England's attacking frailties were laid bare and capitalized on by a ruthless Australia as the visitors secured a worryingly straightforward victory in the opening Test of the rugby league Ashes series.
The England coach's side had talked at length about their motivation going into the opening series for over two decades, and they were definitely full of effort at the famous stadium. However, in the crucial moments, 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.
Guided by an exceptional showing in attack and defence from Brisbane Broncos’ Reece Walsh, the Kangaroos were worthy and comfortable winners in the first match of the three-game contest, meaning the hosts must triumph at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium next Saturday to keep alive their hopes of a first Ashes win since 1970.
They will have to be significantly improved with the ball if they are to achieve that. On several instances in the first half, the hosts found themselves in promising positions but they were failed to score for any tries. That was in large measure thanks to Walsh, who executed two wonderful turnovers.
The initial occurred as Farnworth seemed destined to put Dom Young in for what would have been the first score, then the fullback denied Mikey Lewis as the break approached. By then, the Kangaroos had gone ahead as Reece Walsh himself finished a excellent play.
Cleary converted before kicking a two-pointer on the stroke of the interval to open up a two-score advantage. It was a significant moment, as was the score for Crichton shortly after the restart which made it fourteen to nil in favor of the visitors. England now had to score three times and that seemed to halt their drive.
Should there have been uncertainty about the victors, they were firmly put to bed with a quarter-hour to go. Cameron Munster’s line break was supported by Angus 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 Reece Walsh completed another scintillating attack, exploiting a tired and clearly exhausted English defensive line for his second try.
By then, local supporters had begun to filter out and many did not see Clark's consolation, which at least prevented England being held to nil. Nonetheless, there are plenty of questions for Wane to answer going into what is now a must-win Test next Saturday.
