danger all over the pitch. Impossible to call this so far, but England look particularly interested in probing the left wing, after several jittery moments from Mark Nawaqanitawase in particular. 3.26pm GMT Half-time: England 4-4 Australia 40 min: Walmsley runs clear of the home line from the kick-off to ensure no late disappointment for England fans before the hooter. Speaking of hooters, Koloamatangi takes a whack on his in the last collision prior to the break. Thankfully he checks for blood and looks OK. A great half of rugby league. Updated at 3.27pm GMT 3.24pm GMT England 4-4 Australia (Smith pen) 39 min: Easily put away by the Wigan man. We’re level again. 3.23pm GMT 38 min: Bit naughty from Walsh, changing direction off the ball as Brimson chased a high ball, checking his run and sending the England full-back flying. It gifts Smith a very kickable penalty chance. 3.21pm GMT 35 min: A fast-paced half approaches the break with some good defence from both sides. As Australia conclude a set, Brimson is second to a high kick as Walsh flies from another postcode to attempt a superb tap-back … he’s extremely unfortunate to see it ruled as a knock-on. 3.19pm GMT 32 min: Koloamatangi is on for Fa’asuamaleuai, with both sides now having freshened up their forwards. It’s an extremely even game so far, but this is roughly the time that Australia really started to motor away last week. And sure enough, from absolutely nowhere, Cleary pulls off a 40-20 kick to give Australia possession deep in the home half. Can they make it pay? Not this time. A forward pass from Grant Cotter takes the wind out of their sails. 3.16pm GMT 30 min: Walmsley is on, replacing his Saints teammate Lees. And the veteran prop gets an early charge at the Kangaroos defence, which gets the ground buzzing. Now England probe the right wing with a high kick – no dice this time. 3.13pm GMT 27 min: A particularly strange one as an extremely harsh knock on is called when Dom Young tries to hold off five Australia players, changing hands with the ball under huge pressure. England fail with a captain’s challenge, but it’s riled them up in a good way and they go in hard on Fa’asuamaleaui, who spills it, gifting possession back. That doesn’t happen often to the Gold Coast Titans prop. 3.09pm GMT England 2-4 Australia (Cleary pen) 25 min: Cleary makes it two from two. 3.08pm GMT 23 min: Some welcome possession for Australia, and Smithies – on from the bench – takes Munster’s legs away from him on England’s 20 to offer the visitors a regulation penalty chance. Meanwhile for Australia, Cotter has come on for Collins. 3.04pm GMT 22 min: England are getting a lot of ball to their captain, and he’s causing mayhem in the Australia defence. But it’s Farnworth this time dinking the ball through on the right wing for Young to chase, up against Walsh. It’s very close to a try but the replay clearly shows the ball just eludes the England man. Updated at 3.49pm GMT 3.01pm GMT 21 min: No try on-field, confirmed by video ref. But England have the ball on the Australia 20. Updated at 3.01pm GMT 3.01pm GMT 21 min: This is great. Suddenly England are on the other end, Williams dinks a bobbling ball through under the sticks, Walsh fails to get hold of it … and Knowles pounces and touches it down. But it looks like at least one knock on in there … 2.59pm GMT 18 min: England appear to be targeting Mark Nawaqanitawase. He looks rattled on the right wing … but suddenly Josh Addo-Carr has the ball on the left hurtling towards the home 20-metre line. And then the damp Merseyside air makes its first telling contribution, as the winger is unlucky to lose his footing, sliding into touch himself with little encouragement from England’s defence. 2.55pm GMT 16 min: “Have that,” says Jonathan Davies on commentary as Matty Lees absolutely flattens Crichton with a heavy hit just inside the Australia half. It’s a couple of messy exchanges but England have the Kangaroos pinned in their own half. It’s much, much better from Wane’s side so far. 2.53pm GMT 15 min: More good possession threatening the left flank, but Morgan Knowles spills the ball when under little pressure (he says, eating biscuits at a keyboard while these fellas have massively built rivals in their peripheral vision). Updated at 3.00pm GMT 2.52pm GMT 14 min: In the blink of an eye, Dom Young is sent towards the opposite corner. Walsh and Shibasaki bundle him into touch just the wrong side of the flag, but video ref adjudicates that they hit him high and suddenly England have another penalty. This time they’re tapping rather than kicking. 