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The home side's offensive weaknesses were exposed and punished by a ruthless Australia as the tourists secured 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 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 more than 60,000.

Brilliant Display from Reece Walsh

Guided by an outstanding display in attack and defence from Brisbane Broncos’ Walsh, Australia were deserving and convincing winners in the opening Test of the three-game contest, meaning the hosts must triumph at Goodison Park next weekend to keep alive their aspirations of a first Ashes win 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 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 interceptions.

Key Moments of the Game

The initial came as Herbie Farnworth seemed destined to put Young in for what would have been the first score, then the fullback denied Mikey Lewis as half-time approached. By then, the Australians had taken the lead as Reece Walsh himself completed a wonderful play.

Cleary converted before adding a two-pointer on the brink of the interval to establish a eight-point advantage. It was a pivotal moment, as was the try for Crichton shortly after the restart which made it 14-0 in favour of the Kangaroos. The hosts now had to cross the line thrice and that seemed to stifle their momentum.

Should there have been uncertainty about the winners, they were firmly put to bed with a quarter-hour to go. Munster's half-break was supported by Angus Crichton, who pushed past Jack Welsby for the Kangaroos' third score.

That made it 20-0 and there was further humiliation in the closing stages as Reece Walsh finished another scintillating attack, taking advantage of a tired and clearly exhausted English defensive line for his second.

Match Result and Outlook

By then, home fans had begun to leave early and many missed Clark's late try, which at least avoided the home side being held to nil. However, there are many issues for the coach to address going into what is now a do-or-die Test next Saturday.

• Home Side: Full team lineup.
• Substitutes: Bench players.
• Try: Clark.
• Conversion: Mikey Lewis.

• Australia: Starting lineup.
• Bench: Reserves.
• Tries: Walsh 2, Crichton 2.
• Goals: Cleary 5.