There are international debuts, and then there’s Reece Walsh at Wembley.
Less than three weeks after winning the Clive Churchill medal in Sydney, the premiership-winning fullback has lit up London with a man of the match performance in Australia’s 26-6 victory over England in the first Ashes test.
Continuing his rich vein of NRL form, the Kangaroos number one left no doubt of Kevin Walters’ decision to select him ahead of Panthers custodian Dylan Edwards as a seemingly star-struck English defensive line continually struggled to cope with his electrifying speed and guile.
After a relatively quiet opening, Walsh announced his international arrival in typical style in the 22nd minute, with the 23-year-old launching himself into an extravagant swan dive as he scored the first try of the match in front of a UK Ashes record crowd of 60,812 fans.
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By the end of his first 80 minutes in the green and gold, Walsh had accumulated 236 run metres, five tackle breaks and scored two tries whilst also saving multiple tries at other end of the field.
“It’s pretty surreal for myself, being at Wembley, being in a bunch of world-class players,” Walsh told the BBC after the match.
“We had a really good week at training, world-class players in our team, so it made it a lot easier for us boys in the spine and everybody on the team.”
Australia lead the three match Ashes series one-nil heading into next weekend’s second test in Liverpool.
The Kangaroos will be without captain Isaah Yeo who suffered a category one concussion in an eighth-minute head collision with England winger Dom Young.
REECE LIGHTNING ⚡ pic.twitter.com/ByQlvEBoMX
— Kia Kangaroos (@Kangaroos) October 25, 2025