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The home side's offensive weaknesses were exposed and punished by a ruthless Australian side as the tourists secured a worryingly straightforward win in the first match of the Ashes.

Shaun Wane’s side had talked at length about their drive going into the first Ashes for 22 years, and they were certainly not short on effort at Wembley. However, in the crucial moments, it was the reigning title holders who displayed more composure in front of a record attendance for an Ashes Test in the United Kingdom of over sixty thousand spectators.

Brilliant Performance from Reece Walsh

Led by an exceptional display in offense and defense from Brisbane Broncos’ Walsh, the Kangaroos were worthy and comfortable winners in the opening Test of the three-game contest, meaning England must triumph at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium next weekend to keep alive their aspirations of a first Ashes win since 1970.

England will have to be much better with the ball if they are to achieve that. On multiple occasions in the first half, the hosts found themselves in promising positions but they were unable to cross for any tries. That was in large measure thanks to Reece Walsh, who pulled off two wonderful interceptions.

Key Moments of the Game

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

Cleary converted before adding a two-pointer on the brink of the interval to establish a eight-point advantage. It was a pivotal point, as was the score for Crichton shortly after the restart which made it 14-0 in favour of the Kangaroos. The hosts now had to cross the line thrice and that seemed to stifle their drive.

Should there have been uncertainty about the winners, they were firmly put to bed with a quarter-hour to go. Munster's half-break was supported by Angus Crichton, who pushed past Jack Welsby for the Kangaroos' third score.

That made it 20-0 and there was further humiliation in the closing stages as Walsh completed another scintillating attack, taking advantage of a tired and visibly shot English defensive line for his second try.

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 prevented England being held to nil. However, there are plenty of questions for the coach to answer going into what is now a must-win match next Saturday.

• Home Side: Welsby; Young, Farnworth, Wardle, Johnstone; Williams, Lewis; Havard, Clark, Lees, Bateman, Pearce-Paul, Knowles.
• Substitutes: Litten, Walmsley, Trout, McMeeken.
• Try: Clark.
• Conversion: Mikey Lewis.

• Visitors: Starting lineup.
• Bench: Reserves.
• Tries: Reece Walsh (two), Angus Crichton (two).
• Goals: Nathan Cleary (five).