Kangaroos 26 defeat England 6 in first Ashes Test<\/a><\/p>\nYeo OFF after early concussion scare | 00:30<\/p>\n
Harry Grant took over as skipper and had a typically classy game, while the match was a triumph for Kevin Walters in his first Test as Kangaroos coach, having been given the job \u2014 for now \u2014 only for this three-Test series.<\/p>\n
England counterpart Shaun Wane cut a sombre figure at full-time and may ring in changes for the second Test. Captain George Williams impressed with his running game, ahead of a planned return to the NRL with the Dolphins in 2027, which former Queensland State of Origin star AJ Brimson wasn\u2019t selected after changing his international allegiance.<\/p>\n
The early exchanges were willing and the Poms got plenty of leniency from referee Liam Moore at the ruck. Walsh snuffed out a try opportunity on the tackle after Yeo went down, knocking down a Herbie Farnworth pass to unmarked winger Tom Johnstone.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t until the 22nd minute that the brilliant fullback \u2014 quiet in attack to that point \u2014 struck the first blow.<\/p>\n
Reece Walsh swan-dives in for his opening try as the Kangaroos beat England at Wembley.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
After the ball swept right through the hands of Cameron Munster and Nathan Cleary, Walsh fired a cut-out pass for Nawaqanitwase before receiving the ball back inside from the winger. The final pass looked forward, but Walsh couldn\u2019t be denied on those grounds by the video referee and his flamboyant dive over the line was a sign of things to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you believe what has just happened? Reece Walsh, off the back of one of the greatest grand final performances of all time … he\u2019s made a dusty start to the Test, he then comes up with that try and scores it with that dive,\u201d match commentator Andrew Voss said on Fox League. \u201cHe gets your attention.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walsh was lucky not to be penalised minutes later for a bizarre play in which he ragdolled Farnworth off the ball as Josh Addo-Carr fielded a kick deep in the corner. It eluded Moore\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n
At the half-hour mark, Walsh again paraded the phenomenal defensive instincts that served him so well in the NRL decider. England centre Jake Wardle was running to the line on the left edge and had halfback Mikey Lewis in support on the inside, with one or the other bound to score; yet Walsh kept his options open on both and knocked the ball to ground when Wardle opted to pass.<\/p>\n
Addo-Carr had yet another potential try for Crichton waved away three minutes from the break, when he collided with Young in mid-air on a high kick challenge; the Kangaroos flyer made no effort on the ball and clumsily clattered into Young\u2019s legs.<\/p>\n
Cleary kicked a perfect five-from-five and sent Australia to half-time at 8-0, after a late penalty kick capped an immaculate defensive performance. The floodgates were about to open after a relatively even first 40 minutes.<\/p>\n
Crichton scores double at Wembley | 00:42<\/p>\n
Crichton struck five minutes after the break with a remarkable solo effort. He split England\u2019s defence on the left edge with minimal fuss, then made a 35m run to the line untouched.<\/p>\n
Crichton struck again 20 minutes later to put the game well beyond the home side\u2019s reach. Tom Dearden had entered the fray and a left sweep saw him pass to Cleary, who delivered to Munster, then the Melbourne Storm maestro dummied and found a one-handed offload inside for Crichton to again stroll over. He marked his second try by headbutting the ball, perhaps in a nod to a botched earlier chance when a snappy Gehamat Shibasaki offload hit him on the noggin.<\/p>\n
Crichton\u2019s remarkable double came in front of 60,812 spectators, a record for a UK-hosted Ashes match.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were into us, but it was good fun,\u201d Crichton told the BBC, adding that the Kangaroos hadn\u2019t lived up to their high standards in the performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot at all. We were really scrappy, I think competed 70 per cent in that first half, which isn\u2019t good enough for Test footy. But what I did like was that gritty attitude.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angus Crichton scores his second try at Wembley.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Walsh\u2019s second try was a marvellous piece of play from the Kangaroos.<\/p>\n
