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The home side's offensive weaknesses were laid bare and capitalized on by a ruthless Australian side as the visitors swept to a surprisingly comfortable win in the opening Test of the rugby league Ashes series.

The England coach's side had talked at length about their drive going into the opening series for over two decades, and they were definitely full of endeavour at Wembley. However, in the key instances, it was the reigning title holders who displayed more composure in front of a historic crowd for an series match in the United Kingdom of over sixty thousand spectators.

Outstanding Performance from Reece Walsh

Led by an outstanding display in attack and defence from club star Reece Walsh, the Kangaroos were deserving and convincing winners in the first match of the three-game contest, meaning the hosts must triumph at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium next weekend to sustain their aspirations of a first Ashes win since 1970.

They 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 advantageous situations but they were failed to score for any tries. That was in no small part thanks to Walsh, who executed two superb interceptions.

Key Moments of the Match

The initial came as Farnworth seemed destined to put Young in for what would have been the first score, then Walsh stopped Lewis as half-time approached. By then, the Australians had taken the lead as Walsh himself finished a excellent move.

Cleary added the extras before adding a two-pointer on the brink of half-time to establish a two-score lead. It was a pivotal point, as was the try for Angus Crichton soon after the restart which made it fourteen to nil 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 winners, they were decisively settled with 15 minutes to go. Munster's half-break was supported by Crichton, who pushed past Welsby for Australia’s third try.

That made it twenty to zero and there was further humiliation in the final minutes as Walsh completed another breathtaking move, exploiting a weary and clearly exhausted England defense for his second.

Final Score and Outlook

By then, home fans had begun to filter out and many did not see Clark's late try, which at least prevented 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 Test next weekend.

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

• Australia: Starting lineup.
• Interchange: Dearden, Collins, Cotter, Koloamatangi.
• Scores: Walsh 2, Crichton 2.
• Kicks: Nathan Cleary (five).