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England's offensive weaknesses were exposed and punished by a clinical Australian side as the visitors 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 first Ashes for over two decades, and they were definitely full of endeavour at Wembley. However, in the key instances, it was the reigning title holders who showed more composure in front of a historic crowd for an series match in the United Kingdom of more than 60,000.

Brilliant Display from Walsh

Led by an outstanding showing in offense and defense from Brisbane Broncos’ Walsh, Australia were worthy and comfortable winners in the opening Test of the three-match series, meaning the hosts must triumph at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium next Saturday to sustain their hopes of a first Ashes win since 1970.

England will have to be much better with the ball if they are to achieve that. On several instances in the first half, the hosts found themselves in promising positions but they were failed to score for any tries. That was in large measure thanks to Walsh, who pulled off two superb interceptions.

Crucial Plays of the Match

The first came as Herbie Farnworth seemed destined to put Dom Young in for what would have been the opening try, then the fullback stopped Mikey Lewis as half-time neared. By then, the Australians had taken the lead as Walsh himself finished a wonderful play.

Nathan Cleary added the extras before adding a penalty on the stroke of the interval to establish a eight-point lead. It was a pivotal point, as was the try for Crichton soon after the resumption which made it 14-0 in favor of the visitors. England now had to cross the line thrice and that seemed to stifle their momentum.

If there were any doubt about the winners, they were decisively settled with 15 minutes to go. Munster's half-break was backed up by Crichton, who pushed past Jack Welsby for the Kangaroos' third score.

That made it 20-0 and there was added disappointment in the final minutes as Reece Walsh completed another breathtaking move, exploiting a weary and clearly exhausted English defense for his second try.

Match Result and Looking Ahead

By then, home fans had begun to leave early and many did not see Clark's consolation, which at least prevented the home side finishing scoreless. Nonetheless, there are plenty of questions for Wane to address going into what is now a must-win Test next Saturday.

• Home Side: Full team lineup.
• Interchange: Litten, Walmsley, Trout, McMeeken.
• Tries: Clark.
• Goal: Mikey Lewis.

• Australia: Starting lineup.
• Interchange: Reserves.
• Scores: Reece Walsh (two), Angus Crichton (two).
• Goals: Cleary 5.