Munster briefly held up the ball at first receiver, pausing the England defensive line before delivering to Cleary, who dummied for Crichton before finding Walsh. The fullback split the line, handed off to Broncos teammate and fellow Test rookie Shibasaki, who then made a perfectly timed draw-and-pass back to Walsh to score.<\/p>\n
Walsh grabbed the Australian coat of arms on his jersey to celebrate. His past month has been a fairytale of the most outrageous proportions and he was named man of the match before the full-time siren sounded, adding to his collection after winning the Clive Churchill Medal just three weeks ago.<\/p>\n
Reece Walsh celebrates his second try, which sealed his man of the match honours.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
England got a late consolation try through hooker Daryl Clark through an Australian defensive blip. <\/p>\n
The series continues at Everton\u2019s new Hill Dickinson Stadium next Sunday and the Kangaroos have one hand on the Ashes trophy, in the first such Australia-England encounter since 2003. Australian referee Grant Atkins will officiate the second Test, perhaps tipping the balance further in the Kangaroos\u2019 favour give that they might expect a far cleaner ruck.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur ends of sets were poor, I thought the best team won,\u201d Wane told the BBC. \u201cWe can be miles better than that.\u201d<\/p>\n
AUSTRALIA 26 (Walsh 22, 71, Crichton 45, 65 tries; Cleary 5 goals) def. ENGLAND 6 (Clark 76 try; Lewis goal)<\/p>\n
Attendance: 60,812 at Wembley Stadium (UK Ashes record).<\/p>\n
Man of the match Australia’s Reece Walsh during a lap of honour following Australia\u2019s win at Wembley.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Reece Walsh\u2019s incredible form spike exploded again on Test debut, with the Kangaroos fullback named man of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":240303,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[19974,99978,64,63,689,139457,143521,143532,143513,4567,143524,143533,141428,44328,162,139129,4591,143536,1208,143520,2057,143534,64031,763,80750,122333,2105,11288,121453,83670,24270,143527,143526,5094,143516,4451,141752,3194,143515,143528,2022,143530,5093,70385,143519,143525,4466,51011,141429,761,762,3583,158,677,143517,143529,143537,701,13391,143523,130928,38710,85,143531,141736,104568,776,141436,143514,143518,143522,3586,143535,143538],"class_list":["post-240302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-andrew-voss","tag-angus-crichton","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-coat","tag-australian-defensive-blip","tag-australian-referee","tag-australian-skipper","tag-cameron-munster","tag-cleaner-ruck","tag-concussion-scarerugby","tag-daryl-clark","tag-defensive-line","tag-dolphins","tag-dual-international","tag-dylan-edwards","tag-eighth-minute-head-collision","tag-england","tag-england-counterpart","tag-europe","tag-extravagant-swan-dive","tag-final-pass","tag-fox-league","tag-gehamat-shibasaki","tag-george-williams","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-grand-final","tag-grand-final-performances","tag-grant-atkins","tag-home-side","tag-immaculate-defensive-performance","tag-incredible-form-spike","tag-isaah-yeo","tag-jake-wardle","tag-josh-addo-carr","tag-kangaroos-v","tag-kevin-walters","tag-kick-challenge","tag-liam-moore","tag-london","tag-mark-nawaqanitwase","tag-match-centre","tag-match-honours","tag-match-performance","tag-match-swan","tag-melbourne-storm","tag-michael-steele","tag-mikey-lewis","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-northern-europe","tag-nrl","tag-oceania","tag-opening-try","tag-penalty-kick","tag-phenomenal-defensive-instincts","tag-queensland","tag-reece-walsh","tag-roosters-teammate","tag-rugby-league-ashes-live","tag-series-opener","tag-sports","tag-superior-side","tag-three-test-series","tag-tim-elbra","tag-tom-dearden","tag-tom-johnstone","tag-trademark-flair","tag-try-opportunity","tag-try-video","tag-united-kingdom","tag-video-referee","tag-wembleyrugby-league"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240302\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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