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The home side's attacking frailties were exposed and punished by a ruthless Australia as the tourists secured a surprisingly comfortable win in the first match of the Ashes.

The England coach's side had talked at length about their drive going into the opening series for 22 years, and they were certainly not short on effort at the famous stadium. Yet, in the crucial moments, it was the world champions who displayed more composure in front of a record attendance for an series match in the UK of more than 60,000.

Brilliant Performance from Reece Walsh

Guided by an outstanding showing in offense and defense from club star Walsh, the Kangaroos were deserving and convincing winners in the first match of the three-game contest, meaning England must win at Goodison Park next Saturday to sustain their hopes of a first Ashes win since the 1970s.

England will have to be much better with the ball if they are to achieve that. On several instances in the opening period, the home team found themselves in promising positions but they were unable to cross for any tries. That was in large measure thanks to Walsh, who executed two wonderful interceptions.

Key Moments of the Game

The first came as Herbie 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 taken the lead as Walsh himself completed a wonderful move.

Cleary converted before adding a penalty on the stroke of half-time to establish a two-score advantage. It was a pivotal moment, as was the score for Crichton soon after the restart which made it 14-0 in favor of the Kangaroos. The hosts now had to cross the line thrice and that seemed to halt their momentum.

Should there have been uncertainty about the winners, they were firmly put to bed with 15 minutes to go. Cameron Munster’s line break was backed up by Angus Crichton, who pushed past Welsby for Australia’s third try.

That made it twenty to zero and there was further humiliation in the closing stages as Reece Walsh completed another breathtaking move, exploiting a weary and visibly shot English defense for his second.

Match Result and Looking Ahead

By then, local supporters had begun to filter out and many missed Clark's consolation, which at least prevented the home side finishing scoreless. Nonetheless, there are many issues for the coach to address going into what is now a do-or-die match next Saturday.

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

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