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The home side's offensive weaknesses were exposed and punished by a ruthless Australia as the tourists secured a worryingly straightforward win in the opening Test of the Ashes.

The England coach's side had spoken effusively about their drive going into the opening series for over two decades, and they were certainly not short on effort at the famous stadium. However, in the crucial moments, it was the world champions who showed more calmness in front of a record attendance for an series match in the UK of more than 60,000.

Outstanding Display from Walsh

Guided by an exceptional showing in attack and defence from club star Walsh, Australia were deserving and convincing victors in the opening Test of the three-game contest, meaning England must triumph at Goodison Park next Saturday to sustain their hopes of a series victory since 1970.

England will have to be significantly improved with the ball if they are to achieve that. On several instances in the first half, the home team found themselves in promising positions but they were failed to score for any tries. That was in large measure thanks to Reece Walsh, who executed two superb interceptions.

Crucial Plays of the Match

The first occurred as Farnworth seemed certain to put Dom Young in for what would have been the opening try, then the fullback stopped Mikey Lewis as the break neared. By then, the Australians had gone ahead as Walsh himself completed a excellent play.

Cleary added the extras before adding a penalty on the brink of half-time to establish a two-score advantage. It was a significant 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 score three times and that seemed to stifle their momentum.

Should there have been uncertainty about the victors, they were decisively settled with 15 minutes to go. Cameron Munster’s line break was backed up by Angus Crichton, who pushed past Jack Welsby for Australia’s third try.

That made it twenty to zero and there was further humiliation in the closing stages as Reece Walsh completed another scintillating attack, taking advantage of a tired and visibly shot England defense for his second try.

Final Score and Looking Ahead

By then, home fans had begun to filter out and many missed Clark's consolation, which at least prevented England finishing scoreless. However, there are many issues for Wane to answer going into what is now a do-or-die match next Saturday.

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

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