Saints skipper Ludlam loving life on tour with England

And he remains confident that they can grab glory Down Under.

England were left frustrated last weekend as they fell to a 30-28 defeat against the 14-man Wallabies in Perth.

Australia lost three players to injury and lock Darcy Swain to a red card before the break, putting England in prime position in the series opener.

But the tourists let slip a five-point lead, and only got back to 30-28 - a result that belied Australia's second-half dominance - with two late tries.

Ludlam came off the bench in that clash and could be set for an even bigger role now that Tom Curry has been ruled out of the remainder of the series due to concussion.

And the Saints skipper told Sky Sports: "I've loved it so far.

"We've got the balance right between having some down time and going to work so it's been exciting.

"I don't think we performed how we wanted to in the first Test - that was what we said after the game.

"We didn't execute the game plan the way we wanted to so we're not happy but we're very much confident if we play our game right and put that on the pitch, the series is still there for the taking.

"We had three or four clear opportunities in their 22 that we didn't convert so we've got to make sure we're as efficient as possible in that area of the field. It's a big work-on for us.

"We've got to get a grasp of the breakdown because it was scrappy at times and we've got some world class players who are really good at getting over the ball.

"We've got make sure our breakdown is as good as possible to help us put our game on them.

"It's disappointing we couldn't get the win for the guys on their debut but for two of them (Henry Arundell and Jack van Poortvliet) to score on their debut was great.

"It's great to see those guys stepping up and performing really well, and that's something to be excited about.

"We've got a great challenge this weekend and that's why you play the game.

"The pressure of this whole situation makes it even more appealing when you win.

"We're confident in our ability and there's no reason why we can't do well in the remaining Tests."