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England's offensive weaknesses were laid bare and capitalized on by a ruthless Australia as the visitors secured a surprisingly comfortable victory in the first match of the rugby league Ashes series.

Shaun Wane’s team had talked at length about their motivation going into the first Ashes for 22 years, and they were certainly not short on effort at the famous stadium. However, in the crucial moments, it was the reigning title holders who showed more composure in front of a record attendance for an series match in the UK of over sixty thousand spectators.

Outstanding Performance from Walsh

Led by an exceptional showing in offense and defense 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 triumph at Goodison Park next weekend to keep alive their aspirations of a series victory 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 hosts found themselves in advantageous situations but they were unable to cross for any tries. That was in large measure thanks to Walsh, who executed two superb interceptions.

Key Moments of the Game

The first came as Herbie Farnworth seemed certain to put Dom Young in for what would have been the first score, then Walsh denied Mikey Lewis as half-time approached. By then, the Kangaroos had gone ahead as Walsh himself finished a excellent play.

Cleary converted before kicking a two-pointer on the brink of half-time to establish a two-score advantage. It was a pivotal point, as was the score for Crichton soon after the restart which made it fourteen to nil in favor of the visitors. England now had to cross the line thrice and that seemed to stifle their drive.

If there were any doubt about the victors, they were firmly put to bed with 15 minutes to go. Munster's line break was backed up by Angus Crichton, who broke through Welsby for Australia’s third try.

That made it 20-0 and there was further humiliation in the final minutes as Reece Walsh finished another scintillating move, exploiting a tired and visibly shot England defense for his second try.

Final Score and Outlook

By then, home fans had begun to leave early and many did not see Daryl Clark’s consolation, which at least avoided the home side finishing scoreless. Nonetheless, there are many issues for Wane to answer going into what is now a do-or-die Test next weekend.

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

• Visitors: Starting lineup.
• Interchange: Dearden, Collins, Cotter, Koloamatangi.
• Tries: Reece Walsh (two), Angus Crichton (two).
• Kicks: Cleary 5.