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England's offensive weaknesses were laid bare and capitalized on by a ruthless Australia as the tourists secured a worryingly straightforward win 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 opening series for 22 years, and they were certainly not short on effort at Wembley. However, in the crucial moments, it was the reigning title holders who displayed more calmness in front of a historic crowd for an Ashes Test in the UK of over sixty thousand spectators.

Outstanding Performance from Walsh

Guided by an exceptional display in attack and defence from Brisbane Broncos’ Walsh, Australia were deserving and convincing victors in the first match of the three-game contest, meaning England must win at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium next Saturday to sustain their aspirations of a series victory since the 1970s.

They will have to be significantly improved with the ball if they are to accomplish that goal. On multiple occasions in the first half, the home team found themselves in advantageous situations but they were unable to cross for any tries. That was in no small part thanks to Reece Walsh, who pulled off two wonderful turnovers.

Key Moments of the Match

The initial occurred as Farnworth seemed destined to put Dom Young in for what would have been the opening try, then Walsh stopped Mikey Lewis as half-time neared. By then, the Australians had taken the lead as Walsh himself finished a wonderful move.

Cleary added the extras before kicking a two-pointer on the stroke of half-time to open up a eight-point advantage. It was a significant moment, as was the score for Crichton soon after the restart which made it 14-0 in favor of the visitors. England now had to score three times and that seemed to stifle their drive.

If there were any doubt about the victors, they were decisively settled with 15 minutes 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 closing stages as Reece Walsh completed another breathtaking move, taking advantage of a tired and visibly shot English defensive line for his second try.

Match Result and Outlook

By then, home fans had begun to filter out and many missed Clark's consolation, which at least avoided England being held to nil. Nonetheless, there are plenty of questions for the coach to address going into what is now a must-win Test next weekend.

• England: Welsby; Young, Farnworth, Wardle, Johnstone; Williams, Lewis; Havard, Clark, Lees, Bateman, Pearce-Paul, Knowles.
• Interchange: Bench players.
• Try: Clark.
• Conversion: Lewis.

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