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England's offensive weaknesses were exposed and punished by a ruthless Australia as the visitors swept to a worryingly straightforward victory in the opening Test of the rugby league Ashes series.

Shaun Wane’s team had talked at length about their drive going into the first Ashes for 22 years, and they were certainly not short on endeavour at the famous stadium. However, in the key instances, it was the reigning title holders who showed more calmness in front of a record attendance for an series match in the United Kingdom of more than 60,000.

Outstanding Performance from Walsh

Guided by an exceptional showing in attack and defence from Brisbane Broncos’ Reece Walsh, Australia were worthy and comfortable victors in the opening Test of the three-game contest, meaning England must triumph at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium next weekend to keep alive their hopes of a first Ashes win since 1970.

They will have to be significantly improved with the possession if they are to accomplish that goal. On several instances in the opening period, the hosts found themselves in advantageous situations but they were failed to score for any tries. That was in large measure thanks to Walsh, who pulled off two wonderful interceptions.

Key Moments of the Match

The initial occurred as Herbie Farnworth seemed certain to put Young in for what would have been the first score, then Walsh stopped Lewis as the break neared. By then, the Kangaroos had gone ahead as Reece Walsh himself completed a wonderful play.

Cleary added the extras before adding a two-pointer on the stroke of half-time 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 Kangaroos. England now had to score three times and that seemed to stifle their drive.

Should there have been uncertainty about the victors, they were decisively settled with a quarter-hour to go. Cameron Munster’s half-break was supported by Crichton, who broke through Welsby for the Kangaroos' third score.

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

Match Result and Looking Ahead

By then, home fans had begun to filter out and many missed Daryl Clark’s consolation, which at least prevented England finishing scoreless. However, there are plenty of questions for the coach to answer going into what is now a do-or-die match next weekend.

• 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: Starting lineup.
• Interchange: Dearden, Collins, Cotter, Koloamatangi.
• Scores: Reece Walsh (two), Angus Crichton (two).
• Kicks: Cleary 5.