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England's offensive weaknesses were laid bare and capitalized on by a ruthless Australian side as the visitors secured a worryingly straightforward victory in the opening Test of the Ashes.

The England coach's team had spoken effusively about their drive going into the first Ashes for 22 years, and they were certainly not short on endeavour at the famous stadium. Yet, in the crucial moments, 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 Walsh

Guided by an exceptional showing in attack and defence from Brisbane Broncos’ Walsh, Australia were worthy and comfortable winners in the opening Test of the three-game contest, meaning England must win at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium next weekend to keep alive their hopes of a series victory since the 1970s.

England will have to be much better with the possession if they are to accomplish that goal. 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 Walsh, who executed two superb turnovers.

Key Moments of the Game

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

Cleary added the extras before kicking a penalty on the stroke of the interval to open up a two-score lead. It was a significant moment, as was the try for Crichton shortly after the resumption which made it 14-0 in favor of the Kangaroos. England now had to score three times and that seemed to stifle their momentum.

If there were any doubt about the winners, they were decisively settled with a quarter-hour to go. Cameron Munster’s line break was backed up by Angus Crichton, who pushed past Welsby for Australia’s third try.

That made it 20-0 and there was added disappointment in the final minutes as Walsh finished another breathtaking attack, exploiting a tired and clearly exhausted English defensive line for his second.

Final Score and Looking Ahead

By then, home fans had begun to leave early and many missed Clark's consolation, which at least prevented the home side being held to nil. However, there are plenty of questions for the coach to answer going into what is now a do-or-die Test next Saturday.

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

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