2.50pm GMT 12 min: Williams sends a high ball to the left corner – Nawaqanitawase gets their first to halt Johnstone’s charge. But England are enjoying a good spell here … 2.48pm GMT 11 min: Walsh thinks he’s sent Shibasaki through into space but his ball to Australia’s left wing is clearly forward. That gifts possession to England in the visiting half. Watkins is licking his lips for another go at pressing the initiative. 2.46pm GMT 9 min: Lees takes the high ball from Australia’s kick-off. Farnworth makes valuable yards, and Smith sends up a tester deep into Australia’s half. Well taken by Nawaqanitawase, so now the Kangaroos get another set. Updated at 2.49pm GMT 2.45pm GMT England 2-2 Australia (Smith pen) 8 min: Smith pops it over. Honours even again. 2.44pm GMT 6 min: Ensuing England penalty sends them up the pitch for a first meaningful set of six. Watkins gets a first go at the Australian defence, but no way through. But then a chance on the left! Johnstone sees a glimpse of the line, but gets hauled in. But a jittery visiting defence gift them more possession, and suddenly it’s a penalty in front of the sticks. Harry Smith sizes it up … 2.41pm GMT 4 min: Better defence from England, as the Kangaroos fail to make ground with their next set. Brimson gets the crowd roaring as he tries to burst through on picking up the long kick … and suddenly it’s kicked off again. Oof. Collins on Farnworth this time. 2.39pm GMT England 0-2 Australia (Cleary pen) 3 min: Straight down the middle from Cleary. 2.38pm GMT 2 min: Young and Fa’asuamaleaui have been popped off to the bin, although to be fair it could have been any two players. Already it’s a 12 v 12 game, but Cleary has what should be a regulation penalty to pop over. 2.36pm GMT 2 min: Early chance! Crichton almost bursts through, a pass goes awry … and suddenly all hell breaks loose on England’s 20-metre line after Grant and Litten have a bit of handbags. Everyone’s found someone to tangle with. Might be some cards coming here … Updated at 2.43pm GMT 2.34pm GMT 1 min: First set of six for Australia, made more comfortable by an early penalty as England get messy trying to pin Lindsay Collins. 2.33pm GMT First half starts PEEP! England to kick off … Updated at 2.44pm GMT 2.31pm GMT That’s the pre-match pageantry done … which included some impressively impassioned anthem renditions from both sides. Now: the action. 2.28pm GMT First up, a moment of “non-silence” in aid of Movember. Primal Scream’s Come Together soundtracks a period of applause and footstamping. Read more here. Next up it’s anthems time. 2.25pm GMT The teams are coming out at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Five mins to KO … 2.23pm GMT Wane has also been talking to the BBC. “We’ve trained really well,” he said. “Australia are a champion team, we need to be a lot better.” Of AJ Brimson, he says he’s “really quick, organises well … it was a tough decision [to leave Welsby out] but I’ve been so impressed by AJ.” On scrum-half Harry Smith: “He’s a natural organiser, kicks well … gives us a real steadiness that we didn’t have this week. “The fans will be behind us and we’ll get what we deserve by the end.” Updated at 2.23pm GMT 2.19pm GMT Shaun Wane acknowledges that it’s “make or break” for England today. The England head coach has handled the combination of kind-hearted diplomacy and ruthless reshuffling well after his side’s Wembley horrorshow. “It didn’t look like a Test match to me,” he said. “It wasn’t physical – they were better in many areas, so this week has to look like a real Test match and we need to give a better account of ourselves.” 2.16pm GMT Australia head coach Kevin Walters has backed Grant to shine in the captain’s role today. “Harry and all of the senior players for that matter stepped up after Isaah’s unfortunate injury last week,” Walters said. “While we’d love to have Isaah out there, he’ll still be contributing in many other ways around the group this week. He’s a natural leader, and so too is Harry so we’re in great hands this week. 2.07pm GMT All change. In truth, something had to give following the nature of England’s performance at Wembley last weekend but as Shaun Wane’s side look to send the Ashes to a deciding Test in Leeds next Saturday, there are wholesale changes that the hosts hope will provoke a reaction both on and off the field. Wembley was underwhelming last weekend on multiple fronts. England limped to a fairly miserable 26-6 defeat, in which they showed little of what had been promised in the build-up to a first Ashes series in 22 years. But the atmosphere felt flat, in part due to what Wane’s men delivered, but also due to the fact the stadium wasn’t full. That changes on