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England's offensive weaknesses were laid bare and capitalized on by a clinical Australia as the tourists swept to a worryingly straightforward victory in the first match of the rugby league Ashes series.

The England coach's side had talked at length about their drive going into the first Ashes for over two decades, and they were certainly not short on endeavour at the famous stadium. Yet, in the crucial moments, it was the reigning title holders who showed more composure in front of a record attendance for an Ashes Test in the UK of over sixty thousand spectators.

Brilliant Display from Walsh

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

England will have to be significantly improved with the possession if they are to accomplish that goal. On several instances in the first half, the hosts found themselves in advantageous situations but they were unable to cross for any points. That was in no small part thanks to Walsh, who pulled off two wonderful interceptions.

Key Moments of the Game

The initial came as Herbie Farnworth seemed certain to put Young in for what would have been the opening try, then Walsh stopped Mikey Lewis as half-time approached. By then, the Kangaroos had gone ahead as Walsh himself completed a wonderful move.

Nathan Cleary added the extras before adding a penalty on the stroke of the interval to establish a eight-point advantage. It was a pivotal point, as was the score for Crichton soon after the restart which made it fourteen to nil in favour of the visitors. England now had to score three times and that seemed to halt their momentum.

Should there have been uncertainty about the winners, they were decisively settled with a quarter-hour to go. Munster's half-break was backed up by Angus Crichton, who broke through Welsby for Australia’s third try.

That made it twenty to zero and there was added disappointment in the closing stages as Walsh completed another scintillating attack, taking advantage of a weary and visibly shot English defense for his second try.

Match Result and Outlook

By then, home fans had begun to filter out and many missed Daryl Clark’s consolation, which at least avoided the home side being held to nil. Nonetheless, there are plenty of questions for Wane 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.
• Try: Clark.
• Conversion: Lewis.

• Visitors: Starting lineup.
• Interchange: Dearden, Collins, Cotter, Koloamatangi.
• Scores: Reece Walsh (two), Angus Crichton (two).
• Goals: Cleary 5.