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England's offensive weaknesses were exposed and punished by a ruthless Australia as the tourists swept to a surprisingly comfortable victory in the first match of the Ashes.

Shaun Wane’s team had talked at length about their motivation going into the first Ashes for 22 years, and they were definitely full of endeavour at the famous stadium. Yet, in the crucial moments, it was the world champions who showed more composure in front of a record attendance for an Ashes Test in the United Kingdom of more than 60,000.

Outstanding Display from Walsh

Guided by an outstanding showing in offense and defense from club star 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 Saturday to keep alive their aspirations of a first Ashes win since 1970.

England will have to be significantly improved with the ball if they are to accomplish that goal. On multiple occasions 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 executed two wonderful turnovers.

Key Moments of the Game

The first occurred as Herbie Farnworth seemed destined to put Dom Young in for what would have been the first score, then Walsh denied Mikey Lewis as half-time approached. By then, the Kangaroos had taken the lead as Walsh himself finished a wonderful move.

Cleary added the extras before adding a two-pointer on the stroke of half-time to establish a two-score advantage. It was a significant moment, as was the score for Crichton shortly after the restart which made it fourteen to nil in favour of the visitors. England now had to cross the line thrice and that seemed to stifle their drive.

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

That made it 20-0 and there was added disappointment in the closing stages as Walsh completed another breathtaking attack, taking advantage of a weary and visibly shot England defense for his second.

Final Score and Looking Ahead

By then, local supporters had begun to filter out and many did not see Clark's consolation, which at least avoided the home side finishing scoreless. Nonetheless, there are many issues for Wane to address going into what is now a must-win Test next weekend.

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

• Australia: Walsh; Nawaqanitawase, Staggs, Shibasaki, Addo-Carr; Munster, Cleary; Carrigan, Grant, Fa’asuamaleaui, Crichton, Young, Yeo.
• Bench: Dearden, Collins, Cotter, Koloamatangi.
• Tries: Walsh 2, Crichton 2.
• Goals: Cleary 5.