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England's offensive weaknesses were exposed and punished by a ruthless Australia as the visitors swept to a surprisingly comfortable victory in the first match of the Ashes.

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 endeavour at Wembley. However, in the crucial moments, it was the reigning title holders who displayed more calmness in front of a record attendance for an Ashes Test in the United Kingdom of over sixty thousand spectators.

Brilliant Display from Walsh

Guided by an exceptional display in attack and defence from Brisbane Broncos’ Reece Walsh, the Kangaroos were deserving and convincing winners in the first match of the three-match series, meaning the hosts must triumph at Goodison Park next Saturday to sustain their hopes of a first Ashes win since the 1970s.

They will have to be much better with the possession if they are to achieve that. On several instances in the opening period, the home team found themselves in advantageous situations but they were unable to cross for any points. That was in large measure thanks to Walsh, who executed two superb turnovers.

Key Moments of the Game

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

Cleary added the extras before kicking a penalty on the stroke of half-time to open up a eight-point advantage. It was a pivotal moment, as was the score for Crichton shortly after the resumption which made it 14-0 in favor of the visitors. England now had to score three times and that seemed to halt their momentum.

Should there have been uncertainty about the winners, they were firmly put to bed with a quarter-hour to go. Munster's half-break was backed up by Crichton, who pushed past Jack Welsby for Australia’s third try.

That made it twenty to zero and there was further humiliation in the closing stages as Walsh finished another breathtaking move, taking advantage of a tired and clearly exhausted English defense for his second try.

Match Result and Looking Ahead

By then, home fans had begun to filter out and many did not see Daryl Clark’s consolation, which at least prevented the home side being held to nil. Nonetheless, there are many issues for the coach to answer going into what is now a do-or-die Test next weekend.

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

• Australia: Walsh; Nawaqanitawase, Staggs, Shibasaki, Addo-Carr; Munster, Cleary; Carrigan, Grant, Fa’asuamaleaui, Crichton, Young, Yeo.
• Bench: Reserves.
• Tries: Reece Walsh (two), Angus Crichton (two).
• Kicks: Nathan Cleary (five).