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The home side's attacking frailties were exposed and punished by a ruthless Australian side as the tourists secured a surprisingly comfortable victory in the first match of the Ashes.

The England coach's side had spoken effusively about their motivation going into the first Ashes for over two decades, and they were definitely full of effort at Wembley. Yet, in the crucial moments, it was the world champions 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 Walsh

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

They will have to be significantly improved with the ball if they are to achieve that. On several instances in the opening period, the home team found themselves in advantageous situations but they were failed to score for any tries. That was in large measure thanks to Reece Walsh, who executed two superb turnovers.

Key Moments of the Match

The initial occurred as Farnworth seemed destined to put Dom Young in for what would have been the first score, then Walsh stopped Mikey Lewis as half-time approached. By then, the Kangaroos had gone ahead as Walsh himself completed a wonderful move.

Cleary added the extras before adding a two-pointer on the stroke of half-time to establish a eight-point lead. It was a pivotal moment, as was the score for Angus Crichton soon after the resumption which made it 14-0 in favour of the Kangaroos. England now had to score three times and that seemed to stifle their momentum.

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

That made it 20-0 and there was further humiliation in the final minutes as Walsh completed another breathtaking attack, exploiting a weary and clearly exhausted English defensive line for his second try.

Match Result and Looking Ahead

By then, local supporters had begun to filter out and many did not see Clark's consolation, which at least avoided the home side being held to nil. Nonetheless, there are plenty of questions for Wane to address going into what is now a must-win match next weekend.

• England: Welsby; Young, Farnworth, Wardle, Johnstone; Williams, Lewis; Havard, Clark, Lees, Bateman, Pearce-Paul, Knowles.
• Substitutes: Bench players.
• Try: Daryl Clark.
• Goal: Mikey Lewis.

• Australia: Walsh; Nawaqanitawase, Staggs, Shibasaki, Addo-Carr; Munster, Cleary; Carrigan, Grant, Fa’asuamaleaui, Crichton, Young, Yeo.
• Interchange: Dearden, Collins, Cotter, Koloamatangi.
• Tries: Walsh 2, Crichton 2.
• Goals: Cleary 5.