Walsh Shines as Ruthless The Kangaroos Defeat The Hosts Away in First Ashes Test
The home side's attacking frailties were laid bare and capitalized on by a clinical Australian side as the tourists swept to a surprisingly comfortable victory in the opening Test of the rugby league Ashes series.
Shaun Wane’s team had talked at length about their drive going into the first Ashes for 22 years, and they were definitely full of endeavour at Wembley. Yet, in the key instances, it was the reigning title holders who showed more calmness in front of a historic crowd for an series match in the United Kingdom of more than 60,000.
Outstanding Performance from Reece Walsh
Guided by an exceptional display in offense and defense from club star Walsh, Australia were deserving and convincing victors in the opening Test of the three-match series, meaning England must triumph 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 first half, the home team found themselves in advantageous situations but they were failed to score for any points. That was in large measure thanks to Walsh, who executed two superb turnovers.
Key Moments of the Match
The first occurred as Farnworth seemed certain 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 establish a eight-point advantage. It was a pivotal point, as was the score for Crichton shortly after the restart which made it fourteen to nil in favor of the Kangaroos. The hosts now had to cross the line thrice and that seemed to stifle their drive.
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 supported by Crichton, who broke through Welsby for Australia’s third try.
That made it twenty to zero and there was further humiliation in the closing stages as Reece Walsh completed another scintillating attack, taking advantage of a tired and visibly shot English defensive line for his second.
Final Score and Looking Ahead
By then, local supporters had begun to filter out and many missed Daryl Clark’s consolation, which at least avoided the home side finishing scoreless. Nonetheless, there are plenty of questions for Wane to answer going into what is now a do-or-die match next weekend.
- England: Welsby; Young, Farnworth, Wardle, Johnstone; Williams, Lewis; Havard, Clark, Lees, Bateman, Pearce-Paul, Knowles.
- Substitutes: Litten, Walmsley, Trout, McMeeken.
- Tries: Clark.
- Goal: Lewis.
- Australia: Starting lineup.
- Interchange: Dearden, Collins, Cotter, Koloamatangi.
- Tries: Reece Walsh (two), Angus Crichton (two).
- Goals: Cleary 5.
