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The home side's offensive weaknesses were exposed and punished by a ruthless Australian side as the tourists swept to a worryingly straightforward win in the opening Test of the Ashes.

The England coach's team had spoken effusively about their drive going into the first Ashes for 22 years, and they were certainly not short on endeavour at Wembley. However, in the key instances, it was the world champions who displayed more calmness in front of a historic crowd for an Ashes Test in the UK of over sixty thousand spectators.

Outstanding Performance from Walsh

Led by an exceptional showing in offense and defense from Brisbane Broncos’ Walsh, the Kangaroos were worthy and comfortable winners in the first match of the three-game contest, meaning England must win at Goodison Park next weekend to sustain their hopes of a first Ashes win since 1970.

England will have to be significantly improved with the possession if they are to achieve that. On multiple occasions in the first half, the hosts found themselves in advantageous situations but they were failed to score for any points. That was in large measure thanks to Reece Walsh, who pulled off two wonderful turnovers.

Crucial Plays of the Match

The first came as Farnworth seemed certain to put Dom Young in for what would have been the first score, then Walsh denied Lewis as half-time neared. By then, the Australians had gone ahead as Walsh himself finished a wonderful play.

Nathan Cleary added the extras before kicking a two-pointer on the stroke of the interval to establish a eight-point advantage. It was a significant moment, as was the score for Angus Crichton soon after the restart which made it fourteen to nil in favor of the Kangaroos. England now had to score three times and that seemed to stifle their momentum.

If there were any doubt about the winners, they were firmly put to bed with a quarter-hour to go. Cameron Munster’s half-break was backed up by Crichton, who pushed past Jack Welsby for Australia’s third try.

That made it 20-0 and there was added disappointment in the final minutes as Reece Walsh finished another breathtaking move, taking advantage of a weary and clearly exhausted English defensive line for his second.

Match Result and Looking Ahead

By then, home fans had begun to filter out and many did not see Clark's consolation, which at least avoided the home side being held to nil. Nonetheless, there are plenty of questions for the coach to answer going into what is now a must-win Test next Saturday.

• Home Side: Welsby; Young, Farnworth, Wardle, Johnstone; Williams, Lewis; Havard, Clark, Lees, Bateman, Pearce-Paul, Knowles.
• Interchange: Bench players.
• Tries: Daryl Clark.
• Conversion: Mikey Lewis.

• Australia: Walsh; Nawaqanitawase, Staggs, Shibasaki, Addo-Carr; Munster, Cleary; Carrigan, Grant, Fa’asuamaleaui, Crichton, Young, Yeo.
• Interchange: Dearden, Collins, Cotter, Koloamatangi.
• Scores: Reece Walsh (two), Angus Crichton (two).
• Kicks: Nathan Cleary (five).