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England's attacking frailties were laid bare and capitalized on by a ruthless Australia as the visitors secured a surprisingly comfortable victory in the first match of the rugby league Ashes series.

The England coach'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 Wembley. However, in the key instances, it was the world champions who displayed more calmness in front of a record attendance for an series match in the United Kingdom of over sixty thousand spectators.

Brilliant Performance from Reece Walsh

Guided by an exceptional showing in offense and defense from Brisbane Broncos’ Reece Walsh, Australia were deserving and convincing winners in the first match of the three-game contest, meaning England must triumph at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium next weekend to keep alive their hopes of a series victory since the 1970s.

They will have to be significantly improved 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 no small part thanks to Reece Walsh, who executed two wonderful turnovers.

Key Moments of the Match

The initial came as Herbie Farnworth seemed destined to put Dom Young in for what would have been the opening try, then the fullback stopped Lewis as the break approached. By then, the Kangaroos had taken the lead as Reece Walsh himself completed a wonderful play.

Cleary added the extras before adding a two-pointer on the brink of half-time to open up a two-score advantage. It was a pivotal moment, as was the try for Crichton soon after the resumption which made it 14-0 in favour of the visitors. England now had to cross the line thrice and that seemed to halt their momentum.

Should there have been uncertainty about the winners, they were decisively settled with a quarter-hour to go. Munster's half-break was backed up by Angus Crichton, who broke through Welsby for Australia’s third try.

That made it 20-0 and there was further humiliation in the closing stages as Reece Walsh completed another breathtaking attack, taking advantage of a weary and visibly shot England defensive line for his second try.

Match Result and Outlook

By then, home fans had begun to filter out and many missed Clark's consolation, which at least avoided England being held to nil. However, there are many issues for the coach to answer going into what is now a must-win match next Saturday.

• Home Side: Welsby; Young, Farnworth, Wardle, Johnstone; Williams, Lewis; Havard, Clark, Lees, Bateman, Pearce-Paul, Knowles.
• Substitutes: Litten, Walmsley, Trout, McMeeken.
• Tries: Clark.
• Conversion: Lewis.

• Australia: Starting lineup.
• Bench: Dearden, Collins, Cotter, Koloamatangi.
• Scores: Walsh 2, Crichton 2.
• Goals: Cleary 5.