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England's offensive weaknesses were laid bare and capitalized on by a ruthless Australia as the tourists swept to a worryingly straightforward victory in the opening Test of the Ashes.

The England coach's side had talked at length about their motivation going into the first Ashes for over two decades, and they were certainly not short on endeavour at Wembley. Yet, in the key instances, it was the reigning title holders who displayed more composure in front of a historic crowd for an Ashes Test in the UK of over sixty thousand spectators.

Outstanding Display from Reece Walsh

Guided by an outstanding showing in attack and defence from Brisbane Broncos’ Reece Walsh, Australia were deserving and convincing winners in the opening Test of the three-match series, meaning the hosts must win at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium next weekend to keep alive their aspirations of a series victory since 1970.

They will have to be much better with the ball if they are to achieve that. On multiple occasions in the opening period, the hosts found themselves in advantageous situations but they were unable to cross for any points. That was in no small part thanks to Walsh, who executed two superb turnovers.

Key Moments of the Game

The first came as Farnworth seemed destined to put Dom Young in for what would have been the first score, then Walsh stopped Lewis as the break approached. By then, the Australians had taken the lead as Walsh himself finished a excellent play.

Cleary added the extras before kicking a two-pointer on the stroke of the interval to establish a eight-point advantage. It was a significant moment, as was the score for Angus Crichton soon after the restart which made it 14-0 in favor of the visitors. England now had to cross the line thrice and that seemed to halt their drive.

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

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

Match Result and Outlook

By then, home fans had begun to leave early and many missed Clark's consolation, which at least prevented England finishing scoreless. However, there are plenty of questions for the coach to address going into what is now a do-or-die Test next weekend.

• Home Side: Full team lineup.
• Substitutes: Litten, Walmsley, Trout, McMeeken.
• Tries: Daryl Clark.
• Conversion: Lewis.

• Visitors: Starting lineup.
• Bench: Dearden, Collins, Cotter, Koloamatangi.
• Tries: Reece Walsh (two), Angus Crichton (two).
• Kicks: Nathan Cleary (five).