Saturday, with Hill Dickinson Stadium sold out months in advance and likely to provide a more boisterous atmosphere, the kind of which should instil some fire into England. Wane admitting this week that returning north represented the chance to play in front of “real rugby league fans” was a Freudian slip, but you sense all involved are relishing the opportunity. The England coach has also rung the changes on the pitch as big-time rugby league returns to Liverpool. Chief among them? The irony of Wane calling on an Australian-born player to salvage the series against the Kangaroos, with AJ Brimson set to be thrown into the heat of battle at full-back for his Test debut on Saturday. Related: England looking for northern stronghold to relight Ashes fire after Wembley letdown 2.06pm GMT Brimson’s inclusion for England adds spice and doubtless a ton of on-pitch needle. The Gold Coast Titans full-back was born in Brisbane, represented Australia in 2019’s World Cup 9s … and only switched allegiance to England in the summer. His mother, Vanessa, is from south London. Updated at 2.09pm GMT 2.00pm GMT Great to see Mikolaj Oledzki on England’s bench today. Gavin Willacy caught up with him before the series, and the 26-year-old’s journey from Poland, not having a clue what rugby league was, to an Ashes squad is a gorgeous sporting tale. With KO in 30 mins, this is well worth you time … Related: Mikolaj Oledzki on his Ashes call-up: ‘I didn’t know what rugby league was when I moved to England’ 1.56pm GMT Australia have a new captain for the day. An early blow to Isaah Yeo’s head after a collision with Dom Young at Wembley forced him off, and concussion protocols rule him out completely. As a result, Harry Grant will skipper the side for the first time from hooker. Sydney’s Lindsay Collins comes in at prop, with Patrick Carrigan moving to Yeo’s spot at loose forward. Penrith prop Lindsay Smith takes the spot Collins vacated on the bench. 1.47pm GMT Predictably, changes for England as they chase the series. Gold Coast Titans full-back AJ Brimson makes his debut at full-back, coming in for Jack Welsby who had a particularly tough time at Wembley last week. Wane stood up for the St Helens man in the aftermath of the first Test, but he has dropped him completely. Wigan’s Harry Smith takes Mikey Lewis’s starting place at scrum-half, though the Hull KR man is a versatile bench option. At hooker, Jez Litten replaces Daryl Clark, while at second row, Kallum Watkins comes in for John Bateman, with Kai Pearce-Paul sliding over from No 12 to No 11. There’s no place on the bench for either Bateman or Clark this week, with those spots taken by Lewis, St Helens prop Alex Walmsley, who keeps his spot as an interchange option, Canberra second row Morgan Smithies and Leeds prop Mikolaj Oledzki. Updated at 1.48pm GMT 1.27pm GMT Second Test teams England Brimson; Young, Farnworth, Wardle, Johnstone; Williams, Smith; McMeeken, Litten, Lees, Pearce-Paul, Watkins, Knowles. Interchange Lewis, Walmsley, Smithies, Oledzki. Australia Walsh; Nawaqanitawase, Staggs, Shibasaki, Addo-Carr; Munster, Cleary; Collins, Grant, Fa’asuamaleaui, Crichton, Young, Carrigan. Interchange Dearden, Smith, Cotter, Koloamatangi. Updated at 1.43pm GMT 1.26pm GMT Preamble Good afternoon … and good v, v early morning to some distant viewers! It’s second Test time, and according to the bookmakers – as well as anyone with eyes who watched last week’s opener at Wembley last Saturday – chances are the series could be decided today. The feeling pre-match last week was that Shaun Wane’s hosts would have to get out of the traps well, get their noses in front, and then dog it out until the final hooter. England managed the first element of that, were game in the opening half-hour, but sagged alarmingly thereafter, with the Kangaroos drawing first blood and just taking the game further and further away. Indeed Wane’s side didn’t get on the scoresheet until they were 26-0 down. Newsflash to those who were unaware: Australia are a hell of a side. Reece Walsh and Angus Crichton helped themselves to two tries apiece, but the speed and cohesion the whole team showed across the field was, frankly, frightening. So what hopes today for a series going the distance? Well Wane’s rung the changes, of which more imminently. The venue is an unknown quantity for anything other than football, and all eyes should be on the first high ball – the wind has a tendency to shimmy without warning by the Mersey, showers are predicted, and all it can take is one spilled ball within your own 20-metre line for momentum to shift … KO at Hill Dickinson Stadium is 2.30pm GMT, 1.30am AEDT