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As stated by skipper the England captain, England were delivered a brutal "wake-up call" as Australia secured the Rugby League Ashes.

The Kangaroos' decisive 14-4 win at the stadium in Liverpool on the weekend gave them a unassailable 2-0 advantage, making next week's Headingley encounter a academic contest.

The national squad had entered the series harbouring hopes of sending Australia to their maiden Ashes setback since over five decades ago.

Over the last 24 months, they had achieved a 3-0 series win over the Tongan side and a success over Samoa. But as the Rugby League Ashes returned after a long break, England were unable to advance further against the reigning title holders.

"We're not making excuses. We've had enough sessions to execute properly on the pitch, and it's clear we've quite done that," Williams stated.

"Credit to Australia. They proved excellent in defense. But we've got a lot to work on. It seems not as strong as we thought we were entering this series.

"This serves as a valuable lesson for us, and we have plenty to develop."

The Kangaroos 'Show Up and Are Clinical'

Having been soundly beaten in an mistake-ridden performance at the national stadium, Wane side's were markedly enhanced on Saturday back in the rugby league heartlands of England's north.

During an energetic initial stages, the home side caused turnovers from the Australians and had superior positioning and ball control, but importantly did not make it count on the points tally.

Notably, the English team have now managed just one try over 160 minutes, with St Helens hooker the forward barging over late on in the setback in the capital.

On the other hand, the Kangaroos have scored six so far - and when errors began to affect the England's play just after the break, it was a case of inevitability, they were going to be severely punished.

Initially the playmaker went over, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being tied at 4-4, the home side were 10 points adrift.

"Satisfied for the bulk of the game. I thought for 70 minutes we were competitive," said the coach.

"The drop in intensity for a brief period after half-time damaged us immensely. The first try was easy and should never happen in a Test match.

"The team is deeply disappointed. Extremely pleased the squad had a go but so disappointed with that after half-time, which cost us significantly."

Although the next World Cup in Australia and Papua New Guinea is just under next year, England's primary concern will be on attempting to restore some pride, preventing a series whitewash and eliminating the issues that irritated the coach.

"I wanted to see more thrown at the opposition. My aim was us to build pressure in the game - we didn't do that last week," added the veteran coach.

"We managed this week. The issue is a lack of precision in our offensive play where we could have put them under greater stress. We need to defend both [tries] more effectively.

"Fair play to the Kangaroos - that is no slight to them. They arrive and are ruthless when they seize opportunities, and we failed to be, but in defense we can and should do enhance.

"They will be obsessed to win all three Tests and we need to be obsessed to make it a competitive series. I've said that to the players. It has to be our primary goal. It's going to be a difficult week but the side that strives for it the most will secure victory next week."

Competitive Edge Must to Increase in Domestic Competition

England have played a comparable number of Test matches to Australia since the previous global tournament in 2022.

However Wane thinks that the strength of the Australian league - and quality of the State of Origin matches between New South Wales and Queensland - offer a superior foundation for competing at the highest level of the global stage than what is available in the Europe.

Wane added that the hectic domestic league calendar allowed little opportunity for him to coach his team during the season, which will only pose additional concerns around how the national team can narrow the difference to Australia before travelling to Oceania in the next World Cup.

"The Australians participate in a large number of Test matches in their competition," he added.

"England play ten to fifteen a year. We need demanding games to improve the domestic league and improve our chances of succeeding in these sorts of games.

"It was impossible to even practice with the players. We never got on the field in the campaign and despite having the complete support of all clubs in Super League.

"I understand in the boots of the club managers that must to win games. The league is that packed. It's a pity but that's not the cause we got beaten today."