Reece Walsh Shines as Dominant The Kangaroos Defeat England Away in First Ashes Match

England's offensive weaknesses were exposed and punished by a clinical Australian side as the visitors swept to a surprisingly comfortable victory in the first match of the rugby league Ashes series.

Shaun Wane’s side had talked at length about their drive going into the first Ashes for over two decades, and they were certainly not short on endeavour at the famous stadium. Yet, in the key instances, it was the reigning title holders who showed more calmness in front of a record attendance for an series match in the UK of over sixty thousand spectators.

Brilliant Performance from Reece Walsh

Led by an exceptional showing in attack and defence from Brisbane Broncos’ Reece Walsh, Australia were deserving and convincing victors in the opening Test of the three-match series, meaning the hosts must triumph at Goodison Park next Saturday to sustain their aspirations of a series victory since the 1970s.

They will have to be significantly improved with the possession if they are to achieve that. On several instances in the first half, the hosts found themselves in advantageous situations but they were unable to cross for any tries. That was in no small part thanks to Walsh, who pulled off two wonderful turnovers.

Crucial Plays of the Game

The first occurred as Farnworth seemed certain to put Young in for what would have been the opening try, then the fullback denied Lewis as half-time neared. By then, the Australians had gone ahead as Walsh himself finished a excellent play.

Nathan Cleary converted before adding a two-pointer on the stroke of the interval to open up a two-score advantage. It was a significant point, as was the try for Angus Crichton shortly after the restart which made it fourteen to nil in favour of the visitors. England now had to cross the line thrice and that seemed to halt their drive.

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

That made it 20-0 and there was added disappointment in the closing stages as Walsh completed another scintillating move, taking advantage of a weary and clearly exhausted England defensive line for his second try.

Final Score and Outlook

By then, home fans had begun to leave early and many missed Daryl Clark’s late try, which at least avoided England finishing scoreless. However, there are plenty of questions for Wane to answer going into what is now a must-win match next weekend.

• Home Side: Welsby; Young, Farnworth, Wardle, Johnstone; Williams, Lewis; Havard, Clark, Lees, Bateman, Pearce-Paul, Knowles.
• Substitutes: Bench players.
• Tries: Clark.
• Conversion: Mikey Lewis.

• Visitors: Starting lineup.
• Interchange: Reserves.
• Scores: Reece Walsh (two), Angus Crichton (two).
• Goals: Cleary 5.