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The home side's offensive weaknesses were laid bare and capitalized on by a clinical Australia as the tourists swept to a worryingly straightforward victory in the opening Test of the rugby league Ashes series.

The England coach's side had spoken effusively about their drive going into the opening series for over two decades, and they were certainly not short on endeavour at Wembley. However, in the key instances, it was the world champions who displayed more composure in front of a historic crowd for an series match in the United Kingdom of more than 60,000.

Brilliant Performance from Reece Walsh

Guided by an outstanding display in attack and defence from Brisbane Broncos’ Reece Walsh, the Kangaroos were worthy and comfortable winners in the first match of the three-match series, meaning the hosts must win at Goodison Park next weekend to keep alive their hopes of a first Ashes win since the 1970s.

England will have to be much better with the possession if they are to achieve that. On several instances in the first half, the home team found themselves in promising positions but they were failed to score for any tries. That was in no small part thanks to Reece Walsh, who pulled off two wonderful interceptions.

Crucial Plays of the Match

The first came as Herbie Farnworth seemed certain 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 excellent move.

Cleary added the extras before kicking a two-pointer on the brink of half-time to open up a two-score lead. It was a pivotal moment, as was the score for Crichton soon after the restart which made it 14-0 in favour of the Kangaroos. England now had to score three times and that seemed to stifle their momentum.

Should there have been uncertainty about the victors, they were decisively settled with a quarter-hour to go. Cameron Munster’s line break was supported by Angus Crichton, who pushed past Welsby for Australia’s third try.

That made it 20-0 and there was added disappointment in the final minutes as Walsh finished another breathtaking move, taking advantage of a weary and visibly shot England defensive line for his second.

Match Result and Outlook

By then, local supporters had begun to filter out and many did not see Clark's consolation, which at least avoided England being held to nil. However, there are many issues for the coach to address going into what is now a must-win Test next weekend.

• Home Side: Full team lineup.
• Substitutes: Litten, Walmsley, Trout, McMeeken.
• Tries: Clark.
• Conversion: Lewis.

• Visitors: Starting lineup.
• Bench: Dearden, Collins, Cotter, Koloamatangi.
• Tries: Walsh 2, Crichton 2.
• Goals: Cleary 5.