The pre-match talk from an England perspective going into this first Ashes series for 22 years focused on how the hosts were not short on motivation. However, you can have all the motivation in the world but in the end, in the pressure cooker that is international rugby league, there is simply no substitute for class.
How the hosts were taught that in a brutal lesson to leave Wembley feeling flat, and this series feeling as though it is heading only one way. The suggestion had been that England’s best chance was to catch the Australians cold in game one, with it almost certain they will improve over the next fortnight.
England can take heart from the fact that for the opening half-hour, they went toe to toe with the Kangaroos and matched them in most areas, but not the one that really mattered. The better chances came the way of the hosts during that period, but on multiple occasions they failed to make any pressure count.
Unsurprisingly, when the Kangaroos had their first real chance, they scored. That proved the theme for the whole afternoon. Australia’s class shone in the most clinical moments, with their outstanding full-back Reece Walsh at the heart of everything they did well at both ends of the field.
Had Walsh not successfully intercepted two England breaks in the first half, the score – and perhaps the outcome – could have been completely different. By half-time, it should have been 12-8 in favour of the hosts but Walsh thwarted walk-in tries for Dom Young and Mikey Lewis, before scoring a sensational effort of his own at the other end. He was, in a game of such fine margins, the difference here.
The second half was one-way traffic, with England bruised and ultimately punished by those earlier missed opportunities. This leaves the equation quite simple for the hosts now: they have to win at Everton next Saturday to send the series to a decider at Headingley. They will have to overhaul their attacking potency to stand any chance, with Shaun Wane, the head coach, backed into a corner and likely in need of changes to solve that problem.
“We were poor,” Wane said. “It wasn’t close really, they were the best team – no question about that. It hurts a lot. Every single position will be analysed for next week.”
Walsh was the game’s standout player here, and the sole reason Australia led 8-0 at half-time instead of perhaps going in behind. His interception of a Herbie Farnworth break with the game at 0-0 was crucial. Ten minutes later, the Kangaroos broke from deep and Walsh was in support to touch down for the opening try of the series. He then stood tall at the other end once again, with Jake Wardle this time the player who broke for England as Walsh stopped his pass from reaching Lewis for a certain try.
“He’s been in great form for a long time, and it’s just good to see him being Reece Walsh and just playing footy,” Australia’s coach, Kevin Walters, said of the Brisbane Broncos man. “Our defence was superb, we’re really happy with how we’ve come here and what we’ve done.”
While the first half was a game of crucial fine margins, the second was much different. England had to score first after the break to stand any chance, but when Angus Crichton broke through a worrying gap in the hosts’ defensive line and pushed past Jack Welsby – the full-back whose position for Everton may well be under threat – it made it 14-0 and suddenly Wane’s side needed to score three times.
England Welsby; Young, Farnworth, Wardle, Johnstone; Williams, Lewis; Havard, Clark, Lees, Bateman, Pearce-Paul, Knowles. Interchange Litten, Walmsley, Trout, McMeeken.
Try Clark Goal Lewis
Australia Walsh; Nawaqanitawase, Staggs, Shibasaki, Addo-Carr; Munster, Cleary; Carrigan, Grant, Fa’asuamaleaui, Crichton, Young, Yeo. Interchange Dearden, Collins, Cotter, Koloamatangi.
Tries Walsh 2, Crichton 2 Goals Cleary 5
Unfortunately, that never looked likely. Any doubt about the outcome of the first Test was firmly removed from the equation when Crichton cut through for his second before Walsh, never far from the action, finished another scintillating move. England at least avoided the ignominy of being scoreless when Daryl Clark scored with five minutes left, but the hosts – and Wane especially – are faced with some tough questions, with England in must-win territory.
