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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 victory in the first match of the rugby league Ashes series.

The England coach's side had talked at length about their motivation going into the first Ashes for over two decades, and they were certainly not short on effort at Wembley. However, in the key instances, it was the world champions who showed more calmness in front of a record attendance for an Ashes Test in the UK of over sixty thousand spectators.

Brilliant Performance from Reece Walsh

Led by an exceptional display in offense and defense from Brisbane Broncos’ Walsh, Australia were deserving and convincing victors in the first match of the three-game contest, meaning England must win at Goodison Park next weekend to sustain their aspirations of a first Ashes win since 1970.

They will have to be significantly improved with the ball if they are to accomplish that goal. On several instances in the opening period, the hosts found themselves in advantageous situations but they were failed to score for any points. That was in no small part thanks to Walsh, who pulled off two wonderful turnovers.

Key Moments of the Game

The first occurred as Farnworth seemed certain to put Young in for what would have been the first score, then the fullback denied Mikey Lewis as the break approached. By then, the Kangaroos had gone ahead as Reece Walsh himself completed a excellent move.

Nathan Cleary converted before adding a penalty on the stroke of the interval to open up a two-score advantage. It was a pivotal moment, as was the score for Angus Crichton shortly after the restart which made it 14-0 in favour of the Kangaroos. The hosts now had to score three times and that seemed to halt their momentum.

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

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 clearly exhausted England defense for his second.

Match Result and Outlook

By then, local supporters had begun to leave early and many missed Clark's late try, which at least avoided England being held to nil. However, there are many issues for the coach to answer 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: Litten, Walmsley, Trout, McMeeken.
• Try: Clark.
• Conversion: Lewis.

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