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England's offensive weaknesses were exposed and punished by a clinical Australia as the visitors swept to a surprisingly comfortable win in the first match of the Ashes.

The England coach's side had talked at length about their motivation going into the first Ashes for 22 years, and they were certainly not short on effort at Wembley. However, in the key instances, it was the world champions who displayed more composure in front of a historic crowd for an series match in the United Kingdom of more than 60,000.

Outstanding Display from Reece Walsh

Led by an exceptional showing in attack and defence from Brisbane Broncos’ Reece Walsh, Australia were worthy and comfortable winners in the first match of the three-match series, meaning the hosts must triumph at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium next weekend to keep alive their hopes of a series victory since 1970.

They will have to be much better with the ball if they are to achieve that. On several instances in the opening period, the hosts found themselves in advantageous situations but they were unable to cross for any tries. That was in large measure thanks to Reece Walsh, who pulled off two wonderful turnovers.

Key Moments of the Game

The first came as Farnworth seemed certain to put Dom Young in for what would have been the first score, then the fullback stopped Mikey Lewis as the break approached. By then, the Australians had taken the lead as Reece Walsh himself finished a wonderful play.

Nathan Cleary converted before kicking a two-pointer on the brink of the interval to open up a two-score lead. It was a pivotal moment, as was the try for Crichton soon after the restart which made it 14-0 in favour of the Kangaroos. England now had to cross the line thrice and that seemed to stifle their momentum.

If there were any doubt about the victors, they were decisively settled with 15 minutes to go. Munster's line break was backed up by Crichton, who pushed past Jack Welsby for the Kangaroos' third score.

That made it 20-0 and there was further humiliation in the final minutes as Walsh completed another scintillating move, exploiting a tired and visibly shot England 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 late try, which at least prevented the home side finishing scoreless. Nonetheless, there are plenty of questions for Wane to address going into what is now a do-or-die match next weekend.

• England: Full team lineup.
• Interchange: Bench players.
• Tries: Daryl Clark.
• Goal: Mikey Lewis.

• Australia: Starting lineup.
• Interchange: Reserves.
• Scores: Walsh 2, Crichton 2.
• Kicks: Nathan Cleary (five).