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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 surprisingly comfortable win in the opening Test of the Ashes.

The England coach's side had talked at length about their motivation going into the first Ashes for 22 years, and they were certainly not short on effort at Wembley. However, in the key instances, it was the world champions who displayed more composure in front of a historic crowd for an Ashes Test in the United Kingdom of more than 60,000.

Brilliant Performance from Reece Walsh

Led by an exceptional display in attack and defence from Brisbane Broncos’ Walsh, Australia were deserving and convincing winners in the first match of the three-game contest, meaning England must triumph at Goodison Park next weekend to keep alive their aspirations of a series victory since 1970.

They will have to be much better with the possession if they are to accomplish that goal. On multiple occasions in the opening period, the hosts found themselves in advantageous situations but they were unable to cross for any tries. That was in large measure thanks to Walsh, who executed two wonderful turnovers.

Crucial Plays of the Match

The first occurred as Herbie Farnworth seemed certain to put Young in for what would have been the opening try, then the fullback denied Mikey Lewis as the break approached. By then, the Australians had gone ahead as Reece Walsh himself completed a excellent move.

Cleary converted before kicking a penalty on the brink of the interval to open up a eight-point lead. It was a pivotal point, as was the score for Angus Crichton soon after the resumption which made it fourteen to nil in favor of the visitors. England now had to score three times and that seemed to halt their drive.

If there were any doubt about the winners, they were decisively settled with 15 minutes to go. Cameron Munster’s line break was supported by Angus Crichton, who broke through Welsby for the Kangaroos' third score.

That made it twenty to zero and there was further humiliation in the final minutes as Walsh finished another breathtaking attack, exploiting a tired and clearly exhausted English defensive line for his second try.

Final Score and Looking Ahead

By then, home fans had begun to filter out and many missed Clark's late try, which at least avoided the home side finishing scoreless. However, there are many issues for the coach to answer going into what is now a must-win match next Saturday.

• England: Full team lineup.
• Interchange: Bench players.
• Tries: Daryl Clark.
• Goal: Mikey Lewis.

• Australia: Walsh; Nawaqanitawase, Staggs, Shibasaki, Addo-Carr; Munster, Cleary; Carrigan, Grant, Fa’asuamaleaui, Crichton, Young, Yeo.
• Bench: Reserves.
• Tries: Reece Walsh (two), Angus Crichton (two).
• Kicks: Cleary 5.