London: Reece Walsh lit up London, repaying the faith of coach Kevin Walters in a sublime Test debut to lead Australia to a 26-6 victory and a 1-0 lead in the Ashes series.

The premiership-winner scored two tries, saved two tries and had the 60,812 fans at Wembley Stadium on its feet on a number of occasions in a man-of-the-match performance, justifying the decision to leave incumbent Kangaroos fullback Dylan Edwards on the sideline for the opening Test of the three-game series.

Walsh and Roosters backrower Angus Crichton, who also scored two tries, were arguably the best two players on the field.

They were aided by the controlling performance of hooker Harry Grant, who had to step up and captain the side in the absence of Isaah Yeo due to an early concussion that is likely to rule him

See Full Page