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England's attacking frailties were laid bare and capitalized on by a ruthless Australia as the visitors secured a surprisingly comfortable win in the opening Test of the Ashes.

Shaun Wane’s side had talked at length about their drive going into the opening series for 22 years, and they were definitely full of endeavour at Wembley. Yet, in the crucial moments, it was the world champions who showed more calmness in front of a historic crowd for an series match in the United Kingdom of over sixty thousand spectators.

Outstanding Performance from Reece Walsh

Led by an outstanding display in attack and defence from club star Walsh, the Kangaroos were deserving and convincing victors in the first match of the three-game contest, meaning England must win at Goodison Park next Saturday to sustain their hopes of a series victory since the 1970s.

England will have to be significantly improved with the possession if they are to achieve that. On several instances in the opening period, the hosts found themselves in promising positions but they were failed to score for any points. That was in no small part thanks to Walsh, who pulled off two superb interceptions.

Key Moments of the Game

The initial occurred as Farnworth seemed destined to put Young in for what would have been the opening try, then Walsh denied Mikey Lewis as the break approached. By then, the Australians had gone ahead as Reece Walsh himself completed a wonderful move.

Nathan Cleary added the extras before adding a two-pointer on the brink of half-time to open up a two-score lead. It was a pivotal moment, as was the score for Crichton soon after the resumption which made it 14-0 in favor of the Kangaroos. England 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 half-break was supported by Crichton, who broke through Jack Welsby for the Kangaroos' third score.

That made it twenty to zero and there was further humiliation in the final minutes as Walsh finished another scintillating move, exploiting a tired and clearly exhausted England defense for his second try.

Match Result and Looking Ahead

By then, home fans had begun to filter out and many missed Clark's late try, which at least avoided the home side finishing scoreless. Nonetheless, there are plenty of questions for Wane 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.
• Tries: Daryl Clark.
• Goal: Mikey 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).
• Goals: Cleary 5.