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England's offensive weaknesses were laid bare and capitalized on by a ruthless Australia as the visitors secured a surprisingly comfortable victory in the opening Test of the rugby league Ashes series.

The England coach's team had talked at length about their motivation going into the opening series for over two decades, and they were certainly not short on endeavour at Wembley. However, in the crucial moments, it was the world champions who showed more composure in front of a historic crowd for an series match in the United Kingdom of over sixty thousand spectators.

Brilliant Performance from Walsh

Led by an outstanding display in offense and defense from club star Reece Walsh, Australia were deserving and convincing winners in the first match of the three-game contest, meaning the hosts must triumph at Goodison Park next Saturday to keep alive their hopes of a series victory since the 1970s.

England will have to be much better with the possession if they are to achieve that. On several instances in the first half, the home team found themselves in advantageous situations but they were unable to cross for any points. That was in no small part thanks to Walsh, who pulled off two wonderful turnovers.

Key Moments of the Match

The initial came as Herbie Farnworth seemed certain to put Dom Young in for what would have been the first score, then the fullback denied Lewis as the break neared. By then, the Kangaroos had taken the lead as Walsh himself finished a excellent play.

Cleary converted before kicking a two-pointer on the brink of the interval to establish a two-score advantage. It was a pivotal moment, as was the score for Angus Crichton shortly after the restart which made it 14-0 in favor of the visitors. The hosts now had to cross the line thrice and that seemed to halt their drive.

Should there have been uncertainty about the winners, they were firmly put to bed with 15 minutes to go. Munster's half-break was backed up by Crichton, who broke through Jack Welsby for the Kangaroos' third score.

That made it 20-0 and there was further humiliation in the closing stages as Walsh finished another breathtaking attack, exploiting a weary and visibly shot English defensive line for his second.

Final Score and Outlook

By then, home fans had begun to filter out and many missed Daryl Clark’s consolation, which at least prevented the home side being held to nil. Nonetheless, there are plenty of questions for the coach to address going into what is now a do-or-die match next Saturday.

• Home Side: Welsby; Young, Farnworth, Wardle, Johnstone; Williams, Lewis; Havard, Clark, Lees, Bateman, Pearce-Paul, Knowles.
• Interchange: Litten, Walmsley, Trout, McMeeken.
• Try: Clark.
• Goal: Lewis.

• Visitors: Walsh; Nawaqanitawase, Staggs, Shibasaki, Addo-Carr; Munster, Cleary; Carrigan, Grant, Fa’asuamaleaui, Crichton, Young, Yeo.
• Bench: Dearden, Collins, Cotter, Koloamatangi.
• Scores: Walsh 2, Crichton 2.
• Goals: Nathan Cleary (five).