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England's offensive weaknesses were exposed and punished by a ruthless Australia as the tourists swept to a worryingly straightforward win in the first match of the rugby league Ashes series.

The England coach's side had spoken effusively about their drive 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 world champions who showed more composure in front of a historic crowd for an Ashes Test in the United Kingdom of more than 60,000.

Outstanding Performance from Walsh

Guided by an outstanding showing in offense and defense from club star 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 keep alive their hopes of a series victory since 1970.

England will have to be significantly improved with the possession if they are to achieve that. On several instances in the opening period, the hosts found themselves in promising positions but they were unable to cross for any tries. That was in no small part thanks to Walsh, who executed two superb 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 Lewis as the break neared. By then, the Australians had taken the lead as Walsh himself finished a excellent move.

Cleary added the extras before adding a two-pointer on the brink of the interval to establish a two-score lead. It was a significant point, as was the score for Crichton shortly after the restart which made it 14-0 in favour of the Kangaroos. England now had to score three times and that seemed to stifle their drive.

Should there have been uncertainty about the winners, they were decisively settled with a quarter-hour to go. Munster's line break was supported by Crichton, who broke through Jack Welsby for the Kangaroos' third score.

That made it twenty to zero and there was added disappointment in the closing stages as Reece Walsh finished another breathtaking move, taking advantage of a tired 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 late try, which at least prevented England finishing scoreless. Nonetheless, there are many issues for Wane 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.
• Goal: Mikey Lewis.

• Visitors: Starting lineup.
• Bench: Dearden, Collins, Cotter, Koloamatangi.
• Scores: Reece Walsh (two), Angus Crichton (two).
• Kicks: Nathan Cleary (five).