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The home side's offensive weaknesses were laid bare and capitalized on by a ruthless Australian side as the visitors swept to a surprisingly comfortable win in the first match of the rugby league Ashes series.

Shaun Wane’s side had talked at length about their drive going into the opening series for over two decades, and they were definitely full of endeavour at the famous stadium. Yet, 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 UK of more than 60,000.

Outstanding Performance from Walsh

Guided by an outstanding display in attack and defence from Brisbane Broncos’ Reece Walsh, Australia were deserving and convincing winners in the first match of the three-match series, meaning England must triumph at Goodison Park next Saturday to sustain their aspirations of a series victory since 1970.

They will have to be much better with the possession if they are to achieve that. On multiple occasions in the first half, the hosts found themselves in advantageous situations but they were unable to cross for any points. That was in no small part thanks to Walsh, who executed two superb turnovers.

Key Moments of the Match

The initial occurred as Farnworth seemed destined to put Dom Young in for what would have been the opening try, then Walsh stopped Mikey Lewis as the break approached. By then, the Kangaroos had gone ahead as Reece Walsh himself completed a excellent play.

Cleary added the extras before kicking a penalty on the stroke of the interval to open up a two-score advantage. It was a significant moment, as was the try for Angus Crichton soon after the resumption 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 firmly put to bed with 15 minutes to go. Cameron Munster’s half-break was backed up by Angus Crichton, who broke through Welsby for the Kangaroos' third score.

That made it twenty to zero and there was added disappointment in the closing stages as Reece Walsh completed another breathtaking attack, exploiting a weary and clearly exhausted English defensive line for his second try.

Match Result and Outlook

By then, local supporters had begun to leave early and many missed Daryl Clark’s consolation, which at least avoided the home side being held to nil. However, there are plenty of questions for the coach to answer going into what is now a must-win Test next Saturday.

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

• Australia: Starting lineup.
• Interchange: Dearden, Collins, Cotter, Koloamatangi.
• Tries: Walsh 2, Crichton 2.
• Kicks: Nathan Cleary (five).