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The home side's offensive weaknesses were exposed and punished by a ruthless Australian side as the tourists secured a surprisingly comfortable victory in the opening Test of the Ashes.

The England coach's team had talked at length about their motivation going into the first Ashes for over two decades, and they were definitely full of effort at Wembley. However, in the crucial moments, it was the world champions who displayed more composure in front of a historic crowd for an series match in the UK of more than 60,000.

Brilliant Display from Walsh

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

England will have to be significantly improved with the ball if they are to accomplish that goal. On several instances in the first half, the hosts found themselves in promising positions but they were failed to score for any points. That was in no small part thanks to Walsh, who pulled off two superb interceptions.

Key Moments of the Match

The initial occurred 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 Kangaroos had gone ahead as Reece Walsh himself completed a excellent play.

Cleary converted before kicking a penalty on the stroke of half-time to establish a two-score advantage. It was a significant point, as was the try for Crichton shortly after the restart which made it 14-0 in favour of the visitors. England now had to score three times and that seemed to stifle their momentum.

Should there have been uncertainty about the winners, they were decisively settled with 15 minutes to go. Cameron Munster’s line break was backed up by Angus Crichton, who broke through 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 England defense for his second try.

Final Score and Looking Ahead

By then, home fans had begun to leave early and many missed Daryl Clark’s late try, which at least avoided England being held to nil. Nonetheless, there are many issues for the coach to answer going into what is now a must-win match next weekend.

• England: Full team lineup.
• Interchange: Litten, Walmsley, Trout, McMeeken.
• Tries: Clark.
• Goal: Lewis.

• Australia: Walsh; Nawaqanitawase, Staggs, Shibasaki, Addo-Carr; Munster, Cleary; Carrigan, Grant, Fa’asuamaleaui, Crichton, Young, Yeo.
• Interchange: Dearden, Collins, Cotter, Koloamatangi.
• Scores: Walsh 2, Crichton 2.
• Kicks: Nathan Cleary (five).