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England's attacking frailties were exposed and punished by a clinical Australia as the visitors secured a worryingly straightforward win in the first match of the Ashes.

Shaun Wane’s side had spoken effusively about their motivation going into the opening series for 22 years, and they were definitely full of endeavour at Wembley. Yet, in the key instances, it was the world champions who showed more composure in front of a record attendance for an series match in the United Kingdom of more than 60,000.

Outstanding Display from Reece Walsh

Led by an outstanding display in attack and defence from club star Reece Walsh, the Kangaroos were deserving and convincing victors in the opening Test of the three-game contest, meaning England must triumph at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium next Saturday to keep alive their aspirations of a first Ashes win since the 1970s.

They will have to be significantly improved with the ball if they are to achieve that. On multiple occasions 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 superb turnovers.

Key Moments of the Match

The initial came as Farnworth seemed certain to put Young in for what would have been the opening try, then Walsh denied Mikey Lewis as half-time neared. By then, the Australians had taken the lead as Walsh himself completed a wonderful play.

Nathan Cleary added the extras before adding a two-pointer on the stroke of half-time to open up a two-score lead. It was a pivotal point, as was the score for Crichton soon after the restart which made it 14-0 in favor of the visitors. England now had to cross the line thrice and that seemed to halt their drive.

Should there have been uncertainty about the winners, they were firmly put to bed with a quarter-hour to go. Cameron Munster’s line break was backed up by 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 finished another breathtaking attack, taking advantage of a tired and visibly shot England defense for his second.

Final Score and Looking Ahead

By then, local supporters had begun to filter out and many did not see Daryl Clark’s late try, which at least avoided the home side finishing scoreless. Nonetheless, there are plenty of questions for the coach to answer going into what is now a do-or-die match next weekend.

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

• Australia: Starting lineup.
• Bench: Reserves.
• Tries: Walsh 2, Crichton 2.
• Kicks: Nathan Cleary (five).