🔗 Share this article Reece Walsh Shines as Dominant Australia Defeat The Hosts Aside in Opening Ashes Match England's attacking frailties were exposed and punished by a ruthless Australia as the visitors swept to a surprisingly comfortable win in the first match of the rugby league Ashes series. The England coach's team had talked at length about their drive going into the opening series for 22 years, and they were certainly not short on endeavour at the famous stadium. However, in the key instances, it was the world champions who showed more composure in front of a record attendance for an series match in the United Kingdom of over sixty thousand spectators. Outstanding Performance from Walsh Guided by an outstanding display in attack and defence from Brisbane Broncos’ Walsh, the Kangaroos 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 Saturday to sustain their hopes of a series victory since the 1970s. England will have to be significantly improved with the ball if they are to achieve that. On multiple occasions in the opening period, the home team found themselves in promising positions but they were failed to score for any points. That was in no small part thanks to Walsh, who pulled off two superb turnovers. Key Moments of the Game The first came as Farnworth seemed destined to put Young in for what would have been the first score, then Walsh stopped Mikey Lewis as half-time neared. By then, the Australians had gone ahead as Reece Walsh himself finished a wonderful move. Cleary added the extras before kicking a two-pointer on the stroke of the interval to open up a eight-point advantage. It was a significant point, as was the score for Angus Crichton soon after the resumption which made it fourteen to nil in favour of the Kangaroos. The hosts now had to cross the line thrice and that seemed to halt 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 Australia’s third try. That made it 20-0 and there was added disappointment in the final minutes as Reece Walsh completed another scintillating attack, exploiting a weary and visibly shot English defense for his second try. Final Score and Looking Ahead By then, home fans had begun to filter out and many did not see Daryl Clark’s consolation, which at least avoided the home side finishing scoreless. Nonetheless, there are plenty of questions for the coach to address going into what is now a must-win Test next weekend. Home Side: Welsby; Young, Farnworth, Wardle, Johnstone; Williams, Lewis; Havard, Clark, Lees, Bateman, Pearce-Paul, Knowles. Substitutes: Bench players. Try: Clark. Conversion: Mikey Lewis. Australia: Walsh; Nawaqanitawase, Staggs, Shibasaki, Addo-Carr; Munster, Cleary; Carrigan, Grant, Fa’asuamaleaui, Crichton, Young, Yeo. Interchange: Dearden, Collins, Cotter, Koloamatangi. Tries: Reece Walsh (two), Angus Crichton (two). Goals: Nathan Cleary (five).