England's offensive weaknesses were exposed and punished by a ruthless Australia as the tourists swept to a surprisingly comfortable win in the opening Test of the rugby league Ashes series.
Shaun Wane’s side had talked at length about their motivation going into the first Ashes for over two decades, and they were definitely full of effort at Wembley. However, in the key instances, it was the reigning title holders who showed more calmness in front of a historic crowd for an Ashes Test in the United Kingdom of over sixty thousand spectators.
Guided by an outstanding display in attack and defence from club star Walsh, Australia were worthy and comfortable victors in the opening Test of the three-game contest, meaning England must triumph at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium next Saturday to sustain their hopes of a series victory since the 1970s.
They will have to be significantly improved with the possession if they are to achieve that. On multiple occasions in the opening period, the home team found themselves in advantageous situations but they were unable to cross for any points. That was in large measure thanks to Reece Walsh, who pulled off two wonderful turnovers.
The first occurred as Farnworth seemed destined to put Young in for what would have been the opening try, then Walsh stopped Mikey Lewis as the break neared. By then, the Kangaroos had gone ahead as Walsh himself finished a excellent play.
Cleary converted before adding a penalty on the brink of half-time to establish a two-score advantage. It was a significant point, as was the score for Angus Crichton shortly after the restart which made it fourteen to nil in favor of the Kangaroos. The hosts now had to score three times and that seemed to halt their momentum.
Should there have been uncertainty about the victors, they were decisively settled with 15 minutes to go. Munster's half-break was supported 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 finished another scintillating move, taking advantage of a tired and clearly exhausted England defensive line for his second.
By then, local supporters had begun to filter out and many did not see Daryl Clark’s late try, which at least avoided the home side being held to nil. Nonetheless, there are many issues for Wane to address going into what is now a must-win Test next Saturday.
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