Walsh Takes Center Stage as Dominant The Kangaroos Defeat England Away in First Ashes Test

The home side's attacking frailties were laid bare and capitalized on by a ruthless Australia as the visitors secured a worryingly straightforward win in the opening Test of the Ashes.

The England coach's side had spoken effusively about their motivation going into the first Ashes for 22 years, and they were definitely full of endeavour at Wembley. However, in the key instances, it was the reigning title holders who showed more calmness in front of a historic crowd for an series match in the United Kingdom of over sixty thousand spectators.

Outstanding Performance from Walsh

Led by an outstanding display in attack and defence from club star Walsh, Australia were deserving and convincing victors in the first match of the three-match series, meaning the hosts must win at Goodison Park next weekend to keep alive their hopes of a first Ashes win since 1970.

England will have to be significantly improved with the ball if they are to achieve that. On several instances in the opening period, the home team found themselves in advantageous situations but they were failed to score for any tries. That was in no small part thanks to Walsh, who executed two wonderful turnovers.

Key Moments of the Game

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

Cleary converted before adding a two-pointer on the brink of the interval to open up a two-score advantage. It was a pivotal moment, as was the score for Crichton shortly after the restart which made it 14-0 in favor of the Kangaroos. England now had to cross the line thrice and that seemed to halt their momentum.

Should there have been uncertainty about the victors, they were decisively settled with a quarter-hour to go. Cameron Munster’s line break was backed up by Crichton, who broke through 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 finished another breathtaking attack, taking advantage of a weary and clearly exhausted English defensive line for his second try.

Match Result and Outlook

By then, local supporters had begun to filter out and many missed Clark's consolation, which at least avoided the home side 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.
• Try: Daryl Clark.
• Conversion: Mikey Lewis.

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