🔗 Share this article

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

The England coach's team had talked at length about their motivation going into the opening series for over two decades, and they were definitely full of effort at Wembley. However, in the crucial moments, it was the world champions who showed more composure in front of a historic crowd for an series match in the UK of more than 60,000.

Outstanding Display from Reece Walsh

Guided by an outstanding showing in attack and defence from Brisbane Broncos’ Reece Walsh, Australia were worthy and comfortable victors in the first match of the three-match series, meaning the hosts must win 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 Reece Walsh, who pulled off two superb turnovers.

Key Moments of the Match

The first came as Farnworth seemed destined to put Young in for what would have been the opening try, then the fullback stopped Mikey Lewis as half-time neared. By then, the Kangaroos had gone ahead as Walsh himself completed a excellent play.

Nathan Cleary added the extras before kicking a penalty on the brink of the interval to open up a eight-point lead. It was a pivotal moment, as was the try for Crichton soon after the restart which made it 14-0 in favor of the visitors. The hosts now had to cross the line thrice and that seemed to stifle their momentum.

If there were any doubt about the victors, they were decisively settled with a quarter-hour to go. Cameron Munster’s line break was backed up by Angus Crichton, who pushed past Jack Welsby for the Kangaroos' third score.

That made it 20-0 and there was added disappointment in the closing stages as Walsh finished another scintillating attack, exploiting a tired and visibly shot English defense for his second try.

Match Result and Outlook

By then, local supporters had begun to filter out and many missed Clark's consolation, which at least avoided the home side finishing scoreless. However, there are plenty of questions for the coach to address going into what is now a must-win match next Saturday.

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

• Visitors: Walsh; Nawaqanitawase, Staggs, Shibasaki, Addo-Carr; Munster, Cleary; Carrigan, Grant, Fa’asuamaleaui, Crichton, Young, Yeo.
• Interchange: Reserves.
• Scores: Walsh 2, Crichton 2.
• Goals: Cleary 5.