Walsh Shines as Ruthless The Kangaroos Defeat England Away in First Ashes Test
The home side's attacking frailties were laid bare and capitalized on by a clinical Australia as the tourists secured a worryingly straightforward win in the first match of the rugby league Ashes series.
The England coach's side had spoken effusively about their motivation going into the first Ashes for over two decades, and they were definitely full of endeavour at Wembley. However, in the key instances, it was the world champions who showed more composure in front of a historic crowd for an series match in the United Kingdom of more than 60,000.
Brilliant Performance from Walsh
Guided by an outstanding showing in attack and defence from club star Walsh, the Kangaroos were worthy and comfortable winners in the first match of the three-match series, meaning the hosts must triumph at Goodison Park next Saturday to sustain their aspirations of a first Ashes win since the 1970s.
They will have to be much better with the ball if they are to accomplish that goal. On several instances in the first half, the hosts found themselves in advantageous situations but they were failed to score for any tries. That was in no small part thanks to Walsh, who executed two superb turnovers.
Crucial Plays of the Match
The first occurred as Herbie Farnworth seemed certain to put Young in for what would have been the opening try, then Walsh denied Lewis as half-time approached. By then, the Kangaroos had gone ahead as Walsh himself completed a excellent play.
Nathan Cleary added the extras before kicking a two-pointer on the stroke of the interval to establish a eight-point advantage. It was a pivotal point, as was the try for Crichton shortly after the restart which made it 14-0 in favour of the Kangaroos. England now had to score three times and that seemed to stifle their drive.
If there were any doubt about the victors, they were firmly put to bed with a quarter-hour to go. Munster's half-break was backed up by Crichton, who broke through Welsby for the Kangaroos' third score.
That made it 20-0 and there was added disappointment in the closing stages as Reece Walsh completed another breathtaking attack, exploiting a weary and clearly exhausted English defense for his second try.
Final Score and Outlook
By then, home fans had begun to leave early and many did not see Daryl Clark’s late try, which at least prevented the home side being held to nil. Nonetheless, there are many issues for the coach to address going into what is now a must-win match next weekend.
- England: Full team lineup.
- Interchange: Bench players.
- Tries: Clark.
- Conversion: Mikey Lewis.
- Visitors: Starting lineup.
- Bench: Reserves.
- Tries: Walsh 2, Crichton 2.
- Kicks: Cleary 5.
