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England's offensive weaknesses were laid bare and capitalized on by a clinical Australia as the visitors swept to a surprisingly comfortable victory in the first match of the Ashes.

Shaun Wane’s team had talked at length about their motivation going into the opening series for over two decades, and they were definitely full of endeavour at the famous stadium. Yet, in the crucial moments, it was the reigning title holders who showed more calmness in front of a historic crowd for an Ashes Test in the United Kingdom of more than 60,000.

Outstanding Performance from Walsh

Guided by an exceptional display in attack and defence from club star Reece Walsh, Australia were deserving and convincing winners in the opening Test of the three-match series, meaning the hosts must triumph at Goodison Park next weekend to keep alive their hopes of a first Ashes win since 1970.

They will have to be much better with the possession if they are to achieve that. On multiple occasions in the first half, the hosts found themselves in advantageous situations but they were failed to score for any tries. That was in no small part thanks to Walsh, who executed two superb interceptions.

Key Moments of the Game

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

Nathan Cleary added the extras before adding a penalty on the brink of the interval to establish a eight-point advantage. It was a significant moment, as was the score for Crichton shortly after the resumption which made it 14-0 in favor of the Kangaroos. The hosts now had to score three times and that seemed to stifle their momentum.

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

That made it twenty to zero and there was further humiliation in the final minutes as Reece Walsh finished another breathtaking attack, taking advantage of a weary and clearly exhausted English defensive line for his second.

Final Score and Looking Ahead

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

• England: Full team lineup.
• Interchange: Bench players.
• Tries: Daryl Clark.
• Conversion: Mikey Lewis.

• Australia: Starting lineup.
• Bench: Reserves.
• Tries: Reece Walsh (two), Angus Crichton (two).
• Kicks: Cleary